Thinking Out Loud

By Gerard Meister

The Republican race for the 2008 Presidential nomination is really shaping up and the prospective tickets for the leading contenders – McCain and Giuliani – promises to be fascinating. But what you must understand as you read on, is that the Republican’s long suit in picking a ticket is not diversity, or “balance” for that matter (A Republican’s idea of a “balanced” ticket is making sure that the Presidential nominee is not more than two inches taller or shorter than his V.P., and vice versa.)

Accordingly, and with an eagle eye on the political correctness issues, here is what I learned so far about how the two tickets would look:

• If Giuliani wins, he selects McCain as his running mate believing he can’t win without the feisty Arizona Senator at his side.
• If McCain wins he selects Giuliani as his running mate believing he can’t win without America’s Mayor at his side.
• Interestingly, because both candidates lack truly conservative credentials they need a leading conservative for Secretary of State and both have asked Rush Limbaugh to serve. A noble choice, no doubt, but Rush, in his heart, is still committed to Bob Dole (if he decides to make a comeback). So we will have to wait and see how this plays out.
• But the plot thickens for Secretary of Defense. McCain, ever the maverick, is leaning towards Senator Joe Lieberman. Lieberman, McCain believes will help swing the Jewish vote and the handful of Democrats who actually believe we can win the war on terror.

  Giuliani, on the other hand, believes there’s no terrorist he can’t handle, but what he does need is someone who is tough enough to lock horns with Maureen Dowd and The New York Times. Ergo, Rudy has reached out and has solid commitment from none other than Bill O’Reilly, the guru of Fox News. Now wouldn’t that be something! ?