With Victory in Wisconsin, McCain Is Talking Like a Nominee

By Lee Bandy
SouthCarolina Insider

(2/21/08) Sen. John McCain is a superstitious person. He won’t talk about a running mate until he finally has the presidential nomination sewn up.

After primary victories in Wisconsin, Washington state and Hawaii on Tuesday, the Arizona senator moved closer to clinching the party’s nomination.

Efforts to get McCain to talk about a running mate and the type of person he would like to serve as his vice president failed.

He wouldn’t even speculate.

That didn’t keep his campaign team from discussing the matter among themselves.

Three Southern governors are said to be on the list. They include Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, Charlie Crist of Florida, and Haley Barbour of Mississippi.

Sanford reportedly is the favorite because of his strong conservative views on an array of key issues, not the least of which is a tight-fisted approach to budgeting.

In his first term, Sanford issued 106 vetoes. The Republican-controlled legislature overload all but two.

Sanford and the General Assembly have been at each others throat ever since.

Sanford supported McCain against Texas Gov. George W. Bush for president in 2000.

Charles Dunn, a political scientist at Regents University in Virginia Beach, said picking a Southerner like Sanford for a running mate would be a smart move for McCain.

“The South is the key that is going to unlock the White House door,” Dunn said.

Sanford dismisses talk about vice president. It's premature to be talking about pointed out. He said he’s “flattered” by all the speculation. But he pointed out that no one with McCain has talked with him about it.

Others mentioned as potential running mates include former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas.