McCain’s VP: A Tale of Two Bobbys
June 13, 2008
By Patrick James
Who should be John McCain’s VP choice? We are hearing the usual things about ticket balance in terms of geography or ideology, and the need to shore up McCain’s weak reputation on economic issues. All of that is, in a word, boring. Two words in response: carpe diem!
McCain is 72. He also is a Washington insider and running as the candidate of a party with an unpopular incumbent. McCain simply cannot afford to put people to sleep. He is running against a truly exciting candidate, Barack Obama, and he must act, now, to generate some excitement of his own. Obama is young by presidential standards and is a lot more charismatic than McCain or, for that matter, anyone else on the Democratic side since Sen. Robert Kennedy.
So what should McCain do? The clue lies in the “Bobby.”
Bobby Kennedy exuded youth and excitement. McCain can get the same things — and much more — from Bobby Jindal, the popular governor of Louisiana. Jindal is young and much more conservative than McCain. Like Obama, Jindal hasn’t been around that long, but the lack of a lengthy track record will be seen as less important in a VP candidate. In an increasingly diverse America, the Indian American Jindal isn’t the modal candidate for executive office — namely, an “old white guy.” Furthermore, as a Catholic, Jindal can help court Reagan Democrats, who are up for grabs now that Hillary Clinton, their candidate of choice, is out of the race. Asian Americans, while hardly a solid voting block, couldn’t help but notice the Republican Party reaching out to them. There are very good things here.
But is Jindal too young? What about the nearly inevitable “Yoda and Luke” comedy routines on nighttime TV, burying the ticket in ridicule? The risks are worth taking. The Democrats, with Obama at the top of their ticket, cannot win on the experience issue. McCain, if anything, has too much experience.
What about the “safe” alternatives? All of them look more reasonable, on the surface, but they will not help McCain win in the face of a charismatic opponent, ties to an unpopular (albeit improving) war in Iraq, and $4 gasoline. Mitt Romney is good on the economic side and can raise money, but the conservative talk radio machine will reject him out-of-hand, and McCain must activate his base. Simply put, Romney is too close to McCain on the “left” of the Republican Party. Mike Huckabee’s conservative credentials are also in question. While it’s no accident that three relatively moderate Republicans fought it out for the nomination of a party that is finishing up two terms of George W. Bush, now it is imperative to ignite the activists. Jindal can do that. He is market-oriented, opposes stem cell research, favors teaching intelligent design, and so on.
What about the other exciting but risky alternative, Condoleezza Rice? This question virtually answers itself. Democratic attack ads already talk about a McCain presidency as a third term for Bush. While Rice would reach out to non-white voters, the baggage is too heavy. Rice is no Donald Rumsfeld, but she’s still too close for comfort to Iraq and the hard feelings over a still-unfinished, costly war.
In sum, the Republicans need to find their Bobby in this election season. Assuming that Jindal has no more than the usual skeletons in his closet, this young governor is McCain’s best chance for a VP who can put him over the top... or at least make a fight of it in a tough year for Republicans.
Patrick James is professor of International Relations in the USC College and director of USC’s Center for International Studies. He is an expert on crisis management and strategic decision-making. James is the author of 12 books and more than one hundred other publications. He has lectured and held visiting professorships at universities in the United States and around the world.