He's not Palin, but I'd be all for it

Sen. John McCain's campaign is vetting Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia for the vice presidency:

John McCain's campaign has asked Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor for personal documents as the Republican presidential candidate steps up his search for a running mate, The Associated Press has learned.

[...]

Cantor, 45, the chief deputy minority whip in the House, has been mentioned among several Republicans as a possible running mate for McCain. A Republican familiar with the conversations between Cantor and the McCain campaign said Cantor has been asked to turn over documents, but did not know specifically what records were sought.

I think Rep. Cantor would be a great choice for Vice President for several reasons:

• Florida.  Rep. Cantor is Jewish, and this may help Sen. McCain win the state without putting another squishy moderate like Gov. Charlie Crist. 
  
• Virginia.  The Dems are making a big push for Virginia, going even so far as to vet a mediocre governor like Tim Kaine.  Not only is Cantor from Virginia, but his district stretches from the Richmond suburbs all the way up to Northern Virginia.  This might neutralize the Dem vote in these two blue areas of the state.
  
• Diversity.  Like it or not, the GOP needs to show that it's not a party wholly comprised of boring, old, Christian white guys.  He is someone who could change up that image without ruining the political futures of Gov. Sarah Palin or Gov. Bobby Jindal by tying them to a McCain ticket. 
  

But, there is one downside: evangelicals.  And by that, I of course mean "private citizens" like James Dobson.  Will they endorse a ticket with a Jew on it?  Personally, I'm one of those rare evangelicals who wouldn't care if a nominee was Christian, Jew, Muslim, atheist, straight, gay, etc., so long as they had the right political philosophy.  But, sadly, unlike Dr. Dobson, I realize I don't speak for most evangelicals.  However, I think they will come around as long as the nominee is pro-life. 

I hope so, anyway.

Update:  Looks like I may have been thinking too anecdotally when it comes to some of the evangelicals:

Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and one of the nation's most influential evangelical leaders, recently praised Cantor as a potential McCain running mate, calling him rock-solid on social issues—a huge concern for Christian conservatives with the maverick McCain at the top of the ticket.

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 12:10 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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