Wolking’s World

Now, stay with me here. A month ago I would have said no way. But times, they are a’changin. For the darkest of dark horses, boldest of bold choices, look no further.  Here’s how I see it:

The first reason I originally eyed a McCain-Thompson ticket with incredulity is the “old factor.” But McCain has proven that he doesn’t seem to be worried about this. After all, we’ve heard a lot recently about the possibility of the McCain-Lieberman ticket:

If that white-haired duo is a viable option for McCain, why not a Vice President that the base would actually be excited about?

Jonathan Martin reports that a “top” McCain advisor says we can expect “a solid, safe pick” when McCain announces his choice this Friday at 11 AM. 

Morrissey at Hot Air opines:

That seems to eliminate the Joe Lieberman pick, which should cheer the base, but may also mean that Sarah Palin is off the table, too.  Having scheduled both Huckabee and Romney for these rallies would hint that McCain didn’t choose either of them — which strongly hints at Pawlenty, although Martin’s sources also said not to read too much into the guest list for the events.

But there’s more than one problem with Pawlenty, says Cummings at Politico:

Pawlenty, 48, may seem too young and inexperienced when measured against Biden, 65, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972 — when the governor was just 12 years old …

Biden also is a two-time presidential candidate and a skilled sparring partner with years of practice against Republicans in the upper chamber — experiences that have given him a familiarity with partisan debate on the national stage that Pawlenty lacks.

A nationally televised Biden-Pawlenty debate “is unthinkable,” said one Republican insider.

Cummings then goes on to suggest Tom Ridge might be a better pick to go up against Biden, as a national security heavyweight and former Governor of Pennsylvania, a purple state that looks even closer to going red with a Maverick-Ridge ticket. But if McCain is going with a “safe” pick that doesn’t alienate the base, that leaves out Tom Ridge, Kay Bailey Hutchison (who’s not being vetted anyway), Lieberman, Meg Whitman, and maybe even Romney, all on the issue of abortion, the biggest hot button on the Right. And of course, there’s always the Huckster to placate the religious conservatives, but please don’t go there.

What better way to assure the base of McCain’s pro-life record and shore up the jitters his campaign has been giving the party lately with all this pro-choice VP talk than to tap Fred Thompson, the guy endorsed by National Right to Life?

And as for the “wrench” that is Biden in McCain’s hunt for a VP, how about the intellectual heavyweight that is Senator Thompson? Thompson has been dealing in and discussing foreign relations for roughly the last 30 years. He may not have chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as Biden does, but he’s served as special council to it and is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He’s shown plenty of intellectual sharpness in his time as a radio analyst and editorial writer (free of plagarism!), not to mention the times he cleaned up in the Republican primary debates and brought clarity, focus, and gravitas to the crowded stage and networks’ chaotic, sophomoric handling of the debates. Scott Ott of Scrappleface once described Thompson, the overwhelming favorite of the conservative blogosphere, quite well: “ideological gravitas behemoth.”

The negative aspects of choosing Romney as VP has been made an issue of late in light of McCain’s gaffe regarding how many houses he owns. Adding such a wealthy man to a ticket already under fire by the Obama campaign as being out of touch could be akin to adding fuel to the fire. Pawlenty’s working class cred is touted as a good counter to that argument and also a similar comparison to Biden’s modest upbringing, but Thompson brings a stronger personal story to the table.

Thompson has fought corruption (sent a Tennessee governor to jail as a lawyer), devoted much of his time in the Senate to combating wasteful spending, and even is a little mavericky himself from time to time, voting not to impeach Clinton in 1999 voting “not guilty” on Clinton’s perjury charge (and “guilty” on the charge of obstructing justice; corrected thanks to commenter David), giving network anchors hell quite often early this year, and refusing to do hand shows for debate moderators.

Plus, there is absolutely NO clips from the Republican debates this cycle of Thompson criticizing McCain. Disagreeing maybe once or twice, but nothing that could even come close to helping Obama make an ad like this.

There are possible negatives of course. Thompson has worked as a lobbyist, which I’m sure would lead the Obama campaign to label him an insider, just as they are with McCain now. He has also worked as a TV and movie actor, which might detract from McCain’s efforts to label Obama a celebrity. Also, during his own campaign, Thompson was often criticized as being too lackadaisical without a strong enough attack mentality. Could be, but he can definitely bring it when he wants to.

So how likely is it that Thompson is McCain’s actual pick? Almost nonexistent, if you ask Thompson himself, at least at last check-in. Still, he and McCain worked together in the Senate and are very good friends (Thompson was national co-chair of McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign). McCain could make some huge waves with such a surprise choice and really awaken the base of the party to his ticket by choosing such a committed, capable conservative.

All conjecture? Sure. The big question is, how much of a factor is Obama’s picking of Biden going to be when it comes time for McCain to introduce his running mate?

And don’t forget about Rep. Eric Cantor, the guy doing a lot of work on the ground for McCain as a surrogate and getting absolutely no media play as a VP contender.

UPDATE: Stop the ACLU, Hot Air, the Pajama Pundit, and Road Sassy link! Thanks guys!

UPDATE: Seems silly, but hey, it’s on Townhall, so why not? McCain’s signs have room for a VP name with 8 letters. Pawlenty. Huckabee. Thompson. Giuliani.

UPDATE: Introducing Fred PAC. Interesting day to launch it, no?

UPDATE: AP talks himself into it.

UPDATE: Geraghty says no:

I’m told by a reliable source there’s no sign that Fred Thompson is the pick.

Wouldn’t a Biden-Thompson debate be worth the price of admission? “Joe, if you could stop your lips from flappin’ for just one minute, I could set you straight on the freight train of bull you just unleashed on everybody here.”

Say it ain’t so.