I foresee one major problem with a McCain-Palin ticket: her position on ANWR oil drilling & climate change, both contrary to positions recently re-emphasized by McCain.

Also significantly Palin's political curriculum vitae extends back no further than Obama's. It would be next to impossible to highlight the manifest inexperience of the Illinois senator with Palin paired with McCain. She was elected Alaska gov. only in 2006. As with Bobby Jindal and Crist we'd like to see her complete a full-term before contending for national office. And even Romeny's anemic one term seems a weak argument for his aspirations. Alaska has but 3 electoral votes which are not in serious contention.

There are two good options for McCain here (Ridge & Rice) which should be contingent on Dems picking first which they must for their convention. Ridge clearly has the bio: enlisted draftee combat-vet, the political experience(popular two-term gov of THE KEY state of PA), 1st Sec of Homeland Security.

Rice has long been the most popular member of the Bush Adm, and has impeccable foreign policy credentials superior to Obama or HR Clinton. Rice will also bring to the ticket an authentic civil-rights experience which Obama DOES NOT HAVE. Recall Rice was childhood friends with the 4 girls killed in the Birmingham church bombings of 1963, epicenter of the modern civil rights movement (Rice actually heard the explosion from a few blocks away). She grew up in a Democrat run one-party apartheid regime; she was victimized by KKK-terrorists. For Obama (who is decedent not from southern black slaves, but from southern white slave-owners) all this was a matter of purely theoretical plaintive radical-student musings and personal angst-riddled solipsism.

Both Palin & Jindal will have prominent futures as national political figures if they want, perhaps in the US Senate once their terms as governors are over and they would be much needed by the GOP. Stevens, Landreau, and Vitter may provide the needed openings soon in that institution.

Thanks Aaron for your comments.

My gut tells me McCain the Maverick needs someone fresh and original to make the case that HIS is the REAL "change" America needs. McCain himself has enough experience to counteract this argument sufficiently, a Governor of any stripe is qualified in my view.

I admire Condi Rice very much but fear that anyone associated with the Bush administration would poison McCain's independent appeal. Bush's approval rating is in the toilet and Rice has never run for elected office to the best of my knowledge.

I know less about Tom Ridge, other than his strength is national security (already a win for McCain I think) and he is also associated intimately with Bush and the not-always-smooth transition into Homeland Security. Again, good guy and all, but I don't think he offers anything different from McCain to diversify the ticket's appeal.

My hope is that McCain's Presidency will reshape 'partisan politics', and I think the popularity of an under-qualified but people-pleasing opponent shouldn't be overlooked.

Rice is in no way under consideration from McCain, nor was she, nor would she ever be so.

I agree about her as a choice, however . . .it was never even on the horizon of thought for McCain...and when mentioned quickly quickly dismissed.

To win, McCain needs to both consolidate and energize his Conservative base while attracting as many Hillary Democrats away from Obama as possible.

The candidates usually mentioned are capable of doing either the former (Romney, Rice) or the latter (Lieberman, Ridge), but no candidate can do both except for the governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

Her Conservative bonafides are well established, as evidenced by the kudos given to her by Limbaugh, Kristol, Kudlow, Gingrich (who warned McCain not to pick a "boring, white male"), and others.

Yet because of her gender, her compelling biography, her charisma, and reputation as an ethical reformer, she has the potential to attract independents and moderate/conservative Democrats. She is especially capable of winning over the Hillary Democrats, many of whom are uneasy about Obama or bitter about the primary loss of their candidate or only supported Hillary because of her gender anyway and would vote Republican if it meant having the first female vice-president.

Recent poll numbers indicating how poorly McCain is doing among women, especially in certain swing states, only illustrates how important having Palin on the ticket could be.