It's Going to be Lieberman

Pawlenty's the safe pic, but I have this sneaking suspicion that McCain's going to go with Lieberman for his VP pick. It's the one rain-making move he has left, after all, the only hope he has of really shifting the fundamentals of the election. And what does he care about what Rove "black baby" Rove thinks?

If he does, it's going to be great because it's going to kill his campaign. Lieberman is the Republican's favorite Democrat because he engages in their favorite passtime: sticking it to the Dems. But take away his support for the Iraq war and general extreme hawkishness (please) and he's a partyline liberal member of the Democratic party. And there's no way that if even that doesn't piss off the rank and file conservatives that the evangelicals go for a pro-lifer. Let alone a JEWISH pro-lifer.

Picking Lieberman would absolutely destroy the Republican coalition. It would be, I'd think, the final straw that broke the religious right's back: they're already upset that they haven't had more sway after delivering the White House. Twice. And the feeling's growing that their support has been taken for granted if not outright exploited. A big slap to the face might be all it takes for them to pull up stakes and look elsewhere.

Lieberman might just explode the right and force them to realign. Which, you know, I actually think would be a net positive for the country. But not so positive for the McCain campaign.

Oooh, unless it's Romney. That'd be even better for the country, worse for McCain.

McCain really just has no good choice when it comes to his running mate, does he? It's like the primaries all over again - a winner by default.