June 23, 2008

The VP Frustrations of John McCain

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Joe Klein reports over at Swampland that McCain’s top three choices for VP, according to a source Klein trusts, are all automatic non-starters.

1. Former Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania–McCain loves the guy, I’m told, and Ridge might bring Pa. into the Republican fold…but he’s pro-choice. Fuggedaboutit.

2. Former Governor Jeb Bush of Florida–Ahhh, Florida. But, oy, that last name.

3. Senator Mel Martinez of Florida—Ahh, Florida….and brings Latinos, too! But born in Cuba, so ineligible for the office.

The same goes for McCain’s top sidekicks, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham. The first is technically an Independent Democrat and thus a big believer in choice and the second is dogged by persistent rumors about his sexuality.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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