�Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) has chosen his vice presidential pick and is expected to announce his choice on Friday, the Washington Post reports. McCain, wHO opposes abortion rights, in an interview in The Weekly Standard earlier this month aforementioned he would not rule out choosing an abortion-rights supporter as his working mate. However, a young Post-ABC News poll ground that selecting such a candidate for the vice presidency would be risky for McCain, who has worked strong to win the support of conservatives.
According to the poll of 1,108 registered voters, 20% of McCain's supporters would be less likely to vote for him if he picked an abortion-rights supporter as his running checkmate, such as Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) or former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (R). The poll likewise found that nearly six in 10 of McCain's supporters aforesaid abortion should be illegal in most cases (Barnes et al., Washington Post, 8/28).
The New York Times reports that it is unclear how seriously McCain has considered Lieberman, whose selection could set off a "disgust" among delegates at the Republican National Convention next week in Minneapolis, as well as a "raging backlash" among Christian conservatives. The Times reports that as of Tuesday, McCain still was considering Lieberman. According to the Times, McCain's option of Lieberman could help him appeal to women, independents and conservative Democrats in a "tough year" for Republican candidates. However, other Republicans said they suspected that regardless of McCain's personal views, his aides "could be pushing" Lieberman with the media "as voice of a disinformation military campaign to arouse interest in the pick and to make it appear" as though McCain is "clear to all possibilities and therefore more than of an independent candidate" (Bumiller/Cooper, New York Times, 8/28).
Sen. Brownback To Discuss Abortion During Convention Speech
In related news, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) has proclaimed that he will promote his "whole life" philosophy, which golf links his antiabortion position with a call to time value life "at every stage," during his speech at the Republican convention side by side week, the AP/Denver Rocky Mountain News reports.
According to the AP/Rocky Mountain News, Brownback says that Republicans wHO accept the "whole life" ethic have more of a claim to compassion and social justice than Democrats. "It's a philosophical position for the political party that we're fighting to get the party to embrace," Brownback said. Brownback added that Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and his running mate Sen. Joseph Biden (Del.) want voters to ignore the Democratic Party's position on abortion rights yet silent claim the higher ground on broader social justice issues. "What I'm expression is: Look at where the Republican Party is on hale life," Brownback said, adding, "That message competes now with what I think Obama and Biden will try to pitch. The Republican Party can be one of compassion, and there's a philosophical consistency for us that doesn't exist in their stance" (Hananel, AP/Denver Rocky Mountain News, 8/27).
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