Huckabee Right Choice for McCain

Although I have been a longtime supporter of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, I do not think that he is the right choice for John McCain to choose as his running mate. To compete with the dynamic Barack Obama, John McCain needs to choose someone with charisma that will appeal to working class. He will also need a running mate that can shore up his support in the South and Midwest. Choosing Huckabee instead of Romney will probably eliminate the chances that Obama has in states like Georgia and Virginia. The guitar-playing, populist former minister from Hope, Arkansas has the charisma that McCain needs to showcase. He also appears young and sincere.

Huckabee was a surprise in the primaries, never given much of a shot. Indeed, he was rarely given questions to answer at early debates when McCain, Guiliani and Romney were in the spotlight. Huckabee was given about as much as time as Senator Brownback, Representative Paul and Representative Tancredo. When Fred Thompson entered the race, the media believed that Thompson would cut off a lot of the appeal that Huckabee had early on. The media has often been proved dreadfully wrong in this election. Huckabee performed well in Iowa and in the South. It is my belief that he will do well campaigning out West also, where people share his values. The only pitfall to choosing Huckabee over Romney, Jindal and others seems to be that Huckabee is not the strongest in Michigan. It is my belief, however, that Republicans must do all they can to first shore up support in red states before attempting to take away blue states. The map in the past few elections has favored Republicans.

So, John McCain, my advice to you is to select someone that can hold the base. If you can maintain the Bush ‘04 states you will win. McCain and Huckabee are both great Americans. Indeed, they are both admirable leaders. They are friends and there are few soundbites in the primary where they have argued like McCain and Romney have. Huckabee is young enough to put Americans at ease about McCain’s age. He is also capable enough to be President of the United States.

Why Ole Miss?

“Why Ole Miss?”

This question has been a constant in my life since I decided to attend the University of Mississippi School of Law. Upon the announcement of my decision to certain individuals I have seen varied responses. In the faces of my family and my friends I have seen joy, pride, sadness, disgust and confusion. Those who have been to Oxford recently seem to understand my decision. And so I turn the question to the Commission of Presidential Debates. Why have you chosen the University of Mississippi for the first and probably most important Presidential debate?

“Why Ole Miss?”

Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain will meet at the University of Mississippi on September 26th, 2008. During their stay in Oxford, they are likely to see the statue commemorating the desegregation of the university by James Meredith in 1962. They are likely to drive through the old Southern square, where the state flag of Mississippi is almost entirely overshadowed by the upper left hand corner of it, where the Confederate battle jack is prominently displayed. These two presidential candidates will do battle with words in a state that has often been called “reactionary” and “stubborn.” It is a state that is one of the least likely to be in play in this election cycle. In the universally acknowledged “change” election:

“Why Ole Miss?”

In part, the selection of the University of Mississippi for the first Presidential debate of 2008 is an acknowledgment of the progress the university has made in recent years. This quiet, uniquely Southern town of nearly 13,000 is likely to welcome the 3,000 journalists expected for the debate as readily as they accept the 15,000 Ole Miss students every semester. Oxford has become an extension of Ole Miss unlike any other college town. It is unique in that the town gives off a vibe of being all about Ole Miss. Undoubtedly, Oxford’s reputation as being an excellent college town and Ole Miss’s reputation as an excellent university weighed heavily on the minds of the Commission of Presidential Debates as they made this decision.

Although the venue was announced long before Barack Obama was even favored in the Democrat primary, it seems almost destiny that he appear here, in Oxford, the first African-American candidate for President. His arrival in Oxford will show a much different side of the town than many remember in 1962, when federal marshals went face to face with state law enforcement officials beneath the beautiful magnolias in the grove and atop the streets of Oxford.

So why Ole Miss? Because it’s not your grandmother’s Oxford. It is the New South, a place where a Yankee boy from Muncie, Indiana can be welcomed while getting an excellent legal education. It’s a place where the first African-American Presidential candidate can be welcomed as well. It is a hospitable town that has been entirely changed since 1962, but refuses to be ashamed of its past. America is finally giving Oxford its well-deserved second chance. I look forward to the coverage and analysis of my new hometown this September, and I will be providing coverage of my own to you.