Veep 'Silly Season' in full swing

As John McCain battles for media oxygen, competing with a contested Democratic primary, idle speculation in Washington and around the blogosphere is increasingly focusing on the quadrennial silly season that is the vice presidential watch. And while the McCain campaign seems uninterested in engaging speculators, plenty in the media are willing and fascinated by the GOP's bench as potential contenders take their star turns. Each of those contenders, too, is only more than willing to oblige and tease.

The names are flying around Washington: Will McCain go with a loyal ally, like Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, widely seen as a safe pick and an early backer who stuck with the Arizonan even in the darkest days of the campaign? Will McCain choose a partner who helps him with wary social conservatives, like former rival Mike Huckabee, or with leery fiscal conservatives, like Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn? Or will McCain accede to the reported wishes of the last Republican president and turn to his once-bitter rival, Mitt Romney? Add another thirty potential candidates, from the sane if out of the box (Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman) to the candidates from left field (General David Petraeus, Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor) and the topic becomes a bottomless wellspring of cocktail party conversation.

But while McCain would much rather answer a reporter's question on the war in Iraq or on his health care plan than deflect, for the thousandth time, a question of who's on a short list, vice presidential speculation can play an important role for the GOP, as it will later this year for the Democratic Party. Only when predictions, rumors and irresponsible gossip are taken as serious news does the party's bench get the sort of attention it will now receive. What better way to show off the talent that will be running for president in four, eight or a dozen years than by introducing them to the larger public now?

As Democrats squabble and feud, Republican and conservative interest groups, commentators and literati are giving every potential candidate at least a moment in the sun. Last week was Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's turn. No matter that the first-term governor, who served just a term and a half in the House, is almost literally half McCain's age -- McCain was 34 when Jindal was born, 36 years ago -- he has a compelling story: Son of subcontinent Indian immigrants, he converted to Catholicsm, got a degree at Brown University and was a Rhodes Scholar, then became state Secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals at age 25. Jindal's appearance at the National Press Club and on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno (Late night television is a great stop for a wanna-be to make: Whether it's Leno, David Letterman or Jon Stewart's Daily Show, millions of viewers get the chance to hear new names they might encounter down the road) started the tongues wagging, including that of New York Times columnist Bill Kristol, who floated Jindal's name in a Monday column.

The week before, it was former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who has taken over as head of the RNC's Victory Committee for McCain. McCain's other top liaison to the Republican National Committee, Deputy Chairman Frank Donatelli, recently sat down to lunch with anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, whose blessing could help turn a vice presidential contender into an actual running mate. Over lunch, Donatelli reportedly sang Fiorina's praises, leading some to speculate that an active push for Fiorina's involvement on the ticket is in progress.

For Fiorina, as well as other potential candidates like Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Pawlenty and Romney, any buzz will inevitably lead to an insatiable media determined to read between the lines. When asked, each will say that he or she is would be flattered before suggesting that they are not actively seeking the nod. Asked if she would consider, Fiorina told Hispanic Business Magazine: "Ultimately, that will be up to John. I support him because I believe he will be a fantastic president for the country, not because I need or want another job," Pawlenty told the Washington Post. "They say never say never, but I don't even envision it," Crist told a Florida television station as early as May, 2007. "Someone said no one applies for the job and no one turns it down," Romney told the Reno Gazette-Journal last week.

A non-denial denial of interest only feeds the beast. The only way to stop the questions is to categorically rule out the possibility of serving as vice president, as Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour did in an interview last week with the Washington Times (in which he said he is "too conservative" for McCain), or as Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison did in a February interview with MSNBC: "I don’t want to be vice president. I’ve said that over and over again. I’m going in a different direction. I really do not want to be vice president," she said.

Even candidates who make little sense as McCain's choices are getting the full-court press. For a presidential candidate who has made a niche as the most obvious contrast to President Bush within his own party, for McCain to choose a member of Bush's administration seems a poor fit. But Rice has a loud following on the internet, and a recent appearance at Norquist's weekly meeting of leading members of the Washington conservative establishment only served to fan the flames.

Even Hutchison-esque denials aren't good enough: "There’ll be plenty of people who could be vice president, not me," Rice told an Alabama television reporter in mid-April. Still, Rice's appearance before Norquist's group is a classic stop on the vice presidential circuit. Rice was there to defend the administration's foreign policy, but in the process, Norquist points out, whether she wanted to or not, Rice intensified her own buzz. "Are you selling the idea or the concept, or are you selling yourself?" Norquist asked this reporter. "Well, they're both true."

Before McCain and the eventual Democratic candidate make their vice presidential selections, the media will speculate endlessly on their potential picks. And each candidate has a chance to do something unique and special with their choices. McCain can address questions about his age, improve his electoral standing and assuage conservatives with one pick -- Pawlenty, Crist and even Romney might match those three goals.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton has a deep bench of well-known, well-respected Democrats from whom to choose. Be it Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh or Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, Clinton could tap an experienced moderate with deep roots in the party -- something that could be crucial after a bitter and bruising primary -- who puts additional states in play. Barack Obama, as he has done with new voters in the primary, could bring a new face to the national scene. Whether it's Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine or Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, Obama has an opportunity, like McCain, to redefine his party with his choice.

(With cable networks and blogs in need of constant satiation, the gossip might not end with the vice president, and might continue farther down the administration. Instead of trying to satisfy every segment of the Republican base with one pick, Norquist suggests McCain signal that he will choose certain well-known Republicans to send a message to certain parts of the base. Former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm as McCain's Treasury Secretary, Norquist said, would satisfy the fiscal conservative base ("If I knew Gramm would be the Secretary of the Treasury, I wouldn't have to get out of bed to go to any meetings," Norquist joked), and choosing top adviser Charlie Black as Chief of Staff would let establishment Washington know they would not be ignored.)

Until those choices are made, the parlor game will persist. And as new names float around, both parties' benches are getting their star turns. Each side should take full advantage of the ongoing and impending silly season and spend the time introducing their next generation -- whether or not those young stars will wind up on a ticket -- to the country. Everyone claims to be focused on electing a Republican or a Democrat in November; media obsession allows at least someone to think about the future.