McCain accepts VP Slot w/ Kerry...

[Moooooo]

At one point during the 2004 campaign John Kerry invited John McCain to breakfast to ask him if he would accept the VP slot.  A unity ticket that would help bring the polarized country back together.  Kerry promised to expand the role of VP to include Sec. Of Defense and would give McCain total control over foreign policy matters. Had McCain accepted Kerry's invitation how would it have affected the campaign?

Kerry/McCain vs Bush/Cheney

[YRABNNRM]

I assume there would be a massive 3rd Party Liberal candidate, perhaps Governor Dean?

[Alcon]

Kerry/Kerry, probably. It depends how many people flock to Nader because of McCain.

[Moooooo]

I assume there would be a massive 3rd Party Liberal candidate, perhaps Governor Dean?

I doubt it.  Liberals were so focused on removing Bush they would have probably accepted McCain, sucked it up, and voted for the unity ticket.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

McCain rejected an offer to be Bush's running mate in 2000, not Kerry's in 2004.

[Moooooo]

How many Moderate Republicans would flock over?  How much would Kerry/McCain expand on the Independent vote?

[A18]

Kerry would have gotten a bump, but it would have fizzled out. Bush wins by about the same margin.

[Moooooo]

McCain rejected an offer to be Bush's running mate in 2000, not Kerry's in 2004.

He also rejected Kerry's offer in 2004.

[YRABNNRM]

I assume there would be a massive 3rd Party Liberal candidate, perhaps Governor Dean?

I doubt it.  Liberals were so focused on removing Bush they would have probably accepted McCain, sucked it up, and voted for the unity ticket.

You think the furious anti-war, and rabid pro-choice voters would suck it up and vote for a Republican VP who is strongly pro-Iraq War and pro-life and who has a huge conservative rating?

[Moooooo]

You think the furious anti-war, and rabid pro-choice voters would suck it up and vote for a Republican VP who is strongly pro-Iraq War and pro-life and who has a huge conservative rating?

Who do they hate more... McCain or Bush?  It's not like McCain would ever become president.  By the time Kerry served his 8 years, McCain would be too old.

[True Democrat]

They did a hypothetical matchup in July I think.  It had Kerry-McCain leading by 13.  I think the map would be something like this:

[Rob]

Good question. I think Kerry would have won:



The electoral vote is 279-259.

[Ben Meyers]

Kerry would have won about 53% to 46%, EV around 300 for Kerry

[FerrisBueller86]

Kerry would have won with 346 electoral votes:


1.  Arizona: McCain has favorite son status.
2.  Nevada: Bush only won by a few percentage points.
3.  Iowa: Bush barely won.
4.  Ohio: Bush only won by 2 percentage points.
5.  New Mexico: Bush barely won, and it's next to Arizona.
6.  Colorado: McCain has some favorite son status, and Colorado was closer than Arizona.

McCain on the ticket would have changed the dynamic of the race.  Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and New Mexico would have been out of play for Bush.  The Bush campaign would have had to spend more resources defending Arizona and Colorado.  This would have taken resources away from contesting the Gore states and defending Ohio and Florida.  Missouri, Arkansas, and Virginia would also have been in play.  In a more optimistic scenario, Kerry/McCain would have won Arkansas and Virginia as well and perhaps put even more states into play, such as Louisiana, North Carolina, and West Virginia.  Of course, politics isn't linear and we can never verify any of these what-if scenarios, so it's possible that McCain could have put Montana and the Dakotas into play.

[Jake]

How do you figure Kerry flips a five point Bush win in Florida by increasing in the popular vote my only four?

[Gabu]

How do you figure Kerry flips a five point Bush win in Florida by increasing in the popular vote my only four?

Increasing in the popular vote by four would mean that the other guy would have gone down by four as well, so Kerry getting 4% more in Florida would have been more than enough to win the state.