If McCain could turn back time...

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

... who would he have chosen as his running mate?
Let's assume that he would nominate a woman again in order to pander to disaffected Democratic women.

[Burke859]

The alt history hypo of McCain beating Obama is interesting because it basically butterflies away both Obama moving the Democrats left, and the Tea Party moving the Republicans to the populist right.

Clearly Palin did not work out as planned.  Even with a stronger running mate, McCain would have lost the race due to the financial crisis, which turned a tied election with maybe a slight Obama lead into a blowout.

But take away the financial crisis and McCain has a shot.  If you're looking at winning the Hillary voters from 2008, perhaps a clearly qualified, but less charismatic, female candidate like Heather Wilson of New Mexico may have been in order.  It's still very hard to get McCain to 270 but maybe a solid veep plus the financial meltdown not happening at least keeps it close. 

A McCain victory that year might have looked something like this:

McCain/Wilson: 276 electoral votes
Obama/Biden: 262 electoral votes

[Lord Admirale]

He'd probably pick Kay Bailey Hutchison as his running mate, the most logical person for the job.

[OSR stands with Israel]

The alt history hypo of McCain beating Obama is interesting because it basically butterflies away both Obama moving the Democrats left, and the Tea Party moving the Republicans to the populist right.

Clearly Palin did not work out as planned.  Even with a stronger running mate, McCain would have lost the race due to the financial crisis, which turned a tied election with maybe a slight Obama lead into a blowout.

But take away the financial crisis and McCain has a shot.  If you're looking at winning the Hillary voters from 2008, perhaps a clearly qualified, but less charismatic, female candidate like Heather Wilson of New Mexico may have been in order.  It's still very hard to get McCain to 270 but maybe a solid veep plus the financial meltdown not happening at least keeps it close. 

A McCain victory that year might have looked something like this:

McCain/Wilson: 276 electoral votes
Obama/Biden: 262 electoral votes

Flip IA and NH and this is my McCain wins 08 map

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

Do you think it's conceivable that he would have chosen either of the female U.S. senators from Maine?

[uti2]

... who would he have chosen as his running mate?
Let's assume that he would nominate a woman again in order to pander to disaffected Democratic women.

It's contradictory to call rubio electable and palin unelectable when they basically have the same political styles. Highly rehearsed, light on substance candidates. Put either of them in a dynamic situation where they are forced to go off-script (to handle a situation for which a script hasn't been written), and they don't have answers to the questions.

So it just comes down to circumstances, in a scenario where there is no economic crisis, and Palin sticks to her script and keeps her head down as token female VP, there isn't much of a problem.

[Burke859]

To address the topics upthread, yes, Iowa and New Hampshire should probably be flipped in the McCain Wins scenario.  I keep forgetting that Iowa was historically a more progressive state (voted against George H.W. Bush in 1988) and Obama would have done well there regardless as the first progressive Democrat to head a presidential ticket since the '80s.

Also, New Hampshire was Johnny Mac territory back in the 2000s and would have gone McCain in a McCain Wins scenario.

So you might have had this map:

McCain: 273
Obama: 265

As far as picking the female Maine senators, weren't both historically considered to be non-starters with the GOP base due to being pro-choice?

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

Obama won every County in NH in 2008 our time line. There is no way a slightly different course of events would allow McCain to win the state.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

Guys, my intention of creating this topic was to ask which female alternative McCain had.

[bagelman]

If John McCain could turn back time he'd win the presidency by predicting the great recession and betraying Bush II.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

If he had to pick a different woman as a running mate, Cathy McMorris Rodgers would give some of what McCain saw in Palin in terms of a reformer with strong conservative credentials, while appearing more knowledgeable and less controversial.

[here2view]

It wouldn't have mattered who he picked, he wasn't going to win the election after 8 years of Bush and the financial crisis. He lost Indiana and only won Missouri by 3,000 votes. He could have picked the best VP possible - male or female - and still would have lost. Obama wasn't losing that race given the conditions at the time.

A different female VP wouldn't have mattered.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

A different female VP wouldn't have mattered.

That's right, but I sometimes had the feeling that McCain was about to have a coronary when Palin was opening her mouth.

[uti2]

A different female VP wouldn't have mattered.

That's right, but I sometimes had the feeling that McCain was about to have a coronary when Palin was opening her mouth.

She wasn't that bad in a controlled environment, see the debate with Biden for instance. Her vulnerability was only exposed when she had to deal with a non-anticipated circumstance.

[here2view]

A different female VP wouldn't have mattered.

That's right, but I sometimes had the feeling that McCain was about to have a coronary when Palin was opening her mouth.

Probably true, I didn't pay that much attention to the 2008 election when it unfolded but if he picked someone better then maybe he picks up North Carolina. I doubt he picks up Indiana; Obama actually won Indiana by a larger margin than North Carolina mainly due to the state being ravaged by the Recession and him being a much, much better fit for the Rust Belt than McCain (he was the worst fit for that region possible IMO.) McCain probably overachieved as a whole in this election, regardless of Palin. Due to the conditions at the time he possibly should have also lost Missouri (won by .1%) and likely Montana (won by 2.5%).

[HAnnA MArin County]

Kay Bailey Hutchison would have been a good pick, although I think she sort of had an image as a "moderate" and that probably wouldn't have gone over very well with the base that was already skeptical of McCain's conservatism.

He couldn't have selected one of the Maine sisters because they're both pro-choice. Same with Alaska's other top female. 

According to "Game Change," Meg Whitman and Linda Lingle were considered but both were/are pro-choice. 

Ultimately though it wouldn't have mattered which woman he put on the ticket with him because most of us '08 Hillary supporters saw Palin's election for what it really was, which made voting for Obama all the more easier.

[RINO Tom]

This would make an absolutely hilarious Cher music video.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

This would make an absolutely hilarious Cher music video.

As a Navy Captain, the setting - a Navy ship stationed at a naval shipyard with many sailors on it - would be a perfect fit for him.
But would he wear the same outfit as her, and would he let his grandson play the guitar in the video?

[Fuzzy Bear]

If McCain could turn back time, he'd have stuck to his guns and picked Lieberman.

He'd also have convinced Lieberman to join the GOP caucus, even if he remained an Independent.  THAT would have returned the Senate to Republican control, and that accomplishment would have been credited to McCain.

[TDAS04]

Fred Thompson would have been logical.  Solidly conservative, but unlike Palin, fairly experienced.  Plus it would have been a great way to reward Thompson for taking enough votes away from Huckabee so McCain could win the South Carolina primary.