Riley for Vice President?

Since John McCain campaigned with Gov. Riley yesterday, the Birmingham News is now speculating over whether or not McCain might choose Riley as his running mate should he run for president in 2008. (Just a little trivia. McCain could become our oldest serving president. If he is elected to a second term, he would retire at the age of 80.) I have no major problems with either of them, but I think that they may be putting a little too much stock in our governor.

McCain, should he run, would need a running mate who has attracted a lot of national attention. At least, he would need someone who is better known than Riley.

Then, there is this quote:

Pressed to say whether he would consider Riley as a running mate, McCain said, "I think he would be an excellent choice, yes. But first let me decide if I'm going to run, and if I run, Bob Riley and others in the party would be outstanding choices in any future run."

I guess I'd believe it more if McCain hadn't already said nearly the exact same thing about Lindsey Graham back in November 2005.

McCain, looking at Graham, told the crowd of about 100 people that "some people have said this might be a very attractive vice presidential candidate."

He also has close personal relationships with John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman. Lieberman and Graham are both fellow senators with whom McCain has worked very closely on legislation. Both were members of the famous (or infamous, depending on how you look at it) Gang of 14. My money is on those two. If Lieberman loses in the general election, my money is on Graham-- at least for now. While Riley could be considered a moderate (and McCain will go with a moderate), he's an unlikely choice since he has less national recognition and is not as close to the potential candidate.

One other thing to note is that politicians have a way of recycling the same speeches over and over. It's a good bet that McCain makes a habit of visiting states that might show support for him in '08 and then supporting a candidate by saying that he'd make a good choice for a vice presidential candidate. Just a thought.