Branding McCain: Maverick No More

By Kleinheider Posted on June 16, 2008 at 8:06 am

From the Baltimore Sun:

John McCain once had the most powerful brand in American politics.

He was often called the country’s most popular politician and widely admired for his independent streak. It wasn’t too many years ago that “maverick” was the cliche of choice in describing him.

But that term didn’t even make the list this year when voters were asked by the Pew Research Center to sum up McCain in a single word. “Old” got the most mentions, followed by “honest,” “experienced,” “patriot,” “conservative” and a dozen more. The words “independent,” “change” or “reformer” weren’t among them.

permalink | Comment on this post

Tags: John McCain, Maverick  

Corker For Veep?

By Kleinheider Posted on May 16, 2008 at 8:04 am

Tommy Oliver, a conservative critic of the Senator during the 2006 Republican primary, says why not:

I doubt that McCain will be calling Senator Corker to be his running mate anytime soon, since Corker has been extremely critical of the Senator from AZ from time to time, but if things don’t work out in 2008 for Republicans, Corker is a man that they should give a long look towards in 2012 as a possible candidate. He has business credentials that are almost as strong as Mitt Romney’s, as he was a self made multi million dollar CEO of the largest construction company in Tennessee, which he expanded into a successful real estate business. He has executive experience in running a government, and was successful. While mayor of Chattanooga from 2001 to 2005, he cleaned up the city. He also served as the Commissioner of Finance and Administration for Tennessee from 1995-2001. By 2012, He will have spent six years as a Senator, and is establishing the conservative voting record to brag about. He will have had experience in both the legislative and executive branch to match, and since he was elected, he’s been talking so much sense conservatively that Fred Thompson would be proud. Lastly, he’s still only fifty-three, and could be around for a while.

permalink | Comment on this post

Tags: Bob Corker, John McCain, Maverick, Mitt Romney, Veep