Mark Tapscott says he should announce his intention to select Senator Tom Coburn (R, OK), my favorite senator and an imposing porkbuster who is widely despised by free-spending senators from both sides of the aisle. Captain Ed Morrissey responds that he likely needs to keep the Huckabee option open for political purposes, at least until he's wrapped up the Republican nomination. I agree with Mark Tapscott here; Huckabee may be keeping up his candidacy because he hopes to be McCain's vice president, but it is not at all clear that Huckabee's supporters would flock to Romney more than to McCain, and there is much evidence to the contrary.
Actually, McCain's inclusion of either Tom Coburn or South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, another staunch anti-pork pol, might convince me to come out of the cave and cast my vote for McAmnesty, since it would at least give a real conservative a good chance to win the next contested election. Tom Coburn could use the executive position, since he's only been a legislator, and Sanford could use the national exposure.
Here's another interesting scenario: McCain could offer the vice presidency slot to a conservative (say, Sanford), and that conservative could refuse. Perhaps that could gain our conservative hero a national following among conservatives, deal a body blow to McCain's outreach to conservatives, and encourage conservatives to stay home and start working on the 2010 mid-terms. My only worry is that it could further break apart the Republican Party, our only vehicle for advancing the causes of liberty and national sovereignty. (Vocally opposing McCain when he's the Republican nominee also threatens this, but I believe it's a good calculated risk.)
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