VP Flavor of the Week: Eric Cantor

All the VP buzz today is about Virginia GOP Congressman Eric Cantor. You may remember that last week it was Tim Kaine. While you, unlike the many half-witted commentators populating our television networks, shouldn’t be too hasty to jump on the bandwagon of every potential candidate subject to such buzz, there is good reason to take these stories seriously. As an analyst – I forget which one – was recently pointing out in a discussion of VP buzz, George H.W. Bush never seriously floated Dan Quayle’s name before picking him in 1988. Since that disaster, presidential nominees have been sure to gauge the base’s reaction before making a definitive selection.

I continue to believe Cantor is an outstanding candidate for VP. He has all the tools McCain is looking for, in terms of policy, personality, personal background, image, experience, and expertise. I’m not saying he will be the pick – perhaps most of all because I don’t believe he has any relationship with McCain, and he may be too conservative for McCain’s taste – but he is an extremely compelling one. I’m glad McCain is at least taking a serious look at the guy.