Oh my.
John McCain said today that a pro-choice running mate shouldn't necessarily be ruled out. Read below from The Weekly Standard:
Aboard his campaign plane this morning, John McCain said that he is open to choosing a pro-choice running mate and named former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge as someone who merits serious consideration despite his support for abortion rights. McCain also criticized Barack Obama's presidential campaign for attempts to "politicize" the debate over Georgia and criticized President Bush for failing to recognize the true nature of Vladimir Putin.
"I think that the pro-life position is one of the important aspects or fundamentals of the Republican Party," McCain said. "And I also feel that--and I'm not trying to equivocate here--that Americans want us to work together. You know, Tom Ridge is one of the great leaders and he happens to be pro-choice. And I don't think that that would necessarily rule Tom Ridge out."
McCain's comments came in response to a question about comments he made to several reporters during the Republican primary season. During that exchange, McCain was asked whether New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg would make a good running mate. McCain offered strong words of praise for Bloomberg but said that Bloomberg's position on abortion--he is also pro-choice--would make it difficult to choose him as a vice presidential candidate.
In the interview this morning, McCain suggested that Ridge would be more palatable to social conservatives than Bloomberg.
"I think it's a fundamental tenet of our party to be pro-life but that does not mean we exclude people from our party that are pro-choice. We just have a--albeit strong--but just it's a disagreement. And I think Ridge is a great example of that. Far moreso than Bloomberg, because Bloomberg is pro-gay rights, pro, you know, a number of other issues."
The whole article here.
Analysis? Hold on for a moment I need someone to bring me the smelling salts. I've fainted. If McCain picks a pro-choice running mate it will be a disaster within the Evangelical community. I've decided to come up with a new term. If McCain picks a pro-choice running mate there will be an "Evangelical Implosion." Click here to see the new movie about it.
Click here to see how Evangelical leaders would feel about McCain if he picked a pro-choice running mate.
Enough said. Got milk?