Dreaming of the unlikely Kerry-McCain

Sen. John McCain wants you to know he does not want to be your vice-president.\n"I have totally ruled it out."\n"No, no and no."\n"I will not be a candidate."\n"It's not going to happen -- end of story, period, exclamation mark."\nAnd most recently, when he was asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday about a May 15 article in The New York Times in which some say they see him as Sen. John Kerry's No. 2 in November: "I will not, I categorically will not do it."\nBut of course it hasn't stopped us from talking about it.\nThe media blizzard began months ago when McCain, the senior Republican senator from Arizona and A-list media darling, commented offhandedly that he and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kerry are good friends and if Kerry called him for consideration to run as his vice-presidential nominee, McCain would "entertain it."\nCue the opening of the flood gates. Cue the incessant daydreaming of political junkies, reporters and moderate independent voters everywhere. And then cue the inevitable disappointment, because it'll never happen. The motivation behind such a campaign falls victim to vicious partisanship, ironically the Washington problem a Kerry-McCain ticket would supposedly heal.\nBut there are still many reasons we keep dreaming.\nFor independents, the dream involves what might have been and what could be. McCain's "straight-talking" presidential bid spawned national media attention. It attracted a variety of independents and moderates from both parties and became the go-to guy for bipartisanship in Washington.\nIn the days of fiery-brand partisanship, they're looking for someone who can help bridge the canyon-width gap between the parties. \nAnd in an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll released two weeks ago, McCain was viewed more favorably than President Bush, Kerry or Vice-President Dick Cheney.\nStill, while McCain says he's loyal to the Republican party, he doesn't let it go without saying he's a "Teddy Roosevelt Republican," an endangered species in American politics. \nAfter all, he did lose the Republican primary for president -- overall, they liked the other guy more. From time to time, McCain makes the Christian right quite angry. He doesn't exactly fit the ideal of Generic GOP Joe. He'll work with anyone to get it done right, and sometimes that includes crossing the aisle and burning his own party. \nUndoubtedly, he's not the only one in Congress who does it, but he's caught in an excellent triangulation which amplifies his position: he has name-power, media-power and public approval-power. McCain's bucking is more noticeable for those reasons, and more than any Democrat, because his party is the one in power. His maverick status is symbolized by his ability to tell his party no when he thinks they're wrong and everyone in it thinks they're right.\nBush ran as a "uniter, not a divider." He's proven himself to be anything but. This is a real chance for politicians to be united.\nMcCain has leadership experience. He has credibility. He's trusted and candid. And Americans -- at least those who don't live on the fringe wings of their parties -- know we can't afford more polarization and rancor in the coming years and it's going to take some cooperation to get things done.\nI don't agree with McCain on everything. In fact, we disagree on many issues -- he supported the war in Iraq, I did not. I am pro-choice, he is not -- only to name a few. I imagine some of his stances will be a bane to some voters, but if he comes to the middle, so will they if they are serious about getting something changed.\nYet all this though is written in vain. Kerry-McCain, the bipartisan dream ticket as it has been called, will turn out to be just that: a dream. But to those of us who are tired of taut party lines and the incredible shrinking political tents, it's a dream we don't necessarily want to wake up from soon.