(H/T – Michelle Malkin via Sean Hackbarth)
James P. Lucier makes a pretty good case for Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal being John McCain’s VP nominee over at The American Spectator. I will admit, he makes a very good case. However, it would be a very high-risk/high-reward combination for Jindal. If McCain wins, whoever his Vice President is would be “next in line”. I’ve pointed out a couple times that since 1956, the “next in line” has won the Republican nomination.
However, if McCain loses, whoever his Vice-Presidential nominee is will be doomed to never see the Oval Office. Over at Michelle’s place, I asked the question of who the last person (besides Walter Mondale, who was also Vice President) was that came back from being on the bottom half of a losing ticket to become a Presidential nominee on a major-party ticket. Rather than depend on somebody else to do the research, I decided to do it myself. Since 1804, when the election of Vice President was officially separated from that of President by the 12th Amendment, there have been 4 people who failed as a major-party VP nominee (Democrat-Republican, Federalist, Democrat, Whig, Republican) who came back to become a Presidential nominee:
– Rufus King (Federalist): Lost on bottom half of the Charles Pinckney/King ticket in 1804 and 1808, became the Federalist Presidential nominee in 1816, lost the election.
– Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic): Lost on the bottom half of James Cox/Roosevelt ticket in 1920, became the Democratic Presidential nominee in 1932, won the election and 3 more.
– Bob Dole (Republican): Lost on the bottom half of the Gerald Ford/Dole ticket in 1976, became the Republican Presidential nominee in 1996 (after Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush took their turns as “next in line” and after finishing second in the 1988 Republican nomination to secure his own “next in line” claim),
– Walter Mondale (Democratic): Lost on the bottom half of the Jimmy Carter/Mondale ticket in 1980 (was for re-election), became the Democratic Presidential nominee in 1984, lost the election.
Let’s see. Only 4 times in 204 years has a failed VP candidate become a Presidential candidate, and only once has that person become President on his own merit. I must note John Tyler did become President in 1841 after William Harrison died in office and after being one of the failed VP candidates of the Whig Party in 1836; however, he ultimately did not run for his own term as he was tossed out of the Whig Party and the Democrats didn’t want him.
I’d rather let Jindal season a bit in Louisiana and finally break the “next in line” chain in 2012.
