AP:
Alfonse D'Amato said Bush should consider putting Secretary of State Colin Powell or Sen. John McCain of Arizona on the GOP ticket.As for Colin Powell, well that'd be fun - we could launch another DearMary.com site, this time for his daughter. Seriously though, I can't imagine either Powell or McCain taking the VP job.
Powell won't accept because his wife, allegedly, has always said she doesn't want him to run for president, and his wife holds the veto power. Not to mention, Powell has already learned how crooked this bunch is - that's why he's reportedly leaving next year - what would possess him to stay, this time even MORE closely tethered to Bush? He made that mistake once - when he became Sec of State - and look what it got him. He started with approvals near 80% or something and now he ain't doing so well, marked forever as the guy who lied to the UN. Four more years of Bush, and Powell can kiss his legacy goodbye. (Think: George Tenet.)
As for McCain, there are a few things. 1. He reportedly loathes Bush, and his staff loathes the Bush staff, and vice-versa. 2. Same argument as Powell - McCain is flying high, he doesn't need George Bush to get him into the White House. On the contrary, tying himself too closely to Bush would probably pull McCain into the mud just like it did Cheney and Powell and Tenet. What possible reason could McCain have to become VP, other than to help Bush win so Kerry doesn't. But McCain likes Kerry and hates Bush, so again, why become VP? It would give him a lot of power - maybe. Or he could become the ornament that most VP's become.
And finally, it currently looks like Bush is going to lose. Do either of these guys want to go down in flames along with Bush, and very likely be blamed for it?
Now, a much WISER strategy would be for Bush to dump Bush...
