Reaching Out to McCain

[AmyStrange]

Reaching Out to McCain
By David Ignatius
Friday, June 11, 2004; Page A25

FROM: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33145-2004Jun10.html
In the days before Ronald Reagan's funeral, Sen. John McCain was pondering the political puzzle that Reagan probably handled better than any modern president: how to find a language that can speak to both Republicans and Democrats.

McCain doesn't see any easy answer, such as the much-discussed "national unity" ticket with Democrat John F. Kerry. But after visiting with his inner circle this week, I'm certain that he has thought carefully about it.

Despite McCain's public demurrals, he has been privately deliberating how things might work if he ever did agree to run as Kerry's vice presidential candidate. The bitter political divide in America worries McCain, especially when the nation is at war. He knows that for many Americans, he has become a symbol of a bipartisanship that could overcome these divisions -- and bring Red and Blue America closer together. That call to duty is powerful for McCain. He'll be 68 later this summer, and he knows that his time to shape American public life is now.

The Kerry camp has made overtures, and McCain has taken them seriously. He has tried to imagine the details of how such a partnership would work in practice. But the more McCain thinks about such a unity ticket, the more difficulties he sees.

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[Leilani]

1. Interesting article, which shows the real difficulties

of trying to put together a bipartisan ticket.

It is not only about winning, but about governing. And there the problems would begin, & McCain realizes this.