So, what is the collective opinion on a McCain/Leiberman ticket for 2008?
[WS:] I'd rather have Al Gore (the mate does not matter that much), who was my pick #1. I think his main valor is his experience of running for the highest political office, losing to a nincompoop, and then taking a time out and reflecting. Such an experience tends to give a person a certain experience that is an essential part of wisdom i.e. the ability to "bracket out" or step back in the heat of unfolding events and put things in a broader perspective. This is far more valuable than ideology, which is more like a costume - tailored or changed for political expediency.
I think that McCain may have a somewhat similar experience by virtue of being a POW, as well as Hillary Clinton by virtue of being a punching tomboy of the Clinton administration - but I am not sure.
The rest of the pack look to me like regular politicos climbing on a political ladder and developing proper resumes that might help them getting the top job.
To summarize, I do not think that political ideology matters that much in politics, except in most general terms i.e. broadly conservative or broadly liberal, which serves mainly as a framework for defining issues and solutions. What matters more is the ability to step back, put things in a broader contexts, take risk and not being afraid of losing. Past experience of such ability is not guarantee of future performance (c.f. Nixon, albeit I am not sure if he ever stepped back and reflected), but certainly increases the probability.
Wojtek
PS. Here is a poem by my favorite poet Constantine Cavafy illustrating what I am talking about.
KING DEMETRIUS
Not like a king but like an actor, instead of his royal robe, he put on a gray cloak and stealthily departed. PLUTARCH, "Life of Demetrius."
When the Macedonians abandoned him, and proved that they prefer Pyrrhus, Kind Demetrius (he had a great soul) did not - so they stated - behave in the least like a king. He went and took off his robes of gold, and cast off his purple shoes. He dressed hurriedly in simple clothes and went off. Behaving like an actor who when the performance is over changes his clothes and departs.
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