Will McCain listen?

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: July 27, 2008

The conventional political wisdom is Sen. John McCain needs a vice presidential running mate like Eric Cantor.

Cantor is a young, conservative congressman and one of the leaders of House Republicans. He represents the 7th District, which stretches from Richmond northwest to Page and Rappahannock counties — a mixture of state capital and western Virginia conservatism that will, in all likelihood strongly support McCain in November.

McCain’s age and some of his previous stands on issues such as immigration and campaign finance reform have angered the Republican party’s conservative base.

Since vice presidential running mates are supposed to be everything the presidential candidate is not, having the solidly conservative 45-year-old Cantor on the ticket could help revive McCain’s campaign. That’s especially true in Virginia, where McCain finds himself in a tough race that should be a shoo-in for any Republican presidential candidate.

Cantor has the support U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-5th, who has written the McCain campaign on Cantor’s behalf. That takes a lot of political guts because Goode hasn’t actually endorsed McCain.

Goode wrote the campaign that McCain should “look right and not left” when he picks his running mate, and he called Cantor “a consistent conservative” who would “energize the Republican base.”

If nothing else, Cantor has certainly energized Goode.

But the real question is whether it will help McCain, who trails Sen. Barack Obama all over the electoral map. The poll tracking Web site Real Clear Politics reports that if the current opinion polls are correct and the toss-up states were to vote for the candidates that lead them today, Obama would win 322 electoral votes — including Virginia’s 13.

Since it only takes 270 electoral votes to win the presidency, Obama is clearly ahead at this point in the race. Even without the toss-up states, Obama still leads McCain, 238 to 163.

Clearly, McCain’s campaign needs a big boost, and one of the best ways to do that is with the right vice presidential choice.

Rep. Cantor may be that choice, and it certainly doesn’t hurt Goode to make the suggestion.

But Goode’s recommendation would have carried a lot more weight if it came from someone who has actually endorsed McCain. Why listen to someone who’s not ready to endorse you?