Two Guys Who Won't Be McCain's VP

Bob Novak reports on two guys McCain would love to have for his VP, but knows he can't have them:

Sources close to Sen. John McCain say the Republican presidential candidate likes the idea of Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman, re-elected from Connecticut as an independent in 2006, or former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge -- if he could get away with it. The political consensus is that McCain couldn't get away with either, and he knows it.

Lieberman, one of McCain's closest Senate friends, vigorously supports him for president and sometimes joins him on the campaign trail. However, Lieberman opposes Republican policy on nearly everything except Iraq, where he has backed the war effort.

Ridge, who served as President Bush's secretary of homeland security, is a generally conservative Republican except for being pro-choice on abortion. He was considered for vice president in 1996 and 2000, but was ruled out both times because of the abortion issue.

Let's not forget Ridge's youthful exuberance and sparkling personality which would compliment McCain's cranky old man image. Fred Barnes has been pushing Ridge, but I don't know what he's thinking. I can't think of a better way to turn off conservatives completely then by selecting a pro-choice VP.