Choices made, and choices ahead

Some of John McCain's staunchest supporters are making waves today, not necessarily on message.

Tom Ridge, who was on McCain's short list for vice president but appeared to get disqualified for his abortion rights views, told a Pittsburgh newspaper that McCain can't win the White House without winning Pennsylvania, and he'd have a better chance at pulling that off if McCain had chosen him as his running mate.

"I think the dynamics would be different in Pennsylvania," Ridge, the former Keystone State governor, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I think we'd be foolish not to admit it publicly."
Ridge, the McCain campaign's national co-chairman, still defended the choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, calling it a "typical, bold McCain-like choice."
Meanwhile, former Senator and actor Fred Thompson of Tennessee, who briefly contested the Republican nomination, stars in a new Republican National Committee web video putting the choice for voters Nov. 4 in stark terms.

"It’s time for those of us who are concerned about our nation’s future to focus on what’s at stake in this year’s elections," Thompson says in his typical avuncular tone, sitting behind a desk. "This is a time of great challenge for our country. We know that somewhere in the world our worst enemies either have, or are trying to get their hands on, the most dangerous weapons known to man. Small rogue nations are developing nuclear weapons and threatening our allies. Large nations are engaged in massive military buildups. At home we are girding for the possible onset of a recession.

"If this wasn’t America, I might be worried. But very soon we will go to the polls and set a path that will determine how we respond to these challenges. It’ll be a decision that we’ll make not only for ourselves but very possibly for generations to come."

"John McCain’s entire life has been devoted to defending those principles that made our country great," Thompson continues. "His life has been one of duty, honor, dedication, sacrifice. He’s been involved in every major domestic and foreign policy issue for three decades and has fought to reform Washington in ways that would change our country for the better.

"Responsible change is the essence of conservatism. We must change in order to preserve what’s best about our country. We’ve always been able to accommodate constructive change without turning our back on our first principles. We must do it again. However, that does not include staking everything upon the eloquence and inexperience of one who has towed the extreme liberal and partisan line his entire political life, as much as he tries to blur that fact now. This is the choice that we have in this election. Let’s hope that for our nation’s sake that we choose well."