McCain has abundance of tough sells in VP search

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Republican presidential candidate John McCain starts thinking through who he wants as a vice presidential running mate, he may find that many potential picks carry risks as well as rewards.

Political experts say McCain has many difficult choices to make on a running mate. If he pick a conservative, he risks alienating the moderate voters he prizes. If he picks a centrist, he should brace himself for the conservative fallout.

Take for example ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, whom McCain defeated for the Republican presidential nomination. Romney has made clear he would not mind being No. 2.

But social conservatives remember that Romney supported abortion rights in Massachusetts before switching to a more conservative stance in his presidential race.

"If Gov. Romney is on your ticket, many social conservative voters will consider their values repudiated by the Republican Party and will either stay away from the polls this November or only vote down the ticket," said a letter sent to McCain and signed by 20 leading social conservatives.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been in news reports so much recently as a vice presidential possibility that a WNBC/Marist poll found McCain and Rice would defeat, in New York state, a Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Rice denies she is interested in what would be her first political race. McCain told ABC's "The View" on Thursday that he had not talked to her about it.

"I have not, but all of us admire Condoleezza Rice. She's a great American. She's been a role model to all of us," he said.

EASY TARGET

Rice would carry risks, however, as an easy target for Democrats who accuse McCain of basically mimicking the policies of unpopular President George W. Bush.

Republican strategist John Feehery said that Rice, who is black, could help balance a McCain ticket against either Obama, who would be America's first black president, or Clinton, who would be the first woman president.

"It would be a historic choice," he said. "But I just don't sense that it's based on reality."

What about some of the other Republicans whom McCain defeated for the nomination? They also carry baggage.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was never trusted by conservatives for his positions on abortion and gay rights. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is considered too inexperienced to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson never really energized crowds on the campaign trail.