McCain on Palin in 2012: 'My corpse is still warm' Nick Cargo and David Edwards

Published: Sunday December 14, 2008





Print This Email This On Sunday's This Week, Senator McCain, while discussing his recent presidential run with host George Stephanopoulos, refrained from expressly offering support for his former running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, if she were to run for president in 2012.



"Listen, I have the greatest appreciation for Governor Palin and her family, and it was a great joy to know them," McCain said. "She invigorated our campaign. She was just down in Georgia and invigorated their campaign. But I cant say something like that. We've got some great other young governors...I think you're going to see the governors assume a greater leadership role in our Republican Party. Pawlenty, Huntsman--"



"But why not?" Stephanopoulos asked. "Six months ago you thought she was the best person to succeed you if something should happen to you."



"Sure," McCain said, "but now we're in a whole... election cycle. Have no doubt of my admiration and respect for her and my view of her viability, but at this stage, again...my corpse is still warm."



If history is a guide, said blogger Jon Ponder in a BRAD BLOG guest post, Palin's chances of an ascent to the presidency are "next to nil." Looking at 180 years of past losing vice presidential nominees, only one has later taken a seat in the Oval Office: Franklin D. Roosevelt, who lost as the running mate of Democratic hopeful James M. Cox in 1920, but would go on to beat Herbert Hoover twelve years later and serve four terms.



The numbers also show slim odds for a losing vice presidential nominee to lead a ticket in the future. Two others have done so besides Roosevelt: former Vice President Mondale lost to Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984, and former Senator Bob Dole, President Ford's running mate in 1976, lost his 1996 run to President Clinton.



This video is from ABC's This Week, broadcast Dec. 14, 2008.









Download video via RawReplay.com







