We South Dakotans are so desperate for some sort of relevancy on the national scene. 

We are few in numbers and live isolated from the nation’s population, cultural, economic, and political centers.

Yet we fancy ourselves a “playa,” largely because of the rise of three Democratic U.S. Senators who sprang from our prairie loins—Mitchell’s George McGovern, Huron’s Hubert Humphrey, and Aberdeen’s Tom Daschle.

And two of those men—Daschle and McGovern—were directly repudiated by South Dakotans at the height of their power.  Meanwhile, even native son Humphrey couldn’t break the Republican’s Presidential stranglehold on South Dakota in 1968.

But yet my colleagues in the media and the SDGOP continue to engage in the fantasy of Republican Senator John Thune rising to such Humphreyian heights at Sen. John McCain’s running mate.

The latest John Randold man crush scenario comes from my friend Denise Ross over at the Hoghouse Blog:

Since John Thune is not only South Dakota’s most prominent member ofthe GOP but also an early supporter of McCain’s, he’s in the mix.

Fortunately, Denise comes to the conclusion that McCain won’t pick Thune because “he would look to the ranks of GOP governors, a woman or Hispanic or African American, so much the better.”

Yet, there’s still that pesky man crush on John: “But Thune still has qualities that would, as they say, balance the ticket.”

This topic also come up with KELOLAND’s Perry Groton’s interview of former Republican state chairman Joel Rosenthal and I on Inside KELOLAND.  Joel felt that Thune would be on “the short list” of McCain Veep choices.

Let’s look at why we should not be planning to go the the South Dakota Ball at a remotely possible McCain inauguration in Washington, DC in January:

 

• The only things Thune has going for him are his youngish age and good looks.  Who else had that?  Sen. Dan Quayle.  And golly, didn’t that work out well for President George H.W. Bush.  Though I’m guessing Thune is a better speller than Danny.

• McGovern, Humphrey, and Daschle all had considerably more governmental experience than Thune, including meaningful leadership positions in the Senate and on important issues.  Thune has none of that.

• Unlike V.P. Dick Cheney of similarly small Wyoming, Thune does not bring extensive “real world” knowledge of how the executive branch runs or how business works, unless, of course, you count his cushy lobbying jobs for Sanford and the DM&E. 
  

• McCain will likely win South Dakota without Thune on the ticket anyway.  McCain needs help with other states and constituencies to counter Hillary the Pantsuit or Barack the Hope Giver.

If grumpy old John McCain somehow wins the Presidency and has John Thune in tow as his V.P., sure, that would be good for South Dakota and kind of cool.  Hell, I’d even be able to brag that I used to guard the Vice President when we’d play our lobbyist/legislator/journalist pickup basketball games in Pierre during the legislative session.

But like a half court shot with one second left in the game, the idea is nothing more than a prayer.

Photo above: Senator Thune meets with Governor Ed Shafer on Nov. 13, 2007 after he was nominated to be the new Secretary of Agriculture.

Photo below: President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle walking at the White House.



Technorati Tags: Vice President, John Thune, Tom Daschle, George McGovern, Hubert Humphrey, John McCain, South Dakota, 2008 election, Presidential election

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