Kerry-McCain ticket not ruled out yet

WASHINGTON — The great parlor game inside the Beltway right now focuses on whom John F. Kerry will pick to be his running mate, and the game rages no more fiercely than inside Kerry's own campaign headquarters. If there is a consensus among Kerry aides about who would be the boldest and most potent pick, it is Sen. John S. McCain of Arizona — a Republican.

While Kerry has talked about his search with few people other than his wife, campaign manager and the head of his search committee, Washington power broker James A. Johnson, many high-level staffers believe — based on Kerry's past and recent comments — that McCain will get serious consideration.

The other name heard most frequently is that of Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, who offered a staunch defense of Kerry last week during a CNN interview. During the primaries, however, Kerry publicly questioned Edwards' ability to deliver Southern votes in a general election.

Not only could McCain help Kerry pick up crucial Electoral College votes in a pivotal Southwestern battleground state, but the former Vietnam prisoner of war would also be a staunch ally for what is expected to be a fierce battle with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. In addition, his selection would provide powerful thematic lines both for the fall campaign and the potential Kerry presidency that could follow it.

The union of a Democrat and a Republican "would make good on the president's promise to be a uniter, not a divider," said one Kerry aide, who like the others spoke on condition of anonymity. Such a ticket could offer Americans the prospect of a reduction in the partisanship that has increasingly gripped Capitol Hill during the past decade, as well as a return to the national unity experienced in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.

Above all, the aides hypothesize that by choosing McCain as a running mate, Kerry would energize the election, create a weeks-long buzz in the media, and, perhaps most importantly, attract the support of swing and independent voters from both parties. Surveys earlier this year showed that many of the people who supported Howard Dean's insurgent candidacy for the Democratic nomination were the same "McCainiacs" who helped McCain win the 2000 Republican primary in New Hampshire against Bush.

"The narrative fits the country right now," a Kerry aide said of a potential Kerry-McCain partnership, while not ruling out other potential tandems and asserting that the decision is Kerry's alone.

McCain has said he would not run with Kerry and has vowed to campaign for Bush, but last month he renewed speculation about a potential matchup when he was asked on ABC's "Good Morning America" whether he would consider running with Kerry. He replied, "Obviously, I would entertain it." Democratic Party rules do not outlaw — nor specifically address — nominating a candidate from another party, a Democratic National Committee spokeswoman said.