Veepstakes: The base isn't happy

Politico's Martin checks in with key social conservative leaders to get their reaction to McCain's trial balloon of possibly picking a pro-choice running mate. Needless to say, these conservative leaders are not happy. “‘It absolutely floored me,’ said Phil Burress, head of the Ohio-based Citizens for Community Values. ‘It would doom him in Ohio.’ Burress emailed about a dozen ‘pro-family leaders’ he knows outside Ohio and forwarded it to three McCain aides tasked with Christian conservative outreach. ‘That choice will end his bid for the presidency and spell defeat for other Republican candidates,’ Burress wrote in the message.” “He and other Ohio conservatives met privately with McCain in June, and while the nominee didn’t promise them an anti-abortion rights running mate, his staff said they could ‘almost guarantee’ that would be the case, Burress recalled." What was McCain up to by pro-actively mentioning Ridge? Was it a trial balloon? The Washington Times notes: "Some analysts ... (link)