It is very rare that the veep pick makes much of a difference in general elections. (ask Lloyd Bentsen and Dan Quayle.) But every once in a while, there is an JFK-LBJ moment, that does make the difference of who becomes president.

I believe this year there are 5 such possibilities, only one of which is on the Dem side. Later, I will write diaries on the Dem candidate i believe could make a difference, James Webb, and the other GOP difference maker, Mike Huckabee. this diary is on the 3 GOP candidates who could make a HUGE difference by attempting to split the divisions that have been raised in the Democratic primary wide open.

the purpose of this diary is to emphasize how important it is to COME TOGETHER AS PARTY behind our eventual nominee.

If John McCain is brave enough, there are 3 candidates who could open up this divide if we don't heal it, and give the GOP new inroads into groups that usually provide the winning margin to Dems. these candidates are Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, and Kay Bailey Hutchison. all of these candidates can help the GOP no matter who our nominee is.

in short, any of these three would give the GOP an answer to the Democrats historic ticket. granted, the GOP choice would be at the bottom the ticket, but McCain's age and the idea that he might only serve one term makes the historic implications very real.

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    In case anyone needs to know why the Annapolis talks are DOA, the previous statement uttered by Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice should clear up any doubt. This statement was uttered by Ms. Rice in response to the news that after the Palestinian elections she helped to usher in the Hamas faction had won the majority of seats. I remember from my pre-law days the admonition of one of my professors, "Never ask a question you don't already know the answer to". You would never schedule a democratic election, if you can't guarantee the democratic results. Neither should you setup a final peace conference, if you don't have any final peace agreement.

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Interesting.

Brusquely dismissing protests by Russian officials, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said here on Thursday that a missile-defense system the United States plans to install in Poland and the Czech Republic would pose no danger to the security of Russia.

"The idea that somehow 10 interceptors and a few radars in Eastern Europe are going to threaten the Soviet strategic deterrent is purely ludicrous, and everybody knows it," Ms. Rice said before a meeting of NATO foreign ministers expected to focus on the missile-defense dispute.

"The Russians have thousands of warheads," Ms. Rice said. "The idea that you can somehow stop the Soviet strategic nuclear deterrent with a few interceptors just doesn't make sense."

Make it stop.

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Between the thousand-page document dumps, somewhat rejuvenated press corps and always up-to-the-second reporting from the progressive blogosphere, the prosecutor purge scandal is exploding at a seemingly exponential rate. Every hour, the story grows in new and different directions, and now clearly threatens the job security of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others in the Department of Justice. Further, it now appears as though the scandal's tentacles reach into the uppermost echelons of the Bush White House, including, as recent administration controversies almost always do, Karl Rove. While the endgame of this saga is far from decided, what is already apparent is that a vital facet of the story - the administration's seeming unwillingness to comply with both the law and a fundamental cornerstone of our American system - is in danger of being lost in the shuffle of the overarching stampede. And, if we can no longer expect our government's top officials - including the top official, the president - to obey the law and adhere to the bedrock standard of open government, then the questions about whether or not we still live in a democracy are no longer so far-fetched.

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