Bill Kristol's column, "A Joe of His Own?", in today's NYT speaks volumes about the state of the race from the neocon perspective. Kristol points out that, despite Republican protests that the selection of Biden was one of "weakness", Biden's selection complicates McCain's choice for VP and has the Republicans worried. Pawlenty is inexperienced, Romney is too wealthy (too many houses), and Rice and Palin have never run for national office. Who then should McCain chose? Why Joe Lieberman, of course. Although I'm certain Kristol did not intend it this way, his comments are a ray of hope for the Democrats and the Obama presidency.
Although Kristol has brought up this paring before, today's suggestions show how worried the neocons are about the Republican race. There's no problem with a Lieberman pick from their perspective, and certainly McCain has shifted toward following the neocon policies: destroy the balance of power in the Middle East through military efforts, put in new leadership sympathetic to Israel and the United States, and make a bundle off the oil reserves in the region. This philosophy is nothing new, and it has been a disaster for America.
However, what strikes me as interesting is that Kristol seems ready to throw over the marriage of convenience with the religious right who has supported the neocon theories for their own goal of creating Middle East turmoil because it will help God bring on the "end times". Kristol writes that a McCain-Lieberman ticket will have a better chance of winning than more "conventional alternatives" although the Republicans will have to deal with "an awful lot of conservative angst and anger". Basically, he seems to be saying that the pro-lifers and conservatives will have to get over it. The neocons need another neocon. Oh, and by the way, the Christian right can be reassured that McCain is pro-life.
Kristol seems to be saying that the neocon dreams are more important than the Hagee, fundamentalist, far-out Christian right. Those folks can get over it. When it comes down to the basics, we neocons don't really like them very much. The marriage of these two belief systems is shaky at best, and Kristol's column seems to indicate that there could indeed be a rupture between these two - or is it a "rapture"?
Maybe this is just wishful thinking on my part.