John McCain will host vice presidential candidates over the weekend [1]. Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and former Massachusetts governor and presidential rival Mitt Romney will come out to one of McCain's 8 homes.

So why should you care who McCain picks?

You could easily brush off McCain's pick as irrelevant since you figure Obama (or Clinton) will win in November and McCain's selection will be just a footnote in history. But you would be missing a golden opportunity to peek into the window of the future of the Republican Party.

The last time a Republican presidential candidate tried to make a statement about the future of the Republican Party was 1988, when George H.W. Bush selected Dan Quayle to run with him. Anybody know whatever happened to Dan Quayle?

Bob Dole selected Jack Kemp, a quality pick, in 1996. And then we have Dick Cheney in 2000.

In 2000, the Republican Party was at a crossroads. Dole and Kemp weren't even factors by then. The Republicans, who always like to "pick" a candidate and give that person little opposition, went with George W. Bush. We know what happened next.

The parallels between McCain in 2008 and Dole in 1996 are eerily similar: distinguished Republicans who fought and was injured in a war, running reasonably decent campaigns (we'll see about McCain), but losing with integrity. I have felt all along that McCain would pick someone who he thought was the best for the job, and not for political pandering. What made Dole's pick of Kemp great was that he thought Kemp was the best person for the job.

We know the McCain of 2000 would have picked a "Jack Kemp" type figure - select the best person for the job. But by inviting Romney, Crist, and Jindal, the McCain of 2008 is looking in a different direction.

Jindal is the parallel of Quayle on numerous levels: Young, inexperienced, and a conservative bulldog. Yes, Romney has the second highest amount of delegates, but that number isn't strong or impressive. Crist brings a number of things McCain likes, but his "bachelorhood" status won't fly with McCain's base.

The person McCain selects will be the face and future of the Republican Party, regardless of how McCain does in November. After all, McCain isn't running in 2012 if he loses. That person will have name recognition and credibility, and perhaps be the leading candidate against President Obama (or Clinton) in 2012.

Look at the remnants of the Republican Party: Rudy Giuliani (done), Fred Thompson (yea, right), Romney (couldn't win it when it was his race to lose), Jeb Bush (negative name recognition), and Brownback/Tancredo/ Hunter et al (dream on). Well, there is Mike Huckabee [2]. If I were the next Democratic president, I would pick Huckabee to be Secretary of Reducing Obesity or some other such title. But actually being the one in charge - of this country - no.

The Republican Party will be at another crossroads in 2012. The last time this happened, the party panicked and George W. Bush was born. Let's not have that once again. If McCain truly is a maverick (and he's not, but maybe this time, well, sort of), he will select someone to take the Republican Party in a new direction, someone who we may not agree with but could respect (Jack Kemp) instead of someone who we can't respect (Dick Cheney). Technorati Tags: Be-Elected [8] Chad Rubel [9] 2008 race [10] John McCain [11] vice president [12] eight homes [13] Mitt Romney [14] Mike Huckabee [15]