Open Left

John McCain’s vice presidential options and the fate of the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement are on the minds of liberal bloggers here. Chris Bowers argues that it’s unlikely that McCain will pick Condoleezza Rice as his running mate, since the White House hopes she can help restart the Middle East peace process. Bowers believes that Rice’s name keeps popping up due to the fact that other prospective GOP veeps don’t have much of a national profile. David Sirota again reminds readers that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Democratic leaders didn’t delay the vote on the free trade deal to kill it, even though many Democrats want it killed. Instead, free trade proponents like Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) are looking for more time to find support for the deal, Sirota argues.