With the nation in the grip of a fundamental re-appraisal of its past rule by white men, both Condi Rice and Colin Powell suggest themselves as excellent alternatives. They would excite voters, turn them on and give them a way to vote against Obama without ruffling their consciences. Either candidate would make an excellent spokesman in putting down Obama’s lack of foreign policy experience or expertise and would make the statement, by his or her very presence on the ticket, that national security concerns should impel McCain’s election.

Or McCain could send a statement to Democrats and independents and become the first candidate since Abraham Lincoln to cross party lines and put a person from the opposite party on his ticket by selecting Joe Lieberman. By making his ticket a kind of coalition or fusion, he would tell moderates from both parties and those who follow neither one that McCain is the place to go. Putting Lieberman on his ticket would be a coup of immense proportions.

Any of these three choices would make a “wow” statement that would make voters see McCain in a new light.

If McCain wants a slightly less radical course, he should select Mike Huckabee. During the primaries and caucuses, Mike demonstrated an appeal to voters that went far beyond the limited logistics of his campaign. If Romney had the worst cash-delegate ratio, Huckabee had the best.

With almost nothing but his innate skill as a speaker and his warm, friendly personality, Huckabee was able to energize the evangelical base as nobody has since Pat Robertson. But, in the process, he challenged it to move on to new issues and embrace causes like global hunger as ardently as the right to life.

Powell, Rice, Lieberman, Huckabee — but not Romney!