Speaking of potential vice presidential picks, former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee explained today why John McCain would be wise to pass over former GOP rival Mitt Romney for the No. 2. spot. From CNN’s Political Ticker:

“I think the issue is that, you know, in many ways, Mitt Romney has had very definite swings of position, not just on one or two things, but on many of the issues,“ Huckabee said Thursday on Fox News.

There has been buzz over the past few days that McCain could pick a pro-choice running mate like fomer-Democratic-vice-presidential-candidate-turned-independent Joe Lieberman or former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

Doing so would be the final nail in the enthusiasm coffin among evangelical and other socially conservative voters for McCain’s campaign. It would signal that McCain, for all his talk about his values and the values of social conservatives, really doesn’t consider those values—the values he says he shares—a priority in picking his No. 2.

Put another way, McCain has a choice in his vice presidential pick: Either he’ll choose to pick someone who represents the party’s beliefs—and those of most of its members—or he won’t.

If he doesn’t, don’t be surprised if the base of the party, for all intents and purposes, cuts him loose. They will likely still vote for him, but they won’t work for him the way they have for conservative nominees in the past.

And that could make all the difference in an election as close as this one is expected to be.

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