VP Hopefuls Out-Fox Each Other

Would-be McCain running mates angle for the Fox Effect at this year's Radio and Television Correspondents Assn. dinner

by Ron Grover

The annual Radio and Television Correspondents Assn. dinner is a forum for yuks. Last year, then-top Bush political operative Karl Rove pranced onstage with something that vaguely resembled a dance—and quickly became a YouTube (GOOG) favorite.

This year's Washington gathering of the electronic journalistic elite featured a full-fledged dance of Vice-Presidential hopefuls. Lame duck Vice-President Dick Cheney led the lighthearted handicapping. He called onetime Presidential candidate Mitt Romney someone "who looks good in a suit and doesn't have anything to do" and said Romney would be well-qualified to be a successor. He also offered advice to Romney and fellow Presidential dropout Mike Huckabee on how he got the No. 2 job: "Forget the policies, forget the résumé," Cheney said. "Get on the selection committee," he added, referring to the body he headed in 2000 that was tasked with finding a running mate for George W. Bush.

Even better advice might have been an admonition to get on the good side of the Fox News Channel. That seemed to be the order of the day for an impressively large number of Vice-Presidential wannabes at this year's dinner, held Apr. 16 at the The Washington Hilton. The cable channel owned by News Corp. (NWS) is a first stop for conservative politicians, from presumed Republican Presidential nominee John McCain on down. So getting a seat at one of Fox News' six tables seemed integral to the "hey, pick me" routine. Romney scored one such invitation, and despite a heavy cold, dutifully posed for pictures at the tent where Fox offered up pre-dinner drinks.

A No From Lieberman

Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, got a coveted Fox seat, too, right across from Mark Sanford, the South Carolina governor being pushed by some conservatives as a ticket-balancing must for McCain. Even former Vice-Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman showed up as a guest of Rupert Murdoch's news channel, showing that even long, long, long shots may eventually have their day in the political sun if McCain looks in their direction.

"Not me," Lieberman said in reference to the prospect of becoming a Vice-Presidential contender. "Been there, done that." And in fact, the Democrat-turned-independent senator from Connecticut would be hard for Republicans to stomach, even if he does enjoy a close relationship with Arizona Senator McCain.

Other Fox News dinner guests were not nearly as definite in their dismissals of the Fox effect and whether they'd take the No. 2 job. "I haven't thought about it," said Sanford, smiling ever so slightly. "Let me know what you hear," said Huckabee, who says he is writing his sixth book and has taken to giving political speeches "to make up for what I lost by offering myself for public service."

Today's Smoke-Filled Room?

Then there was Romney, who said, "There are other worthy candidates out there who were not competitors [against] John." The former Massachusetts governor was the only one of the Veep hopefuls to get the favored seat at the table with Fox News grand master Roger Ailes, a former Republican operative.

No, breaking bread with Ailes isn't the same as getting the call from John McCain, but Fox News is one hot property, having zoomed past Time Warner's (TWX) CNN two years ago to become the first stop for politicos and politically minded viewers alike. The channel's constant drumbeat of political opinions, offering up knowledgeable Republicans and Democrats alike, has been known to launch some rumors and fan others. And among its most avid viewers is one John McCain.

It's not a smoke-filled room, but in an election year when political candidates have risen and fallen with a well-chosen commentary, who can say whether a cable channel's dinner table might not start a mini-movement for any one of the many politicos with a nice suit and some time on his hands.

Grover is Los Angeles bureau chief for BusinessWeek.