IS McCAIN JUST A WUSSY, WELL-TRAINED GOP LAPDOG? OR IS HE MERELY PRETENDING TO BE ONE?

Yeah, it really makes you look like a fiercely independent tough guy to have your party cut you off at the knees in public this way:

RNC: McCAIN WON'T CHOOSE ABORTION-SUPPORTING RUNNING MATE

As speculation grows around who John McCain will select as his vice presidential running mate next week, Republican National Committee officials said Tuesday that McCain is no longer considering former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

Several sources at the RNC told FOX News that in the last 36 hours, senior McCain advisers and aides have told RNC officials that McCain "got the message" last week that choosing a running mate who supports abortion rights would not be helpful....

And the other guy to whom McCain is answerable, Rush Limbaugh, has also weighed in (as it were):

"The drive-bys [Limbaugh's term for the members of the mainstream press] are just hoping for this. They are just hoping for it because they know it's not just a few loud mouths in the base. They know the base will totally turn on McCain if this is the case... it's about trying to persuade McCain to make a decision that will ensure his defeat."

"... We're committing suicide in the midst of two events that could launch the Republican party to sweeping victory in November (energy and McCain's performance at Saddleback)."

"One wrong selection as vice president can wipe all that out."

Or are McCain and the RNC/base crazies just pretending to fight so McCain will look especially mavericklicious to swing voters? Politico says he still wants his Kato Kaelin, Joe Lieberman, on the ticket:

John McCain is seriously considering choosing a pro-abortion-rights running mate despite vocal resistance from conservatives, with former Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) very much in the mix, close McCain advisers say.

Multiple GOP sources say that party officials in Washington and in the states have been contacted by the McCain campaign in the past two weeks and asked about the fallout from such a choice.

... GOP sources say McCain and his close friend Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) still haven’t given up hope on making what some believe would be a game-changing decision by tapping Lieberman....

I go with wuss. I think McCain's little entourage (Graham and Lieberman) will be right up on the podium when he names his VP choice, but he'll have named an abortion opponent, like a good little Republican.