So if John McCain has a heart attack before November 2008, is the election given to the Democrats by default?

So if John McCain has a heart attack before November 2008, is the election given to the Democrats by default? McCain is old and looks like he is highly eligible for a heart attack or some other major ailment. I seriously think he could drop dead at any moment because of a heart attack or seizure.... So with that, what happens if he becomes DOA or unable to run? And you know GOP members think about this in the back of their heads too. It's the white elephant in the room that everyone verbally steps around and ignores.

Public Comments

1. Ron Paul is still running for the GOP currently, so he would be up against either Hillary or Obama.
2. No. It would go on with his vice president running as president. Third party candidates could emerge. Power abhors a vacuum.
3. Silly rant
4. The GOP will reach into their bag full of mediocre potential candidates and pick someone at random. It will probably end up being Romney because he will buy himself a few extra pieces of paper in the hat.
5. like i said before, dont be prejudice against age. theres plenty of other reason why not to like mccain. BARACK && ROLL '08!!
6. no. probably whomever he has chosen as his running mate as the VP will step up to the plate and run at the top of the republican ticket.
7. If it's after he picks a VP, the VP probably becomes the new candidate. If it's before, I would guess it goes to whoever has the 2nd most delegates (Huckabee?).
8. no they would have a alternate
9. unlikely! his mother is 93!!!.and running around like a teenager....good genes! ...plus he is lucky as hell!!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzgV5QM5fi8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chuiyXQKw3I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQsckD9trn4&feature=user McCain in 08 baby!
10. the election is already going to be given to the democrats. as soon as we get the democratic nominee, thats going to be our next president.
11. I hope he doesn't have a heart attack. I'm an Obama supporter, but I wouldn't wish death on anyone.
12. If something happens to McCain or whomever the Democrats pick for a nominee (assuming they do finally choose someone) here is what happens: 1) if before the convention, the convention votes and the dead person's delegates (with a few exceptions as some states actually require the delegates to vote for whomever pledged on the first ballot -even if that person is dead!) are free to vote for whomever they choose. 2) If it happens after the candidate has become the nominee, the party of the dead nominee gets to pick a new nominee - the actual choice is made by the national committe of that party. Most likely it would be the chosen VP candidate, but it doesn't have to be. 3) If it happens too close to election for the nominee to be replaced on the ballots, the voting continues as normal. Any electoral votes the dead candidate wins would be -in 99% likelihood -cast for the VP nominee (who would probably quickly announce his or her VP nominee to avoid confusion) Nobody would win by default.
13. OR, Obama or Hillary could be hit by a car while walking, or choke on food, etc....Anything could happen but if he did die, then the second runner up( Huckabee) would prob get the nod from the GOP!
14. Please read the Constitution. Or if you are a Democrat, you may have to ask a Republican to explain to to you. Any candidate can die or be incapacitated between being nominated and election day and there is no reason to believe that this this is any more likely to happen to McCain than to Obama or Clinton. In the November election, voters select the members of the Electoral College who represent them. Normally, to make it easier for voters, the party standard bearers' names are printed on the ballots. If there is time to make ballot changes, that can be done. If not, the winning slate of electors could vote for whoever the party would chose to replace the candidate who died. Obviously, this would be an extraordinary situation. Let's pray that it does not happen. The WORST thing about your QUESTION however is that you have allowed yourself to become part of an organized and vicious SMEAR CAMPAIGN of the DEMOCRATIC PARTY. More than $40 million has been pledged to defeat McCain by one 527 alone and the first effort is an advertising blitz to persuade voters that he is old and sick. This is foolish. It has nothing to do with the issues and is nothing but a cheap ad hominem attack. Obama says he wants to run a new kind of campaign and change the way politics is played. Yet his major supporters are funding and running this on the side and he [wink wink] doesn't know anything about it. Obama and his supporters are the worst kind of hypocrites if they say one thing and then post SMEARS like this. Obama will not "win by default" and he won't win with this kind of negative politics of hate and personal destruction..