From Obama’s perspective, Doyle would make the perfect attorney general. He’s a former U.S. attorney and a longtime Wisconsin attorney general. As a lifelong Democratic hack, Doyle wouldn’t be an "independent" attorney general that could cause President Obama problems. There’s no question Doyle would quit the governorship. His enormous ego would relish the Washington spotlight and the job would be a lot more attractive than presiding over recession-induced budget cuts.

There’s recent precedent for this. President Bush plucked Tommy Thompson out of Wisconsin and put him in the Cabinet. This elevated Scott McCallum to the governorship. Lawton will be the governor under this scenario.

This begs the obvious question: Who is Barbara Lawton????? Well, she happens to be the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. No one knows this because the Doyle team has kept her locked in a broom closet the last five years. Lawton has been given no duties, has taken up no causes and has been sought for no input or advice. The lieutenant governor is a nothing job and Lawton has made the least of it

There’s a good reason Doyle has kept Lawton hidden away. She’s an extremist. As liberal as Doyle is, Lawton makes the governor look like Scott Walker. Her limited public paper trail prior to becoming lieutenant governor shows supports for a radically left agenda with a strong emphasis on collectivism. In short, she’ll try to raise taxes dramatically, give teachers huge pay raises, regulate businesses to death and make the current whopping tax burden look like chump change.

Lawton got her current job by accident. She won a Democratic primary in 2002 when presumed lock Kevin Shibilski angered party activists by daring to side with Republicans on a single state Senate issue. Much more attention was being paid to the primary for the governorship between Doyle, Tom Barrett and Kathleen Falk. Lawton, having bogarted her way into the best job of her life, has agreed to stay out of the spotlight. But if Doyle quits, she runs the state.

While liberals may relish a true believer in the governor’s office, Lawton would actually be a gift to the Republicans. She would likely overplay her hand, cause a backlash and be very vulnerable to a 2010 election opponent. She’d probably even have a Democratic primary. My guess is that Tom Barrett would once again seek the job he really wants.

The last two Wisconsin lieutenant governors to ascend to the top job, Marty Schreiber and McCallum, were both beaten when they sought full terms. In both cases, they got their gigs when the governor was named to the new president’s administration - Thompson going with Bush and Pat Lucey joining Jimmy Carter’s team as ambassador to Mexico. History is likely to repeat itself again.

Here’s how clueless Lawton is to what would be the biggest break of her life. She’s backing Hillary Clinton.

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Conservatives will probably get over their misery about John McCain’s presumptive win in the Republican presidential race and back McCain in the fall general election. In the meantime, non-conservatives continue to be amazed that right-wingers like me so despise McCain. They argue he’s a "conservative" like the rest of us.

I’ll help them out here. McCain voted against the Bush tax cuts, is opposed to oil drilling in Alaska, supports the Kyoto global warming treaty, sponsored the anti-free speech campaign finance "reform," sabotaged attempts to confirm President Bush’s judicial nominees, pushed for amnesty for illegal immigrants, is opposed to mild interrogation tactics like "waterboarding," wants to close Guantanamo, supports racial preferences and hasn’t been a leader on a single issue important to conservatives other than the war in Iraq.

So, no, we don’t consider him one of us. But McCain is trying to reach out to conservatives. His statement Sunday that he won’t raise ANY taxes is his most fiscally conservative comment ever. He is including respected conservatives in his inner circle. He’s still the same guy who’s spent eight years trying to obstruct the conservative agenda and who has relished mocking the right wing, but at least he’s making an effort.

The likeliest scenario is that McCain will be another Bob Dole - a candidate Republicans support without enthusiasm who sleepwalks his way to a big November loss. A lot can happen in the next nine months but it’s hard to imagine what could invigorate either McCain or the demoralized Republican voter base.

(Mark Belling is the host of a daily WISN radio talk show. His column runs Wednesdays in The Freeman.)