Posted on 05/22/2008 3:31:50 PM PDT by theseventen
(NOTE: This is a repost of an article that was recently posted here by another forum member. I had it pulled for copyright infringement. I am the true author of the article [I wrote it on my political blog] and am reposting it here because it seems there are many people who are interested in discussing this. Please do not steal other people's intellectual property.)
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Ever since John McCain effectively clinched the Republican nomination back in February, he has had trouble staying in the headlines and getting media attention. After all, the chess match between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has become quite a political spectacle. However, McCain recently grabbed headlines by revealing that he was meeting with Mitt Romney, Bobby Jindal, and Charlie Crist at his home in Arizona. These three names are significant because they are all plausible vice presidential nominees. Thus, this meeting is seen by pundits as the first major step of the vetting process to determine McCain's vice president.
I wrote earlier that Florida Governor Charlie Crist was well positioned to be McCain's running mate. He's a good-looking popular governor of a critical state that could offset McCain's age. He also has little baggage and has no ties to the unpopular Bush administration. This would make charges of "George Bush's third term" a bit harder to make. However, George Bush carried Florida in both 2000 and 2004 and is trending Republican, so a Crist selection would be more of a defensive pick. It wouldn't add much to the electoral map, but it would take the state out of play for the Democrats.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's inclusion as a possible running mate is a bit of a surprise because he has the same weaknesses that Republicans have criticized Barack Obama for. He served as a congressman for three years before being elected governor in 2007. He assumed office this January, thus giving him about five months of executive experience. Obama has served as a state senator for eight years and a senator in Washington since January 2005. Obama, who has been mocked as "Obambi" because of his age and relative inexperience, is 46. Jindal, however, is only 36. So this would take Obama's youth off the table as a political weapon. One advantage of a Jindal selection, however, is that it could help inoculate Republicans from charges that they are insensitive to people of color, especially if Obama is their opponent, because Jindal is of Indian ancestry.
Meanwhile, Mitt Romney is slowly rehabilitating his standing among Republicans. He had a tough time in the race for the Republican nomination and didn't really begin to catch fire among conservatives until it was too late. Given the Republicans' winner-take-all primary system, narrowly losing Florida was the straw that broke his campaign.
Despite his obvious political ambitions, I originally argued that Mitt Romney had nowhere to go because there were other more credible conservative alternatives out there and Romney's conservatism only looked appealing in comparison to his Republican opponents, all of whom had a serious flaw.
But three issues are working in Romney's favor:
1. Voters are increasingly pessimistic about the economy. McCain himself volunteered that he doesn't know much about economics. That remark is coming back to haunt McCain, so he desperately needs to burnish his economic credentials to regain his credibility. Mitt Romney has a good track record of turning businesses around and is well regarded by the business wing of the Republican Party. Democrats will have a difficult time attacking Romney over his economic competence because he obviously understands Wall Street. Railing against "tax cuts for the rich" probably won't get them very far.
2. The chaos engulfing the Democratic Party over Michigan and Florida is threatening to put both states out of reach by tamping down enthusiasm among the Democratic voters there. John McCain was already strong in Michigan (he won its primary in 2000 and narrowly placed second this year), but adding favorite son Mitt Romney (the winner of this year's primary) to the ticket could turn it into a prime pick-up opportunity for the Republicans. And because the Michigan economy is tanking right now under Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm, voters there might respond favorably to Romney's economic message. The word "change" may also backfire on Democrats there for this very reason. Any message of "change" could be viewed as a "change" from Granholm's stewardship. If a McCain-Romney ticket can peel away Michigan, it would force the Democrats to defend Pennsylvania and pick off Ohio.
3. McCain is still regarded as the underdog against both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. If McCain loses the election, Romney would be poised to assume the mantle of party leader and Republican frontrunner in 2012. And by being loyal to this year's standard bearer, he is burnishing his credentials as a reliable Republican who will do whatever it takes to see that Republicans get elected. Campaigning as McCain's veep would also give Romney the opportunity to show voters his softer side, thus helping him overcome the perception of him as emotionless and sterile. So really, even by losing the nomination, Romney can still win. It's as if Mitt Romney is to John McCain in 2008 as Ronald Reagan was to Gerald Ford in 1976.
Obviously, it is still early. It is not urgent that McCain choose his running mate right away, especially since Obama and Clinton are still fighting and the summer lull is coming. And the controversies surrounding Jeremiah Wright and John Hagee may reignite suspicions about Romney's faith, especially in light of the raid on the polygamous FLDS sect in Texas. All in all, however, Romney's stock value appears to be rising. Romney is not the consummate Republican, but McCain could certainly do worse.
I would take Romney over Crist any day! Charlie Crist as VP would be a big mistake!
Romney is OK. Would add needed class to the ticket and
he is handsome enough for the ladies....knows how to
handle finances and is articulate...John McK...could
do a lot worse..especially a certain BS southerner who
has an ego problem. JK
I like Jindal.
I would be OK with Romney.
If he picks the Florida faggot, he loses my vote.
God help us....
It will be a interesting debate between Romney and Webb.
Romney’s better than Crist, but that’s not saying much for Romney. McCain better pick a VP of Reagan caliber (or better). I might vote for a really good VP, but not for McStain. I know. I know. I’m just one conservative, but I have a feeling I’m not alone. McCain’s going to need to pull quite a few Hillary supporters to win without us (which I suspect he intends to try). Seriously, I haven’t missed a presidential election in nearly three decades, to include absentee ballots while overseas, but I only plan to vote down ballot. Now it’s MY turn to play maverick, John!
I suppose a CINO trumps a RINO. Doesn't make me more likely to vote for McCain and I'm certainly not donating or working for him as I have done others.
he is handsome enough for the ladies.
Joke? Woman at least Republican women are not that stupid.
The author sees it exactly as I do. Very good article.
I’m just watching and waiting. If McCain doesn’t pick a pro- life conservative then, not that he cares, but he won’t get my vote.
I agree that Romney is the obvious pick. He’s proven that he can get votes and raise money. He had a great campaign team in the primaries and finished second to McCain in votes. He has been described as one of the top five best businessmen in the United States; I’ve seen him described as “brilliant.” McCain needs this. Romney has also shown he can hold his own in a debate. He won most of the Republican debates according to focus groups and commentators who weren’t in the tank for Huckabee.
Add to this, he has not only an MBA with honors from Harvard but also a J.D. The guy has some serious smarts. He delivered some terrific speeches during the primaries—his concession speech and his speech on religion in America were wonderful. He has no baggage and has a beautiful family that are an asset in a political campaign. No other Republican has this combination of qualifications—certainly not some obscure governor from Minnesota or the affirmative action pick from Louisiana that Fred Barnes has been pushing. If Romney were the V.P. choice, voters, I think, would have no problem voting for the aged John McCain. Romney clearly could take over if necessary. The choice of Romney is obvious.
I agree that Romney is the obvious pick. He’s proven that he can get votes and raise money. He had a great campaign team in the primaries and finished second to McCain in votes. He has been described as one of the top five best businessmen in the United States; I’ve seen him described as “brilliant.” McCain needs this. Romney has also shown he can hold his own in a debate. He won most of the Republican debates according to focus groups and commentators who weren’t in the tank for Huckabee.
Add to this, he has not only an MBA with honors from Harvard but also a J.D. The guy has some serious smarts. He delivered some terrific speeches during the primaries—his concession speech and his speech on religion in America were wonderful. He has no baggage and has a beautiful family that are an asset in a political campaign. No other Republican has this combination of qualifications—certainly not some obscure governor from Minnesota or the affirmative action pick from Louisiana that Fred Barnes has been pushing. If Romney were the V.P. choice, voters, I think, would have no problem voting for the aged John McCain. Romney clearly could take over if necessary. The choice of Romney is obvious.
Romney or Pawlenty will be fine with me. Jindal is too green. Crist is too liberal.
Thanks for posting your article here.
Lots of reasons NOT to vote for Romney:
1. Massachusetts Meltdown - Romneycare has failed to live up
to Mitt’s smoke and is wildly out of control and busting the
bank. If he’s such a great business guy, why did he abandon
the free market and embrace socialism?
2. Social liberal
3. Flopper on every major issue of importance.
4. Belongs to a fringe religious group, which is
held in disdain by a wide range of Americans, +20% of
who repeatedly say in polls they will not vote for a candidate
of that religion. The idea is to attract voters.
Let him be in the cabinet, reinventing government.
If he picks Huck or Crist I'll puke, and then go golfing on election day. I may never vote again.
Being Governor of Mass is like jumping into the drivers seat of a truck going down hill that lost its breaks. The best you can do is steer it into a ditch and hope no one gets killed.
“Governor of Mass.... they started the Big Dig before he was elected. Billions wasted. The Judges instituted gay Marriage.”
Romney’s Big Dig is RomneyCare. Billions wasted. No end in
sight.
Romney’s judge problem was creating RomneyAffirm to make
sure women and minorities were appointed - WITHOUT REGARD
TO POLITICAL AFFILIATION.
“The best you can do is steer it into a ditch and hope no one gets killed.”
I seem to remember that a couple did get killed, thanks
to one of his judges...
“If he picks Huck or Crist I’ll puke, and then go golfing on election day. I may never vote again.”
My thoughts exactly. And I don’t even golf.
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