If Not Romney, Who?
Last week, I pretty much wrote off the idea that John McCain will offer his running-mate slot to Mitt Romney. I probably shouldn't have. (Talk about a flip-flop ...)
My reason for dismissing Romney was simple: The political style he exhibited in his own presidential campaign -- abandoning just about all previously held principles in an effort to hew to every conservative interest group's issues checklist -- fundamentally violated McCain's sense of propriety and honor. This went far beyond, in my estimation, the usual hurt feelings and sour grapes that campaigns produce. So why, I asked, with all the options that he has, would McCain actually give Romney his No. 2 slot -- and the giant leg-up for the 2012 or 2016 presidential election that comes with it?
But the Romney-for-VP buzz is beginning to feel as inevitable as the John Edwards buzz was four years ago.
I think there are two main reasons for this. One is simple politics: McCain just doesn't have that many high-quality options here. Tim Pawlenty brings little. Mark Sanford is starting to look like a better candidate for Miss South Carolina. Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin are too junior. And Carly Fiorina, once an intriguing dark-horse prospect, talked herself out of contention last week. Next to them -- and other supposed contenders, like Tom Ridge and Rob Portman -- Romney brings a lot more to the table: Outstanding communication skills, the appearance of youth and vigor, extensive business experience, access to big money, and a chance to boost the G.O.P. ticket in Michigan.
The second factor is Romney's personal touch. Despite all of his helpful political attributes, I reasoned that McCain would pass on Romney because his old foe still made his skin crawl -- and that their public reconciliation was an act of political convenience (Romney just wants to be V.P. and McCain just wants peace in the party). There is clearly something to that -- Romney obviously wants the No. 2 slot to position himself for a future White House campaign) -- but there's also something else: Romney, for all of his public phoniness, has a winning personal touch behind the scenes. In this sense, he's a lot like George H. W. Bush, who managed to wage one of the ugliest presidential campaigns in history while retaining his reputation as one of the most decent people in politics. I can see how Romney, since making it his goal to ingratiate himself with McCain, might have won his former opponent over on a personal level, to the point where McCain would be comfortable offering him the VP slot. Especially considering how few options he has.
Maybe it won't happen. I still believe that his best (if riskiest) choice would be Joe Lieberman, from a political standpoint. But that's a real long shot. Romney is looking better by the day, if only because the other options look so much worse.
- Poll
- Obama (D)
- McCain(R)
- Spread
- RCP Average
- 49.7
- 43.3
- Obama +6.4
- Candidate
- Favorable
- Unfavorable
- Spread
- Obama
- 56.0
- 35.8
- +20.2
- McCain
- 51.8
- 40.2
- +11.6
Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Kerry's Regrets About John Edwards
By Bob Shrum
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1626498,00.html
Please tell us that this won't happen. The man is an embarassment to the GOP, a flip-flopper and has earned the name Mittler in Massachusetts.
Sarah Palin "too junior"???!!!???
Get real.
Course it's gonna be Sarah Palin as McCain's Veep -- where have you been??? (and she's not too junior -- you apparently are not fully aware of her accomplishments).
Mittler? Considering so many liberals try to associate anyone they oppose with Hitler, no matter how ridiculously baseless the comparison, I don't consider that a big deal or a real knock against the guy. He certainly hasn't flip-flopped any more than Obama or McCain have since they secured their respective nominations.
Advice to John McCain (who may be a relative on my maternal ancestry): Stop Ali Baba (as a friend of mine calls the hyphenated-magic-black-muslim) by selecting Hillary Clinton as your VP. Think about it. It would work. You heard it here first.
Hillary probably hates Obama enough to do it, and it would position her in 2016 or 20. She should be able to get enough votes to put McCain over the top.
Of course, that would mean we would have to put up with Bill some more.
As a proud union member I have never voted for a republican in my life. But no more, I cannot pull the lever for
Barack Hussein Obama. I'd vote for a McCain-Romney ticket!
Romney is a great choice! He knows how to make government work and can make the most credible run for President in 2012 or 2016. This choice will have a positive ripple effect long into the future.
I am not a citizen but the guy that impresses me when he appears on TV is Michael Steele. At least having Mike Tyson campaigning for his former brother-in-law would bring a little pizzazz to the campaign.
This article is kind of stupid... liberal slant like I'm used to from anything out of New York. Lots of the comments are pretty ridiculous as well.
Obama has flip-flopped on most of his extreme left positions now that he won the nomination, so the flip-flopper argument against Mitt is DOA.
Mitt will run circles around Obama because he's smarter and more experienced than him and actually has a plan.
Romney is the slickest politician I have ever seen . . . and the republican party desperately needs that.
I can not believe the level of racism/stupidity which continues in our city and great country, by reading some of these comments. If you do don't like someone for what they stand for or don't, for that matter. I could respect that. But not to vote for someone because his parents wanted to give him some funny name (which he had no control over as an infant) is CRAZY.... My point is, don't vote if you don't like someone way of thinking, not because of his/her name or what you may think his religion may or may not be. We are not voting in our church pastor. We are voting for the leader of the whole country, which includes all whites, blacks, latinos, the rich, the poor, the good looking, the ugly, the smart, the stupid and everyone in between. Lets think clearly and thoughtfully about our choices for the next president. (let's stick to the issues ) Our future depends on it..
Everyone known except for Romney are chicken feed. Jindal and Palin are junior varsity stars and will be much more prominent in coming years, but not right now.
McCain-Romney is a great and well-rounded ticket. You get McCain's foreign policy gravitas with Romney developing the economic and domestic policies.
And for those who continue to beat the drum that Romney's a flip flopper, you need to be informed of what a flip flop is and that is a flip flop is from A to B and back to A, while going from pro-choice to pro-life is a reversal, or a change, which winning converts is what the whole point is in the first place and if someone never changes his or her opinion, that person is either unintelligent or stubborn and likely both.
You can't vote for Obama (who isn't a Muslim by the way, but knowing facts like that requires learning how to read, I guess) but you can vote for a Mormon. Great. Maybe it's time for the Party to stop pretending it stands for anything resembling Christian values.
All hail the great Mammon!
Enough with the Mormon crap already. After watching an episode of "The History Detectives" recently, I suddenly realize why so many are afraid of Mormons! Generations of fear-mongering! There were quite literally thousands of "dime novels" written from 1850 to 1950 to scare the hell out of any impressionable young women who may have wanted to join that church or, heaven forbid, marry a mormon! These books went way over the top, calling every Mormon evil and polygamous, which was never the case. (I read somewhere that less than 1% of Mormons EVER practiced polygamy. It was all stopped 118 years ago! The Texas group and others in the news who do practice polygamy are NOT the same people. Anyone who doesn't know that is too stupid to vote anyway.)
The woman wanted the History Detectives to find out if the author of her book was real, and if she "survived" her ordeal with mormons and was able to "escape". LOL. Even AFTER the show's producer was able to show her the book was a complete work of fiction, perhaps written by a pastor whose very livelihood was threatened by the church (Mormons don't pay their clergy) this woman STILL BELIEVED THE NOVEL WAS TRUE! Generations of people have been handed down anti-mormon garbage that is just as bad as all the anti-gay, anti-black, anti-women, anti-anything! If they are not familiar to us, they are bad, scary, dangerous, etc. Get over yourselves and your prejudices.
I care about our nation. Our economy is on the verge of ruin. I see most of my neighbors losing jobs, homes; property held for years being sold to pay for gas to get to work. It's not right. My family is buying all generic brands now, and I hate it! I hate having to pinch pennies and feel poor. I think Romney can fix it. I think he may be the only man with a plan. Some things are more important to me than where a man spends his Sunday's.
to melancholy Korean 'bout time you read up on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They teach more christian values than most "Christian Churchs"... Take your own advice, and get informed, and stop pretending you know what the facts really are.
Wilson - what I am really tired of is people like you who say that if someone doesn't want to vote for Obama there is a racist tinge to it. Not voting for someone because of their name (the one their parents gave them) is not racist. And stop saying it is.
I will probably vote for Obama, but I will have to hold my nose when I do it. I actually don't like the guy - his arrogance, his condescension, his lack of any track record and his complete inability to show us any example of ever having in his history stood up for anything other than himself. Are those enough reasons not to vote for him or am I a racist because of thsoe comments?
It is not everyone else who injects race into this contest - it is Obama, his surrogates and his supporters. It is the main reason he is having problems with the white working class Regan Democrats. We are tire of being called racist because we don't give him our full throated support and swoon when he walks by or speaks.
But again, I will probably vote for him for one reason - the Supreme Court. In the end, that is all that matters. Iraq, the economy and all those other issues take a back seat to making sure the court stays idealogically balanced - if not downright liberal.
But I have the luxury of living in a state where Obama would not miss my vote. SO I really can vote for the person who I think will make the better President. I am just not sure who that is yet.
The problem with your assumptions is that you, along with everyone else, completely ignores the candidate who grabbed the second-most delegates in the primary, namely, Mike Huckabee. If you took the time to look at the latest Zogby Reuters poll, you will note that Mike, right up there with Mitt, gives McCain a +14 net push among each of likely voters, republicans and independents. Just because the Wall Street gang and the greedy fiscal cons are attempting to ignore Gov Huckabee, most Americans aren't.
It is really sad that people who know nothing about the LDS church, try to tell everyone --what that church believes. Romney has not flipped or flopped on things that really matter. He never believed in gay marriage or abortion. He is probably the most intelligent man in the bunch of those running. He would bring excitment to an otherwise lackless
GOP campaign. M and M for the country. A best bet
I agree that Romney has the "inevitable John Edwards" ring to it. And, as with Kerry, Edwards was not really his first or true choice. But the democratic establishment (similar to the republican establishment today) kept pushing and proding until Kerry gave in. And, similarly, the Romney VP selection will end up proving to be just as useless and futile as Kerry's forced selection of Edwards.
I have made several comments on these Post a Comment from the article written. I keep saying the same thing. What I read and hear determines my vote for a president. Not his personal life, (unless its really bad), but does he love our country. Will he do everything he can to keep our freedoms. Will he help our people keeps jobs, so we can support our families. Mitt has all those qualities. McCain at least help fight for our country during a war. I think he is better knowledgable about what our country needs. Hes been in politics longer than Obama. I don't feel I can trust Obama. He has been raised with a different belief than what Americans believe. We need someone that has been raised an American, fought for America, A true blue American. Obama will sell us out, if wer're not already. McCain/Romney is the right choice. They will make a great team!
MC-CAIN EARNS THE ROMNEY SHAFT
Reagan Conservative Romney was Romney “pig”, in the primaries, by the leading Podhoretz Neo-Conservative McCain; but now that Obama is winning, Neo-Con McCain is on his knees, and Romney seeks Romney for his best friend and VP? Shall Romney give him the shaft, for God and Country, or shall he dishonor himself?
MC-CAIN EARNS THE ROMNEY SHAFT
Reagan Conservative Romney was referred to as “pig”, in the primaries, by the leading Podhoretz Neo-Conservative McCain; but now that Obama is winning, Neo-Con McCain is on his knees, and desperately seeks Romney for his best friend and VP? Shall Romney give him the shaft, for God and Country, or shall he dishonor himself?
KnSD,
Maybe racist was the wrong word.... But stupidity is not.. I agree with you I will have to hold my nose as I vote for him as well. I would like just folks to think about the issues and not someone's funny name or what God they prey to. We should focus on how they are going to help this great country, regain its place in the world, and get us back to fiscal health, among some of the many issues that face us today.
Hey guys, I bring a new slant to this discussion. I often vote Democratic. This year I caucussed as a Republican for Mitt Romney. I thought he would have been a great presidential nominee. I've lost two jobs in two years to Bill Clinton's NAFTA. Romney had some great ideas on how to fix it, and nobody listened because they were too worried about his religion.
Even if McCain picked Romney as VP I'm not sure I can stomach McCain. I really think he'll get us into another war. Think Iran. Am I wrong? I can just picture John loosing his cool with Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and starting world war three. Thoughts anyone?
I have had a hard time warming up to McCain as the nominee; however, if he puts Romney on the ticket, I will send his campaign $$$.
Enough said.
For the Huckabee whiner, unfortunately for you, those who like Mike have no $$$$.
Enough said.
(Actually, I could say more on that subject, but alas, I won't)