It is a given that the Romney campaign knows it must not repeat the mistakes made by John McCain’s staff during his failed effort to head off a Barack Obama presidency. Of course, at the top of the list of McCain’s blunders was his choice of a largely unvetted vice presidential candidate who proved to be unready for the scrutiny of the liberal mainstream press. Thus, according to Politico, Romney advisers are determined that their man will choose someone who will be the polar opposite of Sarah Palin. But if, as Politico claims, they are really convinced the ideal Romney running mate will be “an incredibly boring white guy,” they will be doing him a disservice. Like generals obsessed with winning the last war rather than the one they are currently fighting, the GOP standard bearer’s staff may be learning the wrong lessons from 2008.
For those picking a vice president, a desire to “do no harm” is probably as apt a guiding principle for politics as it is for medicine. But the idea that the Republicans are best served by a vice presidential candidate who will neither provoke controversy nor give the Democrats anything to criticize is equally as wrongheaded as McCain’s desperate attempt to catch lightening in a bottle with Palin. It’s one thing to try and avoid a flashy clunker. To deliberately seek a dud who provides no excitement or buzz is to ask for a completely different kind of trouble. Even more to the point, the Politico story makes it appear as if some people in the Romney campaign are leaking this information in an attempt to head off the possibility that one of a few brilliant but possibly controversial veep candidates is squelched before the vetting process is even completed.
If Romney wants boring, then some on his putative short list are definitely out. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is a lot of things but boring isn’t one of them. He would attract a lot of attention and the press would dote on his every word during the campaign. Marco Rubio is also not boring. Having him on the ticket would also be interpreted as an appeal to the Hispanic vote much in the way Palin was seen as a token woman. Also not boring is Rep. Paul Ryan, the party’s ideas maven on entitlement reform. According to the logic of the Politico piece, he’s out because he would be a lightening rod for Democratic attacks.
That leaves Romney to choose between the likes of Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, former Minnesota governor and erstwhile Romney rival turned campaign surrogate Tim Pawlenty, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and Ohio Senator Rob Portman. All are sound individuals and none could be accused of generating much excitement. Indeed, Pawlenty, who flopped on the presidential campaign trail, and Daniels, who stayed out of the presidential race in order to avoid media attacks on his family, pretty much define the word boring.
But none, not even these men, are without drawbacks. In particular, Portman’s presence on the ticket will allow President Obama to continue running against George W. Bush because he worked in his administration. But if this story was leaked in order to boost his chances or that of any other boring contender, I doubt it will work.
Instead of worrying about avoiding another Palin, what Romney needs to do is to find someone whom he finds compatible and thinks is a plausible president who would help him govern. And if that person has some political or personal appeal that might excite the voters, that should not be considered a drawback.
The circumstances of 2008 are radically different from those of 2012. Romney is not running against a historic challenger who seeks to succeed a two-term Republican incumbent. In Palin’s defense, it should be noted that it isn’t likely any other running mate would have made any difference to McCain’s chances. Nor should her presence be considered purely negative. She did excite the GOP base, though the former Alaska governor probably chased as many independents away from the Republicans as the number of conservatives she attracted.
Romney is running even with Obama, not way behind and looking for a Hail Mary pass to even the score. That should inspire some caution on Romney’s part, but it shouldn’t mean he ought not to consider men like Christie and especially Ryan, with whom he is said to have some affinity. The plan ought to be to avoid a mistake-prone person who doesn’t have the background to be a potential president, not an exciting personality who might help Romney get elected.
The choice that would bring swing voters to Romney is Giuliani. nDemocratic voters who are troubled by Obama's softness towards Iran and other such foreign policy issues will be turned off by somebody like Christie who has made destructive decisions in order to prevent taxes from ever rising by as much as a penny.
> She did excite the GOP base, though the former Alaska governor probably chased as many n> independents away from the Republicans as the number of conservatives she attracted. n n nSounds about OK to me. Before Palin, McCain's hold on states such as Alaska and Montana seemed surprisingly shaky. In the end, McCain fared well in the Deep South and rural Appalachia even compared to the 2004 GW Bush campaign. Conservative turnout was good thanks to Palin(!), while independents voted for Obama. n— nBTW, a decent case could be made for Bobby Jindal … fits the "boring, competent, social conservative governor from the Heartland" mold but he has an interesting background. n
The truth is that the introduction of Sarah Palin is the one bright spot in the otherwise inept campaign of Sen. McCain. The article quoted Steve Schmidt, who, along with Nicole Wallace seemed to do everything in their power to sabotage Palin, if not the McCain campaign. So for one thing, in order to be successful needs to stay away from Schmidt and Wallace. That alone would enhance his chances tremendously.
Above all Governor Romney must not choose someone as incredibly knuckleheaded as Vice President Biden, who makes a pitcher of warm spit seem deep.
Romney is not “running even” with Obama. He is ahead in the last two Rasmussen tracking polls — likely voter polls — by +7 and +8 respectively.
It is far from clear that the selection of Palin was a "blunder." She was not so much unready as mishandled by Schmidt, Wallace, et al., who have spent the time since trying to disclaim responsibility. Even so she had pulled the ticket up to parity in the polls, and but for McCain's weird response to the Lehman bankruptcy she may have dragged his sorry self across the finish line in November. None of this has much relevance for 2012, but let's not delude ourselves about 2008.
Tobin fell for a phony non-story issued by Politico, a leftist site in Obama's pocket. No one in Romney's campaign would use the term ''boring white guy,'' it's right out of left-wing Democrats' lexicon. n Commentary's political coverage has been horrendous since last year as they puffed up a whole series of irrelevant right-wingers (Paul, Perry, Santorum, Gingrich) while never missing a chance to demean Gov. Romney, who obviously was the inevitable nominee all along.
g_jochnowitz says:
May 14, 2012 at 3:09 pm
^The choice that would bring swing voters to Romney is Giuliani. nDemocratic voters who are troubled by Obama’s softness towards Iran and other such foreign policy issues will be turned off by somebody like Christie who has made destructive decisions in order to prevent taxes from ever rising by as much as a penny. ^
I think Mr. Christie and the rest of the names mentioned above are just too new on the scene. Obama was too new on the scene. We all know Rudy. I like him. He has conviction, guts and a track record to be proud of.
The others, as gifted as I am sure they are, need more experience/exposure and America needs more time to find out who they are and what their proven track records are for a serious US Presidential ticket.
Rudy Giuliani is a fine orator who can illicit goosebumps. Rudy’s speech at The Convention for McCain was a high point for McCain. That is what Romney needs, someone who would command respect and trust. If Rudy would rum with Romney, that endorsement has meaning. Wheas the others may be seen as just simply willing to take the vp slot with any republican, like Palin,who has a great job on tv now, real big box office hit, they can’t lose, even if Romney does. I do not think Rudy would be into that. He would be enthusiastic for Romney,or he would turn the offer down.
In a Biden vs Giuliani debate…Biden is stale milktoast.