The Bucket List
It looks possible McCain will choose Romney as his Veep. I wonder if it's a good idea.
Veep picks rarely matter--the most horrendous choice of the past fifty years didn't prevent H. W. from winning the election. But I don't see what Romney adds. McCain won't win Massachusetts and he's already got Utah.
Plus Romney's got a problem. America can handle a black President, or a female President, but polls show there's still plenty of prejudice against Mormons. Does McCain want a guy with this baggage?
PS I've got the perfect choice for McCain. He's always willing to go across the aisle. So offer the slot to whichever one doesn't get the nod--Hillary or Barack.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:49 AM
4 Comments:
I think this is about 2012.
Nixon seemed dead in 1962, and became the nominee in 1968. How did he do it? There were several steps, but the most valuable was that he campaigned hard for Goldwater in 1964 (after Goldwater got the nomination). With the Republican "establishment" fleeing from Goldwater, Nixon looked like a loyalist, and almost perhaps a conservative if you squinted. And then a grateful (but absurdly premature) Goldwater endorsed Nixon for 1968 in January 1965.
Even those Republicans who don't love McCain would respect Romney if he campaigned like crazy for McCain from now to November.
Moreover, after Iowa and New Hampshire, Romney recast himself as the True Conservative In This Race -- and for reasons I fail to comprehend, the right-wing pundits treated him as such.
If McCain loses after Romney campaigns hard for him, Romney will emerge with his (alleged) conservative credentials, the respect of the base, and even the respect of some of the McCain Independents.
Given the GOP's habit of nominating those who have "paid there dues", I would put my money on Romney getting the nomination in 2012 if he plays it that way. And I think the number who absolutely would never vote for a Mormon is not as large as it seems. (A wooden and slightly creepy Romney is not the best test case for this!)
And -- although I feel faint even typing the following words -- I think that President Obama will be so unpopular by then, that Romney will win in a landslide.
Heck, even this guy might vote for him (he'll be in law school by then).
The Romney zombie candidacy continues twitching.
I find hard to believe that McCain would so clearly shoot himself in the foot as he would if he chose Romney. Romney spent far more money than anyone else and spent it earlier in an effort to get to know the voters, and the more they knew him, the less they liked him and his support dwindled.
Not having a good sense of the times, he changed his shtick from a moderate "get things done" businessman (which propelled him to victory in MA in 2002) to a phony-sounding movement conservative. The conservatives never trusted him as a flip-flopper and his new positions reviled his previous cross-over support.
If he were the nominee, his record in Massachusetts would need to go under the microscope- no accomplishments other than a largely democratic health care program (Mitt bridged the gap between warring liberal factions)& eventually wringing control of the Big Dig away from the (Republican) Turnpike Authority but that took a death. When he cam into office, Republicans were about 9.5% of the Mass legislature and through his efforts, that small number was reduced even further (to 8%) by the time he left. His lieutenant governor and hand-picked successor, using his media team to run Romney-type attack ads was crushed by Deval Patrick- the Obama avatar in the gubernatorial race.
Romney's big victory in Michigan came from abandoning both his conservative and business principles in a pledge to "fight for every job." Of course, his business acumen is now subject to question since he blew $40 million plus for nothing on his candidacy (would you let this guy invest your money?)
McCain appeals to the same post-partisan appeal as Obama but from the other side of the spectrum. Romney as a running mate gives him nothing except maybe access to a pile of cash. A better role for Mitt, given his still strong reputation as a knowledgeable crisis manager (Olympics, Big Dig, Bain turnaround deals) would be to announce that Romney would serve as the Security of Treasury/Economy Czar--or somehow be in charge of "Fixing Wall Street"- This would play well to Romney's strength (and keep him out of social/religious issues) and shore up McCain's admitted weakness/lack of interest in economic matters.
I too do not see a Romney VP call. The only thing it would do is win over the Radio talk show hosts. For pure political draw, Huckabee is probably the best bet to try and energize the evangelicals. Plus he is pretty a pretty good debater and speaker.
I wonder whether McCain won't try to pick another "Maverick." If they weren't so old, I'd say Lieberman or Zell would have a shot, as "maverick" Democrats. But maybe there is a young, conservative Democrat out there of whom I am not aware.
If he pciks a Republican other than Huckabee, I think it will be a solid, young conservative from the South. The new Governor of Louisiana (Jindal) might make for a very interesting pick, as he is of Indian ancestry, and by all accounts has done wonders cleaning up the cesspool that is Louisiana politics.
Huckabee? I can't imagine a worse choice. Anybody but him. Okay, pick a conservative if you're worried about the base (though I still think at this point McCain would be more worried about swing states), but now that the Republicans have a great chance to appeal to independents, don't scare them away.
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