Poll: Who should be Mitt Romney’s running mate?
Consider this either a bonus “2012 Tuesday” or an extra “Poll Position” this week: Who should be Mitt Romney’s running mate?
With almost six weeks to go before the Republican National Convention, this feels too early for the “veepstakes” to be winding down and shortened to three serious candidates. But that’s what Reuters reported yesterday, saying Romney’s short list comprises Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio.
That means no Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, Marco Rubio or Paul Ryan — bona fide GOP rock stars who would charge up the base but also draw heavy Democratic fire for various reasons.
Loading ...Here’s a quick pro and con list for each of the three:
JINDAL — Pros: In his second term as governor and has extensive experience for someone so young (he just turned 41); particular knowledge and policy success in the important areas of health care, energy and education reform; strongly identified as a social conservative who could pump up enthusiasm in that part of the Republican base; could attract voters in the fast-growing Asian-American community. Cons: Much-publicized flop in delivering GOP response to President Obama’s 2009 address to Congress is still the No. 1 thing many people know about him; can veer off into the weeds or wonkishness in discussing policy; Louisiana is already a sure thing for Romney in November.
PAWLENTY — Pros: Served two terms as governor; already vetted somewhat by the media due to his own short-lived presidential campaign; personal story appeals strongly to blue-collar workers (credited with coining the phrase “Sam’s Club Republicans”) and critical Midwest swing states; probably the safest pick Romney could make. Cons: His campaign was short-lived in large part because he didn’t connect with GOP voters (we also now know from the way the primary went that he bailed out too soon, before he had a chance to be given the “second look” everyone else got); his record as governor didn’t help Minnesota Republicans build on his electoral success; it’s far from clear Romney could win Minnesota even with him on the ballot.
PORTMAN — Pros: For a first-term senator, he has extensive experience in Washington (12 years in the House, stints as U.S. trade representative and director of Management and Budget) and could be “Mr. Inside” to Romney’s “Mr. Outside”; makes Ohio more winnable for Romney; on a personal note, I dealt with Portman a good bit while he was the U.S. trade representative and always found him one of the more genuinely impressive people in public office. Cons: His experience at USTR and OMB came during the Bush administration and would make it easier for Obama to campaign against George W. Bush (not that he won’t try anyway); just as vanilla as Pawlenty.
Any of the three would be more believable than, say, Joe Biden as someone who could be elevated to the presidency in an emergency. Any of the three strike me as more likely to help Romney’s chances than to hurt them, which is pretty much the whole ballgame. Jindal and Pawlenty strike me as more comfortable than Portman in the “attack dog” role the running mate traditionally fills — although the advent of super PACs and the negative tone we’ve already seen from both sides makes me wonder whether that tradition still holds up very well here in 2012. If picking from this group, and maybe even from the entire veepstakes field, I’m fairly certain I would go with Bobby Jindal.
But what about y’all? What’s your take: Should it be Jindal, Pawlenty, Portman — or someone else? If it’s the latter choice, let us know in the comments thread. In any event, vote in the nearby poll as well.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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285 comments Add your comment
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 18th, 2012
9:29 am
Excuse me, none of these three have any….
Will Create Fake Hawaiian Birth Certificates for Food
July 18th, 2012
9:31 am
“Arguing with liberals is like playing chess with a pigeon; no matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon is just going to knock out the pieces, crap on the board, and strut around like it is victorious.”
- Mitchell Waylett
ByteMe
July 18th, 2012
9:33 am
I’m laughing at the bland choices.
All are designed to make Romney look more dynamic by comparison, not to help him with one set of constituencies or another.
I guess he doesn’t want to make a Palin mistake and get overshadowed.
Either way, doesn’t matter. Romney can’t help himself except by picking someone like Crefalo Dollar… someone who genuinely ties their religion to making money. Brings along the evangelicals AND the big money crowd.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 18th, 2012
9:34 am
“No one is saying Romney did anything illegal concerning his taxes.”
Riiiight, SBinF.
Of course, the tag line “What is Mitt Romney hiding?” doesn’t suggest anything illegal, now does it?
Unless, of course, you’re now admitting that you only want his tax returns to attack him for being rich, which is what I’ve claimed all along.
clyde
July 18th, 2012
9:35 am
It’s a blah campaign,isn’t it?On Romney’s part,that is.Tap LePage from Maine.He’ll at least say something every day to tee someone off.
MrLiberty
July 18th, 2012
9:35 am
Wouldn’t it be prudent for Romney to actually get the nomination first? Given how unliked he seems to be as a candidate, and given that his policies are basically the same as Obama’s (which are basically the same as the failed policies of Bush), one can hope that the GOP delegates in Tampa take their responsibilities seriously and consider nominating someone the GOP can actually get behind and who can actually beat Obama. It will not matter who he nominates. He is too much of a flip-flopping neocon liberal to ever win the presidency.
Jefferson
July 18th, 2012
9:37 am
The deal on Romney’s taxes, my guess he bet against, won and while most folks lost $$$ in 2008,2009 he made more. Appearance, and just the vast quantity of jack.
SBinF
July 18th, 2012
9:39 am
I explained in my post. What is he hiding? Probably hiding the fact that he paid LESS than the 15% effective rate we already know about. Perfectly legal, but pretty crummy for those of us who pay far more to the federal government.
Uh Oh
July 18th, 2012
9:40 am
Kyle
I think it will be somebody who comes to the table with “social conservative” cred unlike Romney who had to change a few of his positions in the last year or so to garner support and become more palatable to that demographic.
I could be 100% incorrect, but Condi being pro choice and I also think for affirmative action doesn’t fit that bill.
With that said, it would be great is she was on the ticket. She would be a formidable opponent for sure.
Jay
July 18th, 2012
9:41 am
Chris Christie would be a good contrast to Mitt. Rob Portman and some of the other vanilla guys would be a Mini-Me Mitts. Mitt actually needs someone who is not a “severe” conservative, youngish and more in step with the times. Horrible Choices: Palin, Santorum, Petraeus. Whoever he chooses, he has my vote.
finn mccool
July 18th, 2012
9:44 am
Tiberius forgets that small ball wins championships
Kyle Wingfield
July 18th, 2012
9:45 am
JDW @ 8:30: Joe Biden is a walking gaffe machine. Is that really the kind of person you think would be well-suited to meet with heads of state and otherwise lead the country? He is not “believable” for the same reason Rick Perry became not “believable” during the primaries.
DannyX
July 18th, 2012
9:45 am
Jackson Hewitt would make a great running mate for Romney. Romney would get the extra bonus of getting his taxes done on time. Bonus? Did someone say bonus?!?!?!?
retiredds
July 18th, 2012
9:45 am
I vote that Tiberius be Romney’s running mate. Ti, are you up for it?
Kyle Wingfield
July 18th, 2012
9:46 am
SBinF @ 8:34: I’d argue if I could.
That said, I’m not sure “exciting” is what this country really needs right now.
SBinF
July 18th, 2012
9:48 am
The country may not need it, but Mitt does. If people aren’t excited about his candidacy, how do you expect him to get folks out to knock on doors for him, and ultimately go to the polls to support him?
Kyle Wingfield
July 18th, 2012
9:48 am
Btw, I find it absolutely hilarious that all the liberals are out in force this morning talking about Romney’s “whining.” The current president has spent the past 42 months whining about how nothing is his fault — and then has the audacity to refer Romney to Truman’s “buck stops here” comment.
Uh Oh
July 18th, 2012
9:48 am
Kyle
Without posting at least 50 quotes, could it not be reasonably said that our last President was a “walking gaffe machine”?
I’m sure that didn’t keep you from voting for him
Thomas Heyward Jr.
July 18th, 2012
9:49 am
Mitt Romney would be a good pick for Ron Paul’s vice president.
.
Along the lines of Joe Biden.
.
Although Ron Paul……..with his constitutional Government…..would not really NEED a Vice president.
.
Go find your own daddy.
Uh Oh
July 18th, 2012
9:50 am
Kyle
All the liberals? Good writer like yourself wouldn’t be into painting with a broad brush, would he?
retiredds
July 18th, 2012
9:50 am
Kyle: right on script … liberals=bad, conservatives=good. Wow, what a revelation.
curious
July 18th, 2012
9:51 am
Anybody able to identify an issue Romney hasn’t changed his position on?
finn mccool
July 18th, 2012
9:51 am
Jamie dimon?
the cat
July 18th, 2012
9:52 am
Um Kyle-you do know Biden has already been meeting heads of state and performing other vice president’s duties, right?
The stupid, it burns.
Kyle Wingfield
July 18th, 2012
9:53 am
jconservative @ 9:13: I tend to agree, although Condi also has two other fatal flaws: 1) Her performance as a leader in the Bush administration has been roundly criticized even on the right; 2) I just had to write “Bush administration.”
If Romney is smart, he won’t pick someone so closely associated with the Bush years. That’s ultimately why I think Portman doesn’t get it. Jindal served in the administration, but at a lower level and very early on (assistant secretary at HHS from 2001-03). He has made his bones mostly at the state level.
I really should have listed lack of ties to Bush among Pawlenty’s pros.
Dirty Dawg
July 18th, 2012
9:56 am
Enter your comments here
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 18th, 2012
9:56 am
retiredds, I’d happily serve in any Romney administration.
I like to surround myself with other successful people.
Thanks for your vote!
DannyX
July 18th, 2012
9:56 am
“Btw, I find it absolutely hilarious that all the liberals are out in force this morning talking about Romney’s “whining.””
In the words of Mitt Romney, “you owe me an apology” for saying such a mean thing.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 18th, 2012
9:59 am
Finn McCool forgets that we’re not talking about a JV basketball game here, but the office of the Presidency.
This President has done more to demean that office that anyone since Richard Nixon.
In a time where big ideas and tough decisions are needed, small-ball is apparently all he’s got.
Kyle Wingfield
July 18th, 2012
9:59 am
Deborah @ 9:23: The education reforms passed in April. The first school year under them hasn’t even started yet. And you want to pass judgment on them now??
Btw, the Times-Picayune — no one’s idea of a right-wing rag — editorialized in favor of Jindal’s reform package, citing the need to do things dramatically different in a state where education has lagged for too long. (Sound familiar?)
MarkV
July 18th, 2012
9:59 am
Rafe Hollister @ 9:28 am: ”I see that Obama tried to clarify his statement on business success yesterday, after two days.MarkV assured me yesterday that it did not need clarification. “
My mistake. I should have said that intelligent people did not need interpretation (I did not say anything about clarification).
DannyX
July 18th, 2012
10:00 am
Kyle at 9:48…”The current president has spent the past 42 months whining about how nothing is his fault…”
Then Kyle @ 9:53…”If Romney is smart, he won’t pick someone so closely associated with the Bush years.”
Lol!
Uh Oh
July 18th, 2012
10:00 am
Danny X
I was think the same thing. Kyle had is paint sprayer out when he posted that comment. Almost like I was listening to Rush or Shultz, and all of the “left” or “right” was getting vilified in some fit of hyperbole and rhetoric
Interested Observer
July 18th, 2012
10:01 am
Actually, I’d argue that Mitt Romney is the walking gaffe machine. His remarks make Joe Biden look constrained. Here are just a few of the bizarre statements that Romney has made (there’s a lot more where these came from):
“If you want a President who will make things better in the African American community, you are looking at him…You take a look.”
“Corporations are people, my friend… of course they are.”
“I like being able to fire people”
“I’ll tell you what, ten-thousand bucks? $10,000 bet?”
“I’m also unemployed.”
“I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in. That’s the America I love.”
“I love this state. The trees are the right height.”
“I’m running for office for Pete’s sake”
Kyle Wingfield
July 18th, 2012
10:02 am
I Report @ 9:27: The only foreign-policy experience Obama had on the ticket was Biden, and he promptly assigned Biden to oversee the Pelosi-Reid porkfest known as the “stimulus.” It would be much more instructive to know who would be secretary of state for Romney — or for Obama, for that matter, given that Hillary has said she’s not serving a second term in the role.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 18th, 2012
10:02 am
Btw, I find it absolutely hilarious that all the liberals are out in force this morning talking about Romney’s “whining.” The current president has spent the past 42 months whining about how nothing is his fault — and then has the audacity to refer Romney to Truman’s “buck stops here” comment.
obozo thinks you’re stupid and insults the intelligence of every American. Apparently some people don’t mind, most likely because the shoe fits them.
SBinF
July 18th, 2012
10:03 am
DannyX, if I had a logic robot, his poor circuits would be fried trying to reconcile those two statements.
lolol
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 18th, 2012
10:03 am
So according the “the cat”, if someone has a “meeting” with someone they’re qualified to perform the duties of that office?
Is this really the threshold we want to set?
Kyle Wingfield
July 18th, 2012
10:03 am
MrLiberty @ 9:35: You are the last person in America who believes the nominee still might be Ron Paul. And that includes everyone in the Paul family.
ByteMe
July 18th, 2012
10:04 am
The first school year under them hasn’t even started yet. And you want to pass judgment on them now??
Actually, yes. If DEMOCRATS created a program transferring billions to their favorite constituency without any oversight and without any standard for success… you’d freak and you know it, because you do that with any government program going to anyone who isn’t a business.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 18th, 2012
10:04 am
Really, look at the numbers, if you are capable. obozo is more heavily invested in “outsourcing” right now then Romney ever was, but yet, what does obozo call him?
He has no respect for your intelligence at all.
Kyle Wingfield
July 18th, 2012
10:06 am
Uh Oh @ 9:48: And I could post about that many quotes of Obama slipping up verbally. There’s a difference between misspeaking and having no filter to keep oneself on message. The latter is Biden’s biggest problem.
Hillbilly D
July 18th, 2012
10:06 am
Does anybody really base their vote on who the VP is?
Thomas Heyward Jr.
July 18th, 2012
10:07 am
“Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, Marco Rubio or Paul Ryan — bona fide GOP rock stars”
.
OMG………….why am I reminded of NickleBack, Creed, and possibly the BeachBoys?
Cheese?
.
sad.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 18th, 2012
10:07 am
Kyle @ 10:03:
Uh Oh
July 18th, 2012
10:08 am
Kyle
When you speak of the stimulus, do not forget to mention all the Republican Congressmen, Senators and Governors who spoke out against it and use it as a “rallying cry”, yet HYPOCRITICALLY had their hands out and took money directly from that stimulus. Sad thing is that many voters who decry the stimulus as an Obama / Democrat issue do not even know or care of the Republicans who fed from the same trough. Some from their very states and districts. Irony and hypocrisy goes great on anything: toast, tomatoes, oatmeal.
Thanks for being “fair and balanced” in your approach.
Uh Oh
July 18th, 2012
10:08 am
Kyle
Nice clarification and semantics.
Bill Oreilly and his spin stops here, would be reluctant to have you on his show
Kyle Wingfield
July 18th, 2012
10:09 am
DannyX @ 10:00: … because the whining would only increase. LOL all you want. You know it’s true.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 18th, 2012
10:11 am
Hillbilly D, I think that some on the fence might go to one side of the other based on a VP choice (independents, maybe?), but that’s about it.
Interested Observer
July 18th, 2012
10:11 am
On the poll question, my fear is that Romney will pick Bobby Jindal for the same reason that John McCain picked Palin. Cynicism. McCain decided that selecting a member of a minority was more important to voters than the policies that affect voters. I hope Romney doesn’t make the same mistake.