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But I agree the pick is not going to be someone with presidential ambitions.
And:
John Tyler in 1836 (there were two Whig tickets in 1836, and both lost -- the White-Tyler ticket came in third, carrying only two states). In 1841, John Tyler would become the first Vice President to ascend to the Presidency upon the death of President William Henry Harrison.
Rubio would be stupid to take it. The Republican Party doesn't have a good history of young up and coming VP's doing well out of the job.
Portman definitely seems like a solid candidate. I don't know enough people in the party to know who else might be good. Romney doesn't need to appeal to his base. They largely listen to right wine nutjob radio and there'll be a load of money to be spent by SPACs to get them up and going.
Rice reeks of Bush. It would be a mistake. She might be an option further down the road, but she's not married and I don't think she has any experience fund raising.
Portman was director of OMB during GWB so he's a Bush family yes man. He's also very good at raising money which is good for Romney, but to me means he's easy to buy.
How long will it take for the GOP to come up with candidates who have no connections to the Bush family?
Last edited by EDnurse; 04-21-2012 at 10:43 AM..
Reason: typo.
I agree, I am not overly concerned with the VP slot, because I don't think most people vote on that. I only mentioned the hispanic vote because those who are pushing for Rubio keep mentioning that as their reason. I don't think it will help much. Most Mexican Americans and Puerto Rican Americans vote Democrat. I really think putting Jeb Bush on the ticket would pull more hispanic votes than Rubio would.
Rubio has said for three days in a row just this week that he will not accept the VP offer if it is made. I say take him at his word and don't offer.
I agree, I know they all say: no, I would not take it and 1/2 of them would jump if offered, but I am a believer of "take them at their word" If they really have no interest or think the time is not right for them, let it be. Of course I like Chris Christie as well, he has said, no, so let see where we go from here?
Portman was director of OMB during GWB so he's a Bush family yes man. He's also very good at raising money which is good for Romney, but to me means he's easy to buy.
How long will it take for the GOP to come up with candidates who have no connections to the Bush family?
I agree, I am not overly concerned with the VP slot, because I don't think most people vote on that. I only mentioned the hispanic vote because those who are pushing for Rubio keep mentioning that as their reason. I don't think it will help much. Most Mexican Americans and Puerto Rican Americans vote Democrat. I really think putting Jeb Bush on the ticket would pull more hispanic votes than Rubio would.
Rubio has said for three days in a row just this week that he will not accept the VP offer if it is made. I say take him at his word and don't offer.
The "Hispanic" vote is not monolithic. How can the GOP expect Rubio to "deliver" the Hispanic vote when Rubio is a Cuban who doesn't want to be treated/seen like a Latino. Ask Andy Garcia if he is a Latino actor and see what he says.
There are plenty of Mexican Americans who are Republicans and I can almost guarantee that they will vote against Rubio because the non-Cuban Latinos cannot stand that crowd in South Florida.
I do not think he will take Rubio either, but what is the downside you are talking about?
It really shouldn't be news that all potential picks have a variety of downsides. But, here are some of the more obvious issues regarding Rubio.
*No foreign policy experience. Governors almost invariably take someone with notable foreign policy experience.
*Rubio's claims of Cuban exile. Rubio has previously claimed that his parents were forced to flee Cuba when Castro took power. He later admitted that his parents actually came to the United States in 1956, three years before Castro overthrew the Batista regime.
*His drug-trafficking brother-in-law would present obvious problems.
*His brief Mormonism as a child. There's a reason Mitt Romney talks about 'my faith' but almost never mentions it by name. Picking a running mate who is arguably a 'closet Mormon' (and the prevalence of birthers should be ample evidence that there is a significant population of potential Romney voters who will believe inane conspiracy theories such as that) would present serious fodder for the Mormonism-is-a-nonChristian-cult! crowd.
*His support for the DREAM Act. In a primary where a candidate (Cain) who talks of putting alligator-filled moats along the Mexican border is cheered, and a candidate (Perry) who speaks of compassion for the innocent children of illegal immigrants is booed, supporting the DREAM Act is toxic.
I'm not saying that these issues are all fair. Where his parents took him to church when he was a child isn't something he could control, nor is his sister's choice of a husband. But in the real world of politics, these are issues that will get attention. The prime directive of running mate selection is "do no harm".
And when you look at some of these, you begin to understand why Rubio is so adamant that he will not be Romney's running mate. You can, of course, blame all of this on the liberal media boogeyman. But such excuses won't change reality.
There are simply picks with better upside/downside ratios. And I expect Romney to make a careful and cautious decision.
This is why I wish President/Vice president teams ran for office during the primaries.
that's a good idea, and i would love to see that.
you would get to see their first judgement call right out of the box.
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