Big Lizards:Blog:Entry “Romney: My Fave for the Nomination, But a Mistake for VP”

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March 12, 2008

Romney: My Fave for the Nomination, But a Mistake for VP

Hatched by Dafydd

Fred Barnes is talking up Mitt Romney as John McCain's running mate; and of course Romney -- a loyal party man -- has already said he is willing, should the phone call come.

Here's Barnes' reasoning:

When John McCain begins his search for a vice presidential running mate, he'll quickly come upon a sad fact. He wants a candidate who will be seen as a plausible president. That's criterion number one. He also wants someone who won't subtract from his campaign in any serious way. That's criterion number two. The unfortunate truth is that few Republicans meet these simple criteria. McCain doesn't have much of a pool to choose from.

Barnes thinks the pool is small because he has an appalling lack of imagination; he believes the only valid VP is -- let's face it -- some Republican stalwart whose turn it is. He can't think outside the lockbox. This is the kind of genius that gave us Blob Dole as the 1996 presidential nominee!

Barnes continues:

That leads to Romney. He has run a vigorous national campaign and been vetted by the press and his opponents for the Republican nomination. These are very strong pluses. A pick who produces unhelpful surprises, as Geraldine Ferraro did in 1984 (her husband's business deals) and Dan Quayle did in 1988 (his National Guard duty), is exactly what McCain doesn't need. Romney is a known quantity.

Alas, "a known quantity" perfectly describes Mitt Romney. And that's exactly what McCain doesn't need: a dull, pedestrian, obvious, no-brainer pick for the downticket. He would thus squander his one chance to really shake up this race if he selected Mitt Romney, or any of the other gray eminences that Mr. Beltway Boy suggests.

Not that there's any specific thing wrong with Romney per se, other than general dullness; he certainly has the experience and gravitas to be president, and he would do no harm and might even bring in a state or two in the general election. But contrary to Barnes' thesis, those are not the only two criteria.

This year, there is a third: McCain should make a surprising, even shocking pick... but one who makes perfect sense -- in retrospect. He cannot simply poke one of the "usual suspects" -- a blah governor, senator, or cabinet member (so forget about Condi Rice, even if conservatives could tolerate her).

And even a fourth criterion: The veep must be a conservative Republican. That rules out Joe Lieberman, Zell Miller, Rudy Giuliani, or Ahnold, even were he a natural-born American citizen.

I'll tell you who my pick would be, even though he would never accept (and we couldn't afford to have him accept anyway); that way, you'll see what I mean. It would be almost perfect if McCain were to tap Gen. David Petraeus as his running mate.

It's impossible, of course; he won't leave Iraq until it's stable, and we can't afford to let him leave now even if he wanted to (which he doesn't). But you see what I mean: Petraeus isn't a politician, but he has tremendous administrative experience. As a four-star general commanding troops in the field -- and achieving victory -- he's as qualified to be president as Dwight D. Eisenhower (pretty good), Useless S. Grunt (pretty bad), or George Washington (spectacular).

And such a choice would shake the hell out of the campaign; it would be all anyone talks about for weeks! Nobody would see it coming, but in retrospect, it would make perfect sense.

So absent Petraeus, who could we get with star power, but who isn't one of the normal yatta-yatta agents of ennui? Forget Romney, Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty, Liddy Dole (so transparently sexist), or even Jeb Bush (that would make nine presidential elections in a row with either a Bush or a Dole on the ticket, top or bottom). Probably steer clear of anyone from the Senate; too much of that already.

Romney would be interesting if he were flamboyant, if he could mesmerize audiences. But he proved on the campaign trail that he just isn't. He's like mashed potatoes... yeah, you can live on it, if you have to. But wouldn't you rather have a really good risotto?

For goodness' sake, can't we think of an exciting, galvanizing running mate? Certainly the last thing John McCain has to worry about is his VP upstaging him, even if it were Chuck Norris. (Not qualified: no significant administrative experience.)

Maybe somebody like T.J. Rodgers, founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor and passionate capitalist... but I don't know his positions on foreign policy; it would have to mesh with McCain's. If Steve Forbes had the same personality and dynamism as his father Malcolm, he would be a good pick; but he doesn't, so he isn't.

What are we looking for? Maybe someone a little bit dangerous, a man or woman who sometimes is the story, just as McCain often is the story. A William Jennings Bryan, a George S. Patton. But young enough that he or she could plausibly follow McCain as president in four or eight years -- so nix on Bud Selig, who is actually older than McCain.

Let's all put on our thinking socks and come up with someone really unexpected -- but really, really good. Come on, laddies and lassies, this is your chance to shine!

Hatched by Dafydd on this day, March 12, 2008, at the time of 2:40 AM

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» Transformative Elections vs. Kicking the Can: a Sermon from Big Lizards
(Follow-up to "Romney: My Fave for the Nomination, But a Mistake for VP") Picking up on our last post, let me clarify the philosophy behind our call for a "flamboyant," "galvanizing running mate," rather than one of the "usual suspects,"... [Read More]

Tracked on March 12, 2008 6:42 PM

» The Verdict Is In: McCain Chooses "Transformative" Over "Kicking the Can" from Big Lizards
I think John S. McCain (or his staff) must have been reading Big Lizards back in March. If so, they can't have missed our pair of posts on selecting a running mate, in which we argued that McCain must eschew... [Read More]

Tracked on September 1, 2008 6:50 AM

Comments

The following hissed in response by: Don

So - We want someone unexpected. Someone smart. Someone forceful and a little dangerous. Someone who is something of a maverick like McCain. Someone from another part of the country to help in the electoral college.

Elliot Spitzer is the clear choice....

The above hissed in response by: Don at March 12, 2008 3:40 AM

The following hissed in response by: TerryeL

I heard there was some talk of Clarence Thomas for VP, but would {or should} he leave the Court for a run like this?

The above hissed in response by: TerryeL at March 12, 2008 4:10 AM

The following hissed in response by: Don

We want a candidate who could freeze the ba... er hair off the Iron Bi... er Lady herself - on more than one level. We need a man, not a wimp like that Starr idiot. We'll give her her very own Special Prosecutor. 'Spitzs' (or is that 'Spaz'?) Campaign theme song:

"Ahm a Ateamroller Baby - I'm gonna roll all over you!'..

Can't you see it? Beautiful.....

The above hissed in response by: Don at March 12, 2008 5:32 AM

The following hissed in response by: BarbaraS

Ken Starr is not a wimp nor an idiot. He, unlike his target, was constrained by the rule of law.

John Croym on the ticket would be like a grown up ticket as oppsed to wacky dem with either of the dems in opposition. However, I don't know how he gets along with McCain. Getting along with McCain wold be a priority.

The above hissed in response by: BarbaraS at March 12, 2008 6:35 AM

The following hissed in response by: snochasr

Ideally, it wouldn't be another Senator. It should be someone young enough to take over in 4, 8, (or 1) years but old enough to laugh at Barack's inexperience. It should be a reliable conservative with executive experience, like you say. How about Michael Steele or J. Kenneth Blackwell?

The above hissed in response by: snochasr at March 12, 2008 8:29 AM

The following hissed in response by: Urey

Michael Steele - former Lt Governor of Maryland, black, brilliant, conservative, and as good a speaker if not better than Barak Obama.

The above hissed in response by: Urey at March 12, 2008 9:25 AM

The following hissed in response by: Geoman

How about Sarah Palin - Smart, good looking Gov. of Alaska and 7 months pregnant.

The above hissed in response by: Geoman at March 12, 2008 10:10 AM

The following hissed in response by: Pam

What about Duncan Hunter or someone who has street cred on boarder security? That would show the base more than anything McCain intends to make boarder security a high priority.

The above hissed in response by: Pam at March 12, 2008 10:42 AM

The following hissed in response by: boffo

I think you're overthinking this. Realistically, the election will come down to 4 or 5 big swing states. (Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Minnesota spring to mind, and I'm probably forgetting one.) Or else it will be such a blow-out one way or the other that the VP pick won't matter.

I think McCain will choose a popular governor that will help him pick up one of those states, but is competent and non-controversial enough to not cost him votes in other states.

As to Romney, I see no reason for McCain to pick him. Nobody except for Dafydd and Romney's immediate family actually *likes* Romney. His support came from people who disliked other candidates more and settled on Romney by default. In this way, he's the Republican John Kerry. Nobody would decide to vote for McCain because Romney's on the ticket, so why would McCain want him?

The above hissed in response by: boffo at March 12, 2008 11:07 AM

The following hissed in response by: Ken Hahn

Herman Cain

The above hissed in response by: Ken Hahn at March 12, 2008 11:36 AM

The following hissed in response by: Doc-obiwan

I really like Duncan Hunter. VN vet (Rangers, as I am), solid conservative credentials (check his web site), articulate and intelligent. But McCain would never pick him.

The above hissed in response by: Doc-obiwan at March 12, 2008 11:59 AM

The following hissed in response by: RattlerGator

I'm surely biased but Charlie Crist appears to be the most obvious choice among the sitting Governor's.

I do like the possibility of Michael Steele, too.

The above hissed in response by: RattlerGator at March 12, 2008 12:19 PM

The following hissed in response by: TerryeL

Duncan Hunter is a Congressman, we don't need a Congressman on the ticket and whatever he might say about border security, the guy could not muster 1% in a primary.

Steele did not win his election. We need a winner.

The above hissed in response by: TerryeL at March 12, 2008 1:11 PM

The following hissed in response by: Mr. Michael

I'm a big fan of Michael Steele for VP... but if you want to shake things up...

Tony Snow for the win!

Heheh... could you imagine to coverage? Could you imagine the VP debate?

The above hissed in response by: Mr. Michael at March 12, 2008 2:52 PM

The following hissed in response by: scrapiron

Rice or Steele, the loser takes Sec of Defense.

The above hissed in response by: scrapiron at March 12, 2008 5:32 PM

The following hissed in response by: Dafydd ab Hugh

Snochasr, Urey, Rattler-Gator, Mr. Michael:

I don't think it matters that Michael Steele lost his election; he was sort of a long-shot anyway. But he has a bigger strike against him: He's black.

Now ordinarily, this would either be neutral or a net plus; but in this election, particularly if Obama becomes the Democratic nominee, it would look so much like race pandering that he would be a net negative (through no fault of his own).

Which is too bad; if there were no Barack Obama, Steele could make a provacative and transformative number two. If he waits for an election that doesn't have the First (articulate, clean, bright) Black Man with a chance at a major-party nomination, then Steele would be a top-flight VP pick.

Pam, Doc-obiwan:

Anent Duncan Hunter, TerryeL is right: Hunter got absolutely no traction whatsoever. Before the campaign, I might have considered him; but like Fred Thompson, he just never caught fire... so he's out.

TerryeL:

Absolutely not! We cannot afford to lose any conservative justice right now... we have the opportunity, if McCain is elected, to replace at least one and possibly three liberal justices on the Court; alternatively, if Hillary or Obama wins, we have the same delicate balance we have right now.

The last thing we need is a conservative justice -- a young conservative justice -- leaving the Court at this juncture.

Boffo:

For my overly long response, see the next post.

Dafydd

The above hissed in response by: Dafydd ab Hugh at March 12, 2008 6:51 PM

The following hissed in response by: snochasr

Dafydd, you make a good argument about the media firing a gross charge of racism at Steele for VP. I confess that was my point in mentioning him, to force the media to say that Steele's pick was "affirmative action" and then try to defend the free pass they have given Obama to date. Granted, we all know that double standards are just champagne and caviar to them, but at least a few members of the casual public recognize such hypocrisy when it slaps them like a wet fish in the face.

My larger point was that McCain should simply pick the BEST VP-- clear conservative, obvious executive experience-- he could find. I wouldn't think there were that many of them. (By the Way, Tim Pawlenty isn't one of them.) Defending the choice would be easy, and would force the media to find fault where there is none. Again something they do as everyday laundry, but again something that would discredit them in a few minds, and that's a good thing.

The above hissed in response by: snochasr at March 13, 2008 6:55 AM

The following hissed in response by: Cato

Bill Cosby for VP

The above hissed in response by: Cato at March 20, 2008 9:32 PM