Regardless of who will eventually be the VP nominee, considering Christie's popularity if there is a rumor it probably came from Romney's people.
I think he would say being Vice -President isn't worth a warm bucket of spit. (John Nance "Cactus Jack' Garner A GD Texas Democrat)
christie may be offered the VP spot, but i don't think he takes it. same for daniels in indiana, or huckabee. if they were inclined to accept that nomination, why wouldn't they have just run for the presidency instead?
Being the VP candidate makes you the frontrunner for 2016, if the GOP candidate loses in 2012. There's a lot of incentive there - being that establishment guy gives you access to a ton of money, endorsements, etc next time around.
Absolutely, but it depends how the campaign plays out. I doubt Romney chooses Christie or Huckabee. It will be someone who can fire up the Tea Party and traditional conservative base to make a Romney presidency more palatable.
I am thinking Rubio since he is liked by the right, he might attract Hispanics and younger voters, and FL will be a key state. That said, I thought I read that Rubio wasn't interested, but again, if he sees the bigger prize (2016) he may be tempted.
I agree - at this point, it doesn't seem like Romney would really benefit from either of those two. Not sure how it will look in 6 months, but if Romney's the nominee, I agree that he seems like he'll want someone that attracts the tea party type.
The right wing fantasy about Rubio attracting hispanics from his undercard position is so funny....he'll attract about as many hispanic voters in the US as Alan Keyes attracts black voters. Of course that won't stop them from thinking otherwise....just like Sarah Palin attracted all those female voter in 08....oh wait.... The cuban exile community in South Florida (even though he isn't an exile himself despite being busted lying about it....) has about as much in common with the rest of Hispanics in this country as the Hasidic Jewish community.
newt and perry failed to make the VA ballot... this sets up a head to head with romney and paul on super tuesday. http://www.newsday.com/news/gingrich-fails-to-qualify-for-va-primary-ballot-1.3409451
It's pretty conceivable that Newt could come in 6th in Iowa. His supporters are not passionate and the ones polling right behind him (Bachmann, Santorum, Perry) have that advantage of ones that are. They are each about 3 points behind Newt in the latest poll, they're staffed up and he barely has a GOTV operation there at all. So he's likely to underperform and therefore, I think, pretty likely to land somewhere between 4 and 6. I expect one of the three-headed insane clown posse of Santerrymann will edge him out at least. And then, what happens? He loses momentum in NH and then how are his numbers affected in SC? Does anyone think they actually don't like Rick Perry there? They abandoned him because he started smelling like a loser. What happens to Newt there when that happens to him? And after what happens in SC happens how bad off is he in Florida? Newt ****ed up with his fake positive campaign. He needed to be nailing Romney to the wall. And he had every opportunity to do so. There could have been a real fight. Now it's looking like there won't be. I love how Newt compared his failure to qualify for the VA ballot to Pearl Harbor. That might be apt if we had attacked ourselves on that infamous day, but I think it was the Japanese. You'd think a historian would know that.
The point of a Romney bid is to appeal to independents and/or crossover voters, not to fire up the base. Palin was chosen for the exact reason you suggest choosing a winger VP nominee, to make McCain more palatable to the base. Well, it did that, but it pretty much erased his crossover appeal. With Romney at the top of the ticket the base will be demoralized regardless (and many will remain so beyond election day maybe especially if he wins) but the worst they'll do is stay home. And most of them want Obama out badly enough they won't. Elections are won in between the bases. You want someone serious for veep and someone that will be palatable to independents. How many points do you think Biden was good for? Now how about Palin? If Romney is the nominee, Christie, Daniels, Rubio or yes okay maybe even Huckabee would be decent choices (though Huckabee could cause a lot of problems with his fundamentalist Christianity). Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins would be interesting ideas. I'm surprised they don't get mentioned. Might as well throw Lieberman out there again too. But DeMint or Palin or some other base-pleasing fire-breathing firebrand would do more harm than good in the general and would undercut Romney's entire appeal with the middle. As a Democrat, I dearly hope I'm wrong and he chooses another Palin. A Romney-Christie ticket I could almost start to fear. They are both strong and righteously b****y debaters. Besides, a more conservative veneer is not what Mitt most lacks. What he most lacks is the common touch. Christie has it in spades. Just think of the fat vote. I'm not even kidding.
No way he chooses a northeastern RINO. Out of the question. I also didn't say he needed a lightening rod like DeMint or Palin. He should choose someone "the base" respects, has some intelligence (unlike Palin) and who can withstand national scrutiny (in other words, vet them thoroughly). Romney has an authenticity/credibility problem with Republican voters that doesn't allow him the luxury of reaching for independents, who are not his main weakness. The fact he hasn't already clinched already against against a bunch of clowns is pathetic.
Perhaps Romney would shock everyone and ask Jeb Bush to be his VP. Boy, that would certainly stir things up. Bush would pull in all the Bushies who have been bemoaning the fate of their hero. Bush is married to a native of Mexico, a Latina, is fluent in Spanish, and would presumably pull in at least some of the Latino vote for Romney. A two term Florida governor, he probably locks up Florida. Bush is not so charismatic that he would overshadow Romney. One could add other reasons for him to be on the ticket. It helps Romney in the South. Why would Jeb Bush do it? Assuming Romney loses, and I think he loses, Bush is set up perfectly to run in 2016. Just a thought.
Romney's going to have the Bushies no matter what. He's already got GHWB on record and he's always sort of been the secret pick of Jeb's people and Karl Rove. I don't think Jeb is VP material though. If he runs, I think it will be for the big prize. A3P0: I guess we just disagree. I think the base will come out just to vote against Obama. If he could afford one more flip flop I'd say the best thing he could do in the general is run on the platform that secured him the Mass. governorship. He would look good running with a "RINO." It would help him to make the argument that he'd end the gridlock in Washington. The current base (the crazies I mean, since I'm pretty sure being crazy is a requirement for base membership anymore) is small. The votes in the middle, the ones that don't naturally go to one party or another, are many. I'm not saying he should nominate a Snowe or Collins or even Lieberman (I think Christie's his best choice - again, fat vote). But he doesn't need to use his VP pick to burnish his conservative bonafides; he needs to use it to help him beat Obama. The votes that will do that for him (if it can be done) are not fringe ones.
You're writing like the Latino vote isn't swayable. Bush did relatively well there in 2000 and 2004. I know this is just anecdotal, but personally, I believe I have a good amount of experience in the Latino community, living many years in various ones, working in it, and being married into it. It's far from overwhelmingly Demo-leaning. Individual candidates matter.
Bush did relatively well - until you factor out the fact that almost all of his improvement was due to his showing among Texas and Florida hispanic voters. Outside of those states whre he had a natural power base, his appeal wasn't much different than the rest. But anyway, from your experience, you think putting a tea party nutjob who happens to be So-Fla Cuban on the ballot is a swaying factor in say, California? I harbor serious doubts.
From a gambler's perspective, I don't think it'd be a big enough impact to win vs Obama, but I think it could be statistically significant. Creating narratives and changing images happens in politics. The vast majority of this country does not follow the in-depth story, and is very impressionable. Anyhow, if Rubio is the VP candidate, Republicans aren't hoping that he sways enough Latino voters in California, they're just hoping he makes a big enough impact in Florida.
