GOP Nominee
Former Candidates
McCain gave his most ringing endorsement yet of Romney’s chances of being tapped as his vice presidential candidate during a fund-raiser Monday, saying, “There’s nobody who represents me better today than Mitt Romney.” Link
If Romney won the Veep I suppose I would be happy and all, but that’s just weird. Was the primary just an elaborate setup?
June 11th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I don’t think it is weird, it is just that Mitt fits all the weaknesses that McCain is showing PLUS Mitt has already been vetted. As a Romney supporter, I am not sure I want him to take the VP slot, but I think it is for the best. Many of the others mentioned have problems, as does Mitt, but they are unknowns.
The GOP has a chance of hitting Obama hard with his skeletons, it would not help iof the GOP VP had similar problems.
Go McCain/Romney!
June 11th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Look, it’s simple… Romney is not getting the job… so, make all the Romneybots like McCain all the more by saying nice things about their patron saint.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
No. During the primary, there was sincere, and often divisive, disagreement between the two on a host of issues. But, McCain wants to win, and I think he knows the benefits Romney would bring to the ticket.
McCain’s goal, more than anything, is to become President. His campaign isn’t about some ideological cause, or about reshaping the GOP, its about his personal quest, a burning desire to sit in the oval office himself. And if Romney is the man who can help put him there, then McCain has no problem making him the nominee.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Once the polls showed that Mitt does not hurt McCain in the South (as has been so loudly proclaimed), he becomes the near perfect fit. M&M team all the way!
June 11th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
CBL, are you by any chance a former Huckabee supporter?
June 11th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
I think the key word is “today.”
June 11th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Also, I was thinking what CBL said.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Do you really think Romney would’ve just closed on a $12 million 4th (5th? 6th?) home if he knew he was in the running?
June 11th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
NO ROMNEY, Not now, not ever.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
ACT,
Yep. CBL is hardcore for the Huck. He likes to go after other candidates.
Jason,
Yea. It’s really strange, in some ways. I’d be satisfied with Romney, but it makes me wonder about the obvious disdain McCain had for the guy. It was obvious that McCain didn’t trust him, and vice versa, but it’s leaves a slimy feeling. I dunno…
June 11th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
i heard mccain could be in boston today any body know why mccains in boston if he is wonder if he’s meeting with romney thats the first thing that came to my mind?
June 11th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Metro #8,
Yes.
10. Yeah, it makes you wonder. I don’t know how satisfied I would be with Mitt as Veep. Of course as a general Mitt supporter, a bird in hand is better than two in the Bush.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Romney was my choice for the Presidency. However, now that McCain has been selected, I think there are other conservative choices that could shake things up a bit.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
[...] Jason Bonham seems perplexed by the possibility John McCain might pick Mitt Romney as his Veep: If Romney won the Veep I suppose I would be happy and all, but that’s just weird. Was the primary just an elaborate setup? [...]
June 11th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Awesome! McCain/Romney!
June 11th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
ROMNEY ALL THE WAY!
June 11th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Nothing emphasizes Obama’s elitist tendencies like nominating a guy who just bought a $12 million house… in California, of all places…
June 11th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I personally like Jindal much more as a conservative, but I think Jindal needs more time to show what a conservative can do (and to redeem conservatives in light of Katrina and focus the light on where the responsibility lies for that fiasco: liberal corrupt democrats).
Mitt seems to be the only alternative that fits at this point. I may just get my wish of seeing Hillary and Romney go at it in a debate this year. Definitly not Huckabee whose jokes about assasinating Obama didn’t go over too well. Palin would also be a good choice, but she doesn’t bring any more money or states into play.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Win M.
Who let you in? This is a republican forum you know.
I was at a fundraiser with Mitt in Austin in a very nice home. He said: “Democrats would make it so that nobody lives in a house like this, but Republicans would make it so that everybody who wants to live in a house like this have the freedom to chose to do so.”
At least Mitt didn’t buy the house with the help of a fraudulant, sleezy real estate investor. I think the American people can respect Mitt for earning his money honestly.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Kabuki Theater
The whispers hyped every two weeks are probably intentional leaks from the McCain campaign (no offense to reporters).
On the one hand you keep McCain in the news. On the other hand you stroke the egos of people supposedly under consideration.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I agree with econ grad stud. (Just noting it’s possible.
)
June 11th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I live in the lib Northeast, I can’t tell you how many former Hillary/Dem voters say, when asked, they’ll vote for McCain Palin but NOT McCain Romney.
I personally think Romney is Great, but many many people don’t like him.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Ted,
I live in the Midwest, and meet many former Hillary backers who say they will vote for McCain but not McCain Palin.
Crap, we are stuck!
June 11th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Ted and Jason… how many people in the Northeast and Midwest even know who Palin is?!?
There are at least a dozen states that I couldn’t tell you who the governor is… at least a dozen that I will admit to. Is seems like most of the public-schooled general population couldn’t even tell you their own governor’s name.
Really, it’s a serious question… I don’t watch TV, so maybe she is a daily feature in the MSM…?
June 11th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
CBL,
I was being smart
June 11th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Yes… I see that now, but Ted seems to really believe it.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
As I mentioned on a previous post, John McCain is big on loyalty and honor. McCain has seen what the Democratic civil war has done to its party. He appreciated Romney dropping out early and endorsing him. Anyone who has read McCain’s bio understands that Romney’s actions placed him high on McCain’s list.
That said, McCain is either going to pick Romney or a wild card candidate. I am guessing wild card, not becaused I opposed Romney in the primary, but because McCain cannot run a traditional campaign and win, and even McCain has admitted that.
Oh, and I am originally from the northeast, and it is not Liberal, they just feel that the RNC was taken over by Dixiecrats, so they vote Democrat nationally, and (for the most part) vote for Republican Governors.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I have been reading comments on Reuters and other posts regarding this reported comment and it appears to be 90-95% positive.
I wonder how much of that 50 million McCain/RNC raised last month actually came from Romney supporters?
That said, I am still undecided between Palin and Romney? They both provide very different characteristics to the ticket, but equally effective.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
im conflicted with romney. the pros outweigh the few cons, but the few are important.
pros: strong executive and economic background, vetted, solid speaker/debater, exceptional organizer and idea man, very active and enthusiastic supporters, lots of volunteers, strong in key swing states NH/michigan/NM/Nevada/Colorado, younger but not too young, looks the part.
cons: as much as mormonism helps in the southwest, it will hurt with evangelicals, unless mitt can convince them of his change on social issues, his flip-flop image, which ironically, was pushed hard by mccain. tough to walk back those kinds of charges in this youtube age.
in the end, however, it will be, or should be, bush’s task to get the evangelicals on board, allowing mccain and mitt to hit on their stengths; foreign policy and economics. the flip flop charge is tougher then the mormon charge, but both make it tough.
the upside is i think romney would destroy a kaine, webb, sebelius, schweizer type choice in a debate. i think generals like clark or zinni would be dominated on domestic issues while mitt would hold his own with foreign policy. and he can go toe-to-toe with clinton, if by some miracle she is on the ticket. if obama were to get mark warner, then mitt could meet his match, or sam nunn, who has the solid experience in foreign policy and domestic issues to match mitt.
in the end, mitt’s a well rounded pick, with some weaknesses, but lots of strengths.
i think, in the end its one of 5; mitt romney, tim pawlenty, john thune, tom ridge, or sarah palin. if its economics and organization then its mitt. if its about creating buzz and excitement and shaking it up, then its palin. if its a base play, then its thune. if its personal friendship and typical then bet on t-paw, and if its a play on experience and for a major state, its ridge.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Matt, Thune??????? Chris Matthews mentioned him once and it is repeated on blogs and it is true? Zero chance that it is happening. How could McCain select Thune, when Thune slips pork projects in bills all the time? No way.
But you do ask the best question on this blog so far…what does McCain do if Clinton is the VP nominee? I am thinking McCain brings a heavyweight in….how about you?
June 11th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I wouldn’t mind Senator John Thune. He signed his name to The Life At Conception Act this morning, which would ban abortion in all 50 states: http://wicker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=791ddb31-fc9e-e16f-8d15-01dec5224546
I wonder if he’s cosponsoring to build up support with the pro-life base.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
I agree Romney offers a lot of assets (particularly his ability to help keep the states of
Nevada, Colorado and possibly New Mexico red) and should be seriously considered for the VP slot.
Personally, the flip flop issue doesn’t worry me as much as a VP candidate. VP candidates are frequently expected to flip flop to the views of the top of the ticket (see Bush ‘80, Kemp ‘96 and Liebermann ‘00). Plus, Obama would have to handle the issue very adroitly (& McCain very clumsily) to hit him. Obama, after all, couldn’t bring himself to vote for the “live birth act” so I really don’t think he wants to bring up abortion in the general election. Obama’s flip flops on guns match or exceed Romney’s, and Obama is at the top of the ticket. Romney’s flip flops on gay rights could be countered by Obama’s own doubletalk (campaigning for support of the GLBD community and homophobic preachers at the same time). And between Jerimiah Wright and all of Obama’s whining about how there is this conspiracy to paint him as a closet muslim, he really ** really ** isn’t in the position to make an issue of Romney’s faith.
The biggest obstacle for Romney in my opinion is the negative opinion of Romney in Massachussettes. Mass will never vote Republican at the Presidential level but at the moment he is a net DRAG on the ticket, and the argument that “those who know him best like him least” will cary great weight. Plus, if his net drag in Massachussettes spills over into NH he could negate one of McCain’s best pickup opportunities. Working in Romney’s favor is the fact that absence (and Patrick Duval) appears to make the heart grow fonder. If he’s at least in the mid 40’s approval in Massachussettes by August he could be the frontrunner. If not, I just don’t see it happening.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
McCain is winning NH no matter who the VP is. I do not care what polls say, the NH voters always come through for him, plus there is a 20% gap in polling with Obama support there.
If Clinton is on the ticket (which Obama’s polls are telling him she should be), it will be Newt Gingrich. I understand he has high negatives, but the guy can bring out the hard-core Conservative organizations and he is apparently consulting McCain on domestic issues. He placed 3rd at the CPAC poll this year and he was not on the ballot.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
http://wicker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=791ddb31-fc9e-e16f-8d15-01dec5224546
Wicker Introduces the Life at Conception Act
Protects Unborn by Legislatively Declaring Life Begins at Conception
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Senator John Thune is one of the ten cosponsors of this bill. I wonder if he signed his name to it to build up support with the pro-life base.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Romney isn’t the only person I would support for the VP nod, but he offers more than any of the others, and I might have been overly pessimistic about McCain’s level of intelligence, since he seems to be figuring that out. One advantage to Romney is that he can beat any forseeable Democrat in the VP debate this coming October.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I would love Romney as VP, but this comment could also be referring to Romney’s ability to act as a very articulate McCain surrogate.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
I have as big of man-crush on Romney as anyone, but I think Metro and CBL have it right. McCain is going to say this no matter how he really feels. He knows that Romney’s supporters are as passionate and loyal as anyone and that he will need them to win the nomination.
I really feel like McCain’s VP is a dead-end job for Romney and would be a waste of his considerable talents. I think that if McCain/Romney wins in 2012 Romney will have a tough time beating the Dem nominee. If McCain/Romney loses Romney probably will lose the 2012 primary to a fresher face like Jindal, Palin or Pawlenty. McCain is stubborn and controlling enough that I doubt he would cede control of anything over to Romney meaning his 4 years as VP would be a waste.
Romney as RNC chair can rebuild the party. Starting right away we need to rebrand the party and win as many state legislatures as possible for the redistricting that will take place after the 2010 census. We also need to start winning back House seats and prepare ourselves to win back Senate seats over the next 6 years. Romney is perfect for all of this.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Oops! McCain will need Romney’s supporters to win the presidency.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
It’s called being nice Jason. Nothing more nothing less. You don’t think Mitt would be saying the same things if the roles were reversed?
Not going to be Mitt!
June 11th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
I am very conflicted about Ridge, while I think Obama is scaring conservatives towards McCain without the need of a more conservative VP, I just don’t know how much he bolsters GOP foreign policy credentials. Adding him to the ticket will only strengthen these false claims by Obama and his cronies that McCain is running for Bush’s third term, and worse he was an integral part of Bush foreign policy. While I don’t like the Dept. of HS, I still think Ridge did a fine job, but I think his connection to Bush will ultimately draw McCain away from him.
I think Palin is a good choice, and the only reason people aren’t responding to her yet is she is practically an unknown outside the blogosphere. But, I don’t think he would pick her, simply because she doesn’t bring much to the ticket as governor of Alaska. Also I don’t think she would go for it because of her infant child.
Portman would actually be my choice, simply because he brings a ton of economic credentials as former head of the CBO… and he helps in Ohio, the #1 state McCain needs to hold from 2004. Candor is good too because he helps in Virginia, and given Obama’s struggles with Jewish voters, throwing a Jew on the ticket will solidify McCain’s unprecedented support in that area.
I don’t care what Mass. thinks about Mitt. The only way McCain wins Colorado is with Mitt on the ticket due to the heavy LDS population there. Mitt also helps in all those other Upper Midwest states, and effectively ends Obama’s threat there. Perhaps most important state Mitt helps in is Michigan where he is still very popular. I think with Mitt, McCain wins there as well. Plus, as somebody already mentioned, he’s already been through the race and all his skeletons are on the table, his negatives have already hit their peak, and he can hold his own on foreign policy debates while dominating domestically.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
http://mccainblogette.com/ I love her so much! As we approach Father’s Day, is she not the most loyal daughter out there?
Check this latest post out.
June 12th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Rombot here. However, I think that Mitt would be foolish to tie his fortunes to McCain.
June 12th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Nate #39: “The only way McCain wins Colorado is with Mitt on the ticket due to the heavy LDS population there”
Not so heavy — 2.7%.
June 12th, 2008 at 11:38 am
If Romney gets on the ticket, McCain just completely disappears as far as I am concerned. That would make a miserable election cycle just a little more understandable for conservatives.
June 12th, 2008 at 11:39 am
What I mean is, the ticket would look like this to me: mccain/ROMNEY….I’m that desperately looking for a ray of hope in all this.
June 12th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I think the bottom was in on the sanDiego housing market the day Mitt bought his new house there. You just know the guy had to pick the absolute perfect time to buy. Check the graph on that market in a few months. You’ll see! That’s exactly what McCain wants by his side. AT least ONE guy who knows the score. McCain’s advisers are all kind oftwo-bit slimy lobbyists. He knows damn well he needs somebody with some serious KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD OUT THERE BEYOND THE GOOD OL’ BELTWAY!