This is a fascinating question. Although I am not sanguine about Romney’s chances no matter who he picks, his choice will help shape the future of the GOP, just as the choice of Sarah Palin has, for better or worse, helped shape the debate within the GOP since 2008.
With that in mind, I will say two things:
1. If Mitt picks another white guy, no matter his ideological or geographical advantages, he loses. Period. it is not tokenism, but simple recognition of the demographics of the electorate and the hole that the primary discussions have dug for the party that leads me to that conclusion.
2, He also needs to shore up his right. Even his worst enemy knows that. He could also use someone with a lot more zip to deliver attacks.
So, I do not make predictions , but I think Allen West should stay by the phone.
My pick for VP is South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
Southern state, viewed as a bit anti-establishment, and a female running mate would be an effort to make up for the detrimental effect of the primary on Republican support amongst female voters.
I agree with Mark Nickolas that Mike Huckabee would be an extraordinary pick by Romney for Vice President.
Indeed, for all the reasons Mark mentions, if Huckabee were in the race today for President, I think he would have run away with the nomination several weeks ago.
And that’s the rub. Huckabee made a very deliberative decision several months ago not to run for President.
Whether it was family considerations, financial (he seems to be making bank on Fox and the lecture circuit), a political calculation that Obama couldn’t be beat in an improving economy and a divided GOP, or a sudden burst of sanity that led to a realization that being President is an excruciatingly awful job in this hyper-toxic political system, he decided not to run.
With those same calculations, I just can’t imagine he would accept the bottom half of what seems to be a careening ticket.
If Huckabee still has national ambitions, my assumption would be that he would just wait until 2016 (or 2020) to run for President. Being second banana doesn’t seem to be in his gene pool.
At the top of Romney’s problems is that he’s not viewed as a real conservative among his base (loss of enthusiasm) and he’s lost so much likability among the swing voters. If Marco Rubio wasn’t a freshman senator with his own family baggage, he’d be a shoe-in, but I say not this year.
First term New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez would have been my call but not for what Sarah Palin to destroy any chance that someone who fits her own political profile could get picked.
I think Jonathan’s choice of Portman is a good pick if Romney wanted to project a thoughtful, businesslike team, but Romney’s problems aren’t ones that Portman picks, and remember that Portman was Bush’s OMB director in 2006 and 2007 and that could bite them in a message that what America needs is not a return to Bush economic policies. Romney can’t just go safe and hope to win.
My pick…is Mike Huckabee. A seasoned governor. Likable. Conservatives love him. America never hated him. Principled.
I’m not saying that they could win. I actually don’t see a scenario where Romney wins the general unless he’s willing to infuriate his base by selecting a true moderate like Susan Collins or retiring Olympia Snowe. But if I have to predict who he picks, it’s Huckabee.
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Mar 26, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET
The RP’s Provocation
Now that the Mitt Romney has won the GOP Presidential primary (OK, it’s not official, but it’s been pretty much declared by the GOP Establishment and the mainstream media), it’s time to start prognosticating about who will be his selection as the Vice Presidential nominee.
So today at The Recovering Politician, our contributors will make their best guesses over the course of the day in our irregular Monday feature, “The RPs Debate.”
Tune in every half hour or so for a new response, featuring our bi-partisan, multi-cultural, and sometimes, downright wacky former politicians and Friends of RP.
And of course, you are welcomed — prodded even — to contribute your thoughts in the comments section below. At the end of the day, I will post the best entries on the site.
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So I will get things started. (I can’t be any worse than with my NCAA bracket. Tied for 60th out of 77? Ouch.)
The 2012 Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States will be…U.S. Senator Rob Portman from Ohio.
Portman is the rare pol who’s both beloved by the GOP base and respected across the aisle. He has an extraordinary resume, with pretty much every box checked from elite education to congressional service to senior executive branch positions.
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Mar 13, 2012 at 12:03 PM ET
In my latest column for The Huffington Post, “The Media’s Double Standard for Israel,” I argue that the American media too often places disproportionate attention on the flaws of radical Israeli extremists, failing to report them in the context of Israel’s broad and loving embrace of progressive values.
Whether or not you agree with me, I’d love to hear your point of view. And I’m excited to report that — thanks to the trailblazing technology of a Lexington-based startup, Punndit.com — today, I will be engaging in an interactive video debate with the RP Nation.
That means you! Please watch my video below, and underneath the video are instructions on how you can use the camera on your computer to record your 30 second take on the issue. And I will respond in kind.
Sound fun? Or at least worth trying? Watch below and join in!
Now it’s your turn:
When you are ready to begin your recording, click on the “Rec” button at the far left of the red line under the video. (The red line is called the “PunnBar”)
If this is your first time at Punndit, you will be prompted to sign in through Facebook or Twitter.
The Record button will change to a “Stop” button after recording begins. Clicking on Stop will end the recording and begin playback of the recording for you to review.
To submit your video then click the “Post and Save” button that will appear.
Your punns (videos) are limited to 30 seconds, so there’s a countdown recording clock that will show you how long your recording is running.
You can type in a title for your video response that will show in the PunnBar just below your thumbnail picture.
Be sure to share your video response with your friends through the social networking buttons available after your recording is finished.
I begin by offering a full-throated “amen” to Ron Granieri’s remarks regarding Jerry Ford’s presidency. While many Republicans seem to view Reagan as the progenitor of today’s Republican Party, Ford may be the reason why the Republican Party still existed in 1980.
Despite its brevity, Ford’s tenure offers more than its share of food for thought regarding the character of effective presidential leadership. As Ron points out, Ford indeed represented the quintessential “manager;” a moderate who was ultimately guided by what he perceived as the demands of the time. Far from the accommodationist caricature painted by his critics on the right, Ford did not hesitate to strike out on his own when necessary. While the Nixon pardon offers the ultimate measure of this characteristic (the fact that he received the 2001 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award demonstrates long-overdue liberal respect for this decision), Ford’s economic record also demonstrated a unique mix of toughness and pragmatism.
Taking office in the midst of the Arab oil shocks of 1973-74, Ford identified inflation as the chief focus of his economic policy. Widely-derided at the time – and largely forgotten since – Ford’s “Whip Inflation Now” moniker reflected Ford’s deeply ingrained sense that inflation constituted the chief threat to long-term economic growth. Initially proposing a mixture of tax increases and budget cuts, Ford later embraced a program of modest tax cuts paired with spending restraint (the latter generating a series of vetoes which strained his relationship with the large Democrat majorities in Congress). These policies worked: inflation in 1976 was 5.75%, as compared to 11.03% in 1974. GDP grew at a rate of 5.4% in 1976 (after contracting -0.6% and 0.2% in 1974 and 1975, respectively), while unemployment fell from a high of 9% in May 1975 to 7.8% in December 1976. The subsequent unraveling of the economy began with Jimmy Carter’s early 1977 “stimulus package” that failed to recognize the brisk growth Ford had bequeathed to him. Matters grew worse, of course, with the second series of oil shocks in 1979.
These days, when people speak abstractly about the kind of President the country needs, they usually say that it should be someone with legislative experience, who can reach across the aisle to compromise with the other party, who can make difficult decisions, and who enjoys the respect, even friendship of other world leaders, thus improving the international standing of the United States.
In my lifetime, we had just such a President, and no one appreciated him much. He still receives only occasional credit from history and policy geeks, and makes little impression on the public memory, never showing up on anyone’s list of the greatest Presidents. And yet, the closer you look at the actual record, the more of a gem he appears to have been.
I am talking of course about Gerald R. Ford.
I can hear the gasps now. Wait, you say, you mean the guy who fell down the stairs of Air Force One and helped launch the career of Chevy Chase and “Saturday Night Live?” The guy whose name graces the title of one of John Updike’s lamer late novels? The guy who pardoned Richard Nixon? That Gerald Ford?
Read the rest of… The RPs Debate Presidential Greatness: Ron Granieri Rebuts
I think it’s time to throw a bit of kerosene into this debate and see what catches on fire.
I’ve only been alive for a quarter century–a long enough time to see a mere five presidencies. All five of the men who have held the highest office in the United States since my birth have their detractors, but I believe there exists one President who will be held in the highest esteem by future generations; as well as the man I believe to have held the office with the most courage, created the most positive change, and wielded greatest political acumen. That man is the current President: Barack Obama.
It is extremely difficult to abstract from the present when it comes to judging Presidents. Consider the cases of men like James K. Polk and Harry S Truman: it took our country decades in order to give these men the accolades they deserved. However, as a student of policy and of political science, I believe President Obama will go down in history as one of our greatest Presidents regardless of the outcome of the election in November.
Read the rest of… The RPs Debate Presidential Greatness: Robert Kahne Rebuts
Ron Granieri’s Response
2, He also needs to shore up his right. Even his worst enemy knows that. He could also use someone with a lot more zip to deliver attacks.
