That Veep thing, again
http://www.statesman.com/…ep_thing_1.html
This one comes from the Austin American-Statesman.
Perry has been mentioned as a potential Veep candidate (mostly by supporters and a few staffers), but no public interest has so far surfaced. The latest rumor: He might pair up with Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
This is the 2nd time (that i’m aware of) that they have ran an article about a Mitt Romney/Rick Perry ticket.
Let’s list a few of the people that could be Mitt Romney’s VP:
1)Mitt Romney/Jeb Bush
2)Mitt Romney/Rudolph Giuliani
3)Mitt Romney/Matt Blunt
4)Mitt Romney/Condoleeza Rice
5)Mitt Romney/John McCain
6)Mitt Romney/Bill Frist
7)Mitt Romney/George Allen
And the list goes on…
Who do you want (and why) to be Mitt Romney’s VP?
Kevin
Technorati Tags Mitt Romney
October 31st, 2006 at 6:25 pm
No to perry. The reason he there is two indies running real in Texas is because of him.
October 31st, 2006 at 7:10 pm
Also I think Tommy Thompson should be on the list. He would be Wisconsin and with Romney who looks to be running out of Michigan more than Mass you can sweep the upper midwest (Iowa, Mich, Minn, Wisc)
October 31st, 2006 at 8:19 pm
Again, if Romney even makes it out of the GOP field, he will most likely have to have McCain on to prevent him from running as an independent and handing Hillary the White House
October 31st, 2006 at 9:09 pm
The question is who would a McCain indie run hurt the most. I am not so sure the Democrats would profit much from a McCain indie run as much as he is hated by the base.
I think Mitt needs to find a female to run as VP.
October 31st, 2006 at 10:39 pm
my top pick has always been Condie. She is a genius. She has quickly racked up a lot diplomatic experience. and she truly understands, like Romney, the nature of the enemy we’re facing. I could also list some very obvious electability traits, but those are secondary. My second choice would be Giuliani. Ideally I would want Bush but I think the nation has Bush fatigue. McCain is a no. You can’t get a man who thinks about being President while in the shower every morning.
October 31st, 2006 at 11:02 pm
Besides Romney, I really like George Allen. I found him to be honest and straight-forward. I see the same qualities in Rudy G. I don’t see it in John McCain although his has coined the phrase “Straight Talk Express”, it seems to be more like the please the audience and make myself look good express at all costs “Express”. I don’t see that in Allen and Guillani (and Jeb), but I do see that in McVain.
November 1st, 2006 at 9:02 am
Romney’s VP needs to be a major Republican player as well as a real vote-getting asset for the ticket. Depending on how things shake out, Hillary Clinton will almost certainly be the Democratic candidate and chances are good if Obama runs he’ll end up as her VP nominee.
Romney if nominated has a limited set of candidates. He can go old school and pick a Republican stalwart like James Baker, but while Baker has great credentials, he’s been out of the game for a while and wouldn’t excite many voters.
Mitt could pick Condi Rice, who is brilliant, charismatic, and a foreign affairs veteran. But Condi has a lot of baggage from Iraq and the Bush administration and has never run for elected office. She also doesn’t really rally the base. Colin Powell is in the same situation — respected and liked, but not popular among the party elites and/or grassroots faithful.
McCain will never consent to being Mitt’s VP. McCain carries grudges and doesn’t like playing second fiddle. He still has bitterness towards Bush from 2000, and the way the early primaries are shaping up, McCain and his team are preparing to tear into Mitt. Should Mitt end up defeating McCain — and there’s a good chance that’ll happen — McCain will most likely want to retain his powerful Senate seat. Besides, I don’t think it would help Mitt to have a pouting/glowering/crabby/maverick John McCain as his VP, even if it helped him in the election.
McCain is also enough of a team player not to screw the party by going independent. While McCain is a media darling, he’s not so loved by Republican party faithful and we all know independents are a fickle, fickle bunch. An independent run would be disastrous for Romney, the party, McCain’s political legacy, and the entire country.
Romney and Jeb Bush are reportedly good friends and like-minded executives but the Bush name is a liability come 2008. Even strong Republicans would be wary of another link in the Bush dynasty being thrust onto the national ticket in the wake of W. Both men are smart enough not force the issue with an ill-advised VP position. Besides, if Jeb Bush was put in the administration, his talents would be better used in running a major department.
George Allen is in a political wilderness right now. His “macaca” comment and his poorly run reelection campaign don’t exactly project strength and ability. Plus, in 2008 I don’t think Mitt will need help carrying the South. He’d need help in key battleground states and George Allen is more of a liability than an asset, especially in sharp contrast to potential Dem VP nominee Barak O’Bama. Include Bill Frist and Newt Gingrich in this category as well.
Basically, it comes down to Rudy Guiliani. Rudy has a lot of things Mitt doesn’t have at this point — widespread name recognition, an unbeatable record on terrorism/crisis response, and real appeal to moderates and independents. Early polling numbers usually show Guiliani and McCain as one and two. But despite his popularity, Rudy lacks the deep Republican base appeal because of his stance on key social issues, his New York origins, and his ample personal baggage. But Romney/Guiliani would be the strongest one-two punch ticket the Republicans have ever had.
If Guiliani doesn’t run — and it looks like he won’t — it would be a good idea for him to campaign for Mitt. Much of Guiliani’s appeal comes as the “McCain alternative” candidate. If Guiliani was to transfer his support to Romney, Mitt would enter the primaries running at least neck and neck with McCain in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and would probably be ahead in Iowa and Michigan. Rudy appeals to voters in battleground states particularly in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. His moderate stances and popular appeal would help Mitt move to the center after the primaries. Rudy is a good executive, he’s loyal, personable, knows DC, and would be a real asset to Mitt’s administration.
One final bonus: I doubt Rudy would ever accidentally shoot a close friend while hunting in Texas and then fail to report it for 14 hours.
November 1st, 2006 at 10:10 am
How about Alberto Gonzales? Seems better than Condi to me.
November 1st, 2006 at 12:04 pm
Perry is an excellent choice! First he’s a solid southern Conservative. 2nd He’s not one of the tired old faces that voters have already seen and would add some excitment to the ticket. I think Dr. Rice would like to stay where she is, at least for some more time.
November 1st, 2006 at 12:58 pm
I agree that Giuliani brings the most to the ticket.
November 1st, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Rudy G., Tommy Thompson (carried Wisconsin for the ticket) or Fred Thompson (lots of charisma, and really smart).
November 1st, 2006 at 4:43 pm
I like the idea of Jeb or Fred Thompson as VP. I also think he should reach out to Tommy Franks as DoD, that would put some real foreign policy experience on his side.
November 1st, 2006 at 5:02 pm
Snoop Dog??
Just kidding. Condi. Carry the Bush red, indies and women who will lean towards Hillary just because.
November 1st, 2006 at 5:15 pm
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty could make a good running mate for Mitt.
He is another Red Gov from a Blue State, but his blue state is a part of the Rust Belt that is on the verge of turning Red (Dubya lost those states by 1-3%).
Combine Pawlenty’s MN base with Romney’s Michigan base and you might be able to flip those red.
Plus, Pawlenty is an adult convert to evangelicalism (from Catholic upbringing) which gives him big credibility in the South.
November 2nd, 2006 at 8:47 am
My personal choice would be Condi Rice for all the reasons BrandonP mentions. However, I suspect that, in 2008, having someone so intimately associated with Iraq would probably be a liability.
I agree with comments made above that there’s really no way McCain would consent to the VP slot on anyone’s ticket - particularly not on the ticket of the candidate of the movement conservatives.
I agree to the most part with Brad’s analysis above, at least until his conclusion that Guiliani would be Romney’s strongest choice as VP. My concern with Rudy is that his rather unorthodox stance on the social issues may make him enough of a liability for the ticket with the Evangelical right to significantly hamper Mitt’s chances for the White House. However, I’m not an Evangelical myself, so I could well be reading that wrong.
I like 38585’s suggestion of Tommy Franks - its a bit unorthodox, Franks would certainly add some much-needed foreign policy credibility to the ticket, and I could see him holding his own in a VP debate with Obama. However, he carries the same baggage as Condi, albeit to a lesser degree.
I’m not yet sure who I’d peg as the best VP candidate. However, there’s still plenty of time before VP decision making gets critical. Indeed, the choice of VP is one of the biggest cards any presidential candidate has to play, and I don’t see Mitt playing that card for a good long time yet.
Besides, there’s a lot of time for other candidates to come out of the wood work. I don’t recognize a lot of the the names put forward above, and who had heard of Duncan Hunter, or at least considered him an even remotely likely candidate, before Tuesday?
November 3rd, 2006 at 9:24 am
Is somebody really suggesting Rick Perry as VP with a straight face? Rick Perry’s support in Texas is weak at best. He is a poor governor who does not uphold conservative principles. He is an even worse comminucator. He is rarely seen in public. At public appearances, he shows up late, comes in through rear entrances, does not greet or mingle with the public and he travels with a large entourage. In short, he is pretty full of himself and is not very well liked. He is the reason Texas has a four-way governors race right now and he will be lucky to get 30% of the vote. I’m supporting Carol Strayhorn as an independent but may have to hold my nose and vote for Perry anyway if the Democrat Chris Bell pulls too close.
Perry as VP??? Somebody at the Austin Statesman is trying to elect Hillary, you can bet on it.
November 10th, 2006 at 2:57 pm
yes, Rick Perry is the most obvious choice. Massachusetts/Texas. You wrap up the South for the GOP, then head North.
One thing Romney is wrong on: Immigration. He’s right on illegal immigration, but WRONG on “legal” immigration. We need a moratorium on all immigration. The Third World majority America of the 21st century will NOT vote Republican. So stop all immigration now before it’s too late—well, it’s already too late.
November 14th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
I think a great choice would be Huckabee. He helps wrap up the evangelical vote in south. Another good thing about Huckabee is that he gets lots of good press for losing 115 lbs in the last couple years. All the media focus on this could be used to spin a message about Mitt’s health care plan in Mass. Unless Bush’s approval jumps up, he will need to run a common-sense clean up Washington campaign. Bringing in re-treads from the current administration will not help.
Tommy Franks is another good choice, but I wonder if the disenchantment concerning Iraq will move discussion away from Mitt’s strength (domestic issues, accountability, budget balancing) into foreign affairs, where he is much weaker.