End of the road?
I sure hope not, but this article sure makes it sound like it…
Mitt Romney, who earlier this year stood between John McCain and the Republican presidential nomination, said yesterday he does not expect to seek public office again.
In an interview at the Duquesne Club, Downtown, Mr. Romney answered the question several ways, and each answer seemed to close the door not only on another presidential bid, but other elective office as well.
“I think it’s quite unlikely that I would run for office again,” he said. “I gave this my best effort. My experience in politics is that the window opens rarely. It opened for me. I stepped through it, got on the stage and did my darnedest to win the nomination. John McCain was successful and I was not.”
He added that he now plans to stay active “by being outside of government rather than being inside” and, pressed on whether he was saying he would never run, called another run for office “quite unlikely.”
Ugh…between this and how the McCain campaign is going I think I need to stop following politics…
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:36 am
Well, unless he really doesn’t want to be president and doesn’t think he could do a lot of good for the country in that role, he should definitely run again. Republican politics seems to be all about whose “turn” it is. Unfortunately that landed us with McCain this time. If Mitt runs again, its likely to be him.
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:28 am
Maybe the fierce resistance to him by the TheoCons and the converse way in which they welcomed Palin with arms open wide was writing on the wall that was just too large to miss.
I hope it’s not over yet, but Amerian may have just passed up on having a truly great president.
PS. Hi there Bigmo (Seattle Independent)
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:37 am
I won’t believe it until 2011 and Mitt is at a press conference giving an official statement that he is not running.
I believe that as of right now he couldn’t imagine rnning again. However, after 4 years of the dems liberal rule and unemployment at 8%; he’ll be compelled for his family to run again.
If that’s not enough…I will push a draft Romney movement.
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:21 am
Let’s get a “Draft Romney”, petition going now! Please let’s not let a man like Romney give up on politics.
Romney 2012
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:35 am
I don’t understand this at all and its pretty bad politics on romney’s part to say this now if he does run again or holds some other office in the future…how about just a “maybe/maybe not” to ?’s about his plans…Bottom line, unless there are non-published health issues in the romney family than i don’t get why he would be one and done on the national scene. As for the window thing, i don’t understand that either, hardly anybody wins the white house on their try #1 and if obama wins, the window is wide, wide open for him to run in 2012, much better than this cycle in fact + the window is open for running for other offices and i think the prez cycle for him goes up to 2016, when he would be 69 if he holds another office. I also don’t understand why he wouldn’t relish taking the sec of treasury job if mccain somehow won, he could have a huge impact in that job, isn’t that the point for running in the first place?…or taking any govt job for that matter under mccain to either position himself for a run in 2012/2016 or just to serve at the highest level…gee not like its a president or bust thing, in my take its a heck of honor to be in the cabinet or be an ambassador. My advise, would be to not rule anything out or in i guess and leave it at that…than see what happens in this election.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:07 am
blue–I think the reason Romney is not interested in a spot in a McCain Administration is that he must be reasonably sure that McCain won’t give him free reign to get things done. Why take the job if he won’t be allowed to do it?
In regards to him running again, I can think of 3 reasons that he would not run.
1. Health issues in the family as you mentioned.
2. Obama surprises us all and does a splendid job. (I can hope, right?)
3. The analysis by Team Romney shows he doesn’t have enought support in the Republican party to make a go of it again. (If legions of Social Conservatives are going for Huckabee, Palin, or however and playing the Anti-Romney theme again, we could end up with a result similar to that of 2008.)
Of course, I hope that Obama becomes a good conservative, but if that doesn’t work, I hope Romney will try again.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:12 am
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:19 am
Has anyone thought of the fact that IF Mitt says ‘yes, I’ll be running in 12′, that it would admit that McCain has lost this, and then MCCain and others could BLAME Mitt in the final week of McCain’s dismal campaign, for losing?
My though is that Mitt needs to stay positive through Nov 4. Then, on Nov 5, we can start the draft Mitt again. Until then, he needs to keep it shut on running for any office at all. It signals to those who have yet to make up their mind, that it will be OK to vote for Obama (as I already did yesterday), and will ensure a loss by McCain.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:20 am
Mitt Romney using the phrase that it is “quite unlikely” that he will run again, IMHO, means that he is running right now for 2012!
He as said repeatedly that he is not running for two reasons: 1. He doesn’t want to take the attention off the national ticket in the waning days of an election campaign and 2. So that he won’t have to re-start the media circus on all the controversy that engulfed his first run for the White House.
I feel that he is actually much better positioned now than he was two years ago. Thankfully, John McCain will be out of the mix, Sarah Palin will be “no contest”, and Mitt’s financial expertise will be highly prized, especially if Obama tanks the economy.
It is an old axiom of politics that people “vote their pocketbooks” and that being the case, the voters will be ready to propel Barack “Spread the Wealth Around” Obama onto the sidewalk in front of 1600 Pennsylvania after four no growth, no prosperity years.
Don’t be depressed by Mitt’s statements about not running. It is the ONLY way he can respond for at least the next two years. In the meantime, contribute to Free and Strong America PAC, help elect conservative Pubbies to Congress, both now and in 2010 and get ready to retake the Presidency with Mitt Romney as the nominee in 2012.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:41 am
Actually, I think’s Romney’s realistic and smart move for now is to concentrate on supporting conservative Republicans for office now and in 2010. It would be unwise to mention a run for 2012 until after he has done all he can for the Republican party through 2010 and hopefully become the defacto leader of the party and the platform and in the meanwhile gotten a boat load of uninformed folks to drop their opinion that he is a fake, phony, empty suit, RINO, etc.
I also hope the TheoCons are noticing all the heat the Mormons in California are taking for stongly supporting the state constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage. Maybe they will start to see that as far as politics go, Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Protestants (including Evangelicals), and even moderate Muslims are on the same team.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:52 am
Much can happen in two to three years, the economy may be heading in the right direction by then. Obama, will put in people who understand various aspects of economic reform. Jamie Dimon will most likely be his Treasury Secretary.
I do not believe Obama is stupid, political rhetoric aside, and may perform well, once in office. That said, with an able and competent candidate (MR) the Republican party may have a good shot at taking the WH in 2012.
I am sure Mitt will bring about a larger vision that will focus on other assets and strengths he offers. I hope his focus and how he runs will be significantly different this time around. Less three legged stool stuff and more substance. I think that is what the Republican Party needs at the critical juncture.
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:35 am
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122454498635252109.html
Wall Street Journal article on a former Reagan Fed Chairman Paul Volcker.
Larry Kudlow NR / CNBC comments:
“There’s a huge multi-thousand word article in this mornings Wall Street Journal on Paul Volcker, the former Fed chairman who conquered inflation during the Reagan years and has become a key financial advisor to Sen. Obama. Articles like this fan the flames of speculation that Volcker could be Obama’s secretary of the Treasury, despite his 81-year-old senior-citizen status. But Volcker is a vigorous 81 and I think he could handle the job.
Of course, Volcker has a great reputation as a deficit-cutter and a strong-dollar man. What’s more, as a long time financial advisor who was president of the New York Fed, undersecretary of the Treasury, and of course Fed chairman, Volcker’s money knowledge would gain bipartisan support to solve the financial crisis, which will surely spill over into next year. Volcker would attract bipartisan support because of his superb reputation. He is not a supply-sider, nor did he agree with the Reagan tax cuts in the 1980s while he was Fed chairman. But he did work well with the Gipper. Reagan’s supply-side tax cuts along with Volcker’s tight money to slay inflation produced a strong economic recovery and proved all naysayers wrong.
Volcker will unfortunately agree with Obama that the top tax rate can be raised. Not good. But he’s very good on tighter spending and King Dollar. And he does have vast knowledge of the intricacies of world credit markets.
I’m sure the Obama campaign is encouraging the Volcker speculation, since Mr. Volcker brings gravitas and experience to Obama.
“The other likely candidate for Treasury under an Obama administration is Lawrence Summers, the proven protégé who was Treasury secretary during Clinton’s last year and before that undersecretary. Summers also would be a strong player, with wide knowledge of our financial problems. He’s also for a stable dollar. And noteworthy is his long-held criticism of Fannie and Freddie. Like Volcker, Summers would agree to lifting the top tax rate; he is no supply-sider. But also like Volcker, he is a moderate-to-conservative Democrat who would be well received by Wall Street and investors.”
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:40 am
Tax Haven - Video Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi0lkJBTi58
Tax Haven - Video Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf14lkyH2dM
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:20 am
I think Mitt means what he says…
He often said that he thought it would be highly unlikely he would be picked as John McCains VP
Events could change but all ready the GOP has there eyes on Sarah no experience required Palin.
The Republican party has some real soul searching to do.
I am still livid over the way the Huck a bigots treated Romney and fractured this party.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:43 am
I wouldn’t read too much into this now. “I don’t plan on it” is really the only answer Romney can give without setting off red flags. To say anthing else would require acknowledging one of the following:
- That John McCain was likely to lose
- That Romney would challenge McCain, before knowing anything about how McCain would govern.
Both would be considered in bad form.
And, Mitt can say what he wants, but he didn’t give it his best effort - he dropped out even before the Texas primary (where at least one poll showed him leading), and endorsed McCain.
If we get to 2011 and don’t see any signs that Mitt is setting up for a run, then we can look to someone else, but remember, Reagan didn’t expect to run after 1976 either.
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:29 pm
http://defamer.com/5045575/this-cover-of-life-may-be-the-closest-youll-ever-get-to-tina-fey-as-sarah-palin
Check it out
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Nice to see you again Seattle! If McCain/Palin lose, she will lose a lot of momentum for her next run. She and the Huckster may split the theocon vote, leaving Mitt the fiscal conservatives, moderates, and the social cons for whom a candidate’s religion is not the primary decisive factor (Mitt got a nice chunk of Evangelical votes in spite of Huckabee’s tactics.) Not to mention the party is not as likely to be working against him next time. Like Bush Sr, Dole, McCain, and even Reagan, he will have “waited his turn.”
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/magazine/26mccain-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
McCains shifting campaign explained.
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:43 pm
NARRATIVE 4:
Team of Mavericks vs. Old-Style Washington
“On Sunday, Aug. 24, Schmidt and a few other senior advisers again convened for a general strategy meeting at the Phoenix Ritz-Carlton. McInturff, the pollster, brought somewhat-reassuring new numbers. The Celebrity motif had taken its toll on Obama. It was no longer third and nine, the pollster said — meaning, among other things, that McCain might well be advised to go with a safe pick as his running mate.
Then for a half-hour or so, the group reviewed names that had been bandied about in the past: Gov. Tim Pawlenty (of Minnesota) and Gov. Charlie Christ (of Florida); the former governors Tom Ridge (Pennsylvania) and Mitt Romney (Massachusetts); Senator Joe Lieberman (Connecticut); and Mayor Michael Bloomberg (New York). From a branding standpoint, they wondered, what message would each of these candidates send about John McCain? McInturff’s polling data suggested that none of these candidates brought significantly more to the ticket than any other.
“What about Sarah Palin?” Schmidt asked.
After a moment of silence, Fred Davis, McCain’s creative director (and not related to Rick), said, “I did the ads for her gubernatorial campaign.” But Davis had never once spoken with Palin, the governor of Alaska. Since the Republican Governors Association had paid for his work, Davis was prohibited by campaign laws from having any contact with the candidate. All Davis knew was that the R.G.A. folks had viewed Palin as a talent to keep an eye on. “She’d certainly be a maverick pick,” he concluded.
The meeting carried on without Schmidt or Rick Davis uttering an opinion about Palin. Few in the room were aware that the two had been speaking to each other about Palin for some time now. Davis was with McCain when the two met Palin for the first time, at a reception at the National Governors Association winter meeting in February, in the J. W. Marriott Hotel in Washington. It had not escaped McCain’s attention that Palin had blasted through the oleaginous Alaska network dominated by Frank Murkowski and Ted Stevens, much in the same manner that McCain saw himself doing when he was a young congressman. Newt Gingrich and others had spoken of Palin as a rising star. Davis saw something else in Palin — namely, a way to re-establish the maverick persona McCain had lost while wedding himself to Bush’s war. A female running mate might also pick off some disaffected Hillary Clinton voters.
After that first brief meeting, Davis remained in discreet but frequent contact with Palin and her staff — gathering tapes of speeches and interviews, as he was doing with all potential vice-presidential candidates. One tape in particular struck Davis as arresting: an interview with Palin and Gov. Janet Napolitano, the Arizona Democrat, on “The Charlie Rose Show” that was shown in October 2007. Reviewing the tape, it didn’t concern Davis that Palin seemed out of her depth on health-care issues or that, when asked to name her favorite candidate among the Republican field, she said, “I’m undecided.” What he liked was how she stuck to her pet issues — energy independence and ethics reform — and thereby refused to let Rose manage the interview. This was the case throughout all of the Palin footage. Consistency. Confidence. And . . . well, look at her. A friend had said to Davis: “The way you pick a vice president is, you get a frame of Time magazine, and you put the pictures of the people in that frame. You look at who fits that frame best — that’s your V. P.”
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:46 pm
These machinations remained thoroughly sub rosa. McCain’s close friend, Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator, continued to argue passionately for Lieberman — “a McCain-Plus ticket,” he would say. McCain, referring to Romney, at one point said that “Mitt’s been awfully helpful with fund-raising,” according to a senior aide who was present during the discussion. “And he’d bring us Michigan.” Pawlenty’s name frequently came up in internal discussions, says that aide. But as for Palin, says another: “She just wasn’t one of the names. I mean, we heard more about Bloomberg.”
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:41 pm
He’s being realistic that the window may not be open in 4 years. If conditions are ripe for him to run again, of course he’ll run.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Blue
Romney has explained why he does not want a cabinet position. His father was in a cabinet position and he said his father did not RELISH the experience.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Why take take crumbs from McCain, when Romney can get the whole cake in 12?
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Yes i have heard romney’s explanation about not wanting to be in the cabinet and i just don’t agree with it as i have posted…
1) big difference between being the sec of treasury and sec of HUD in stature and influence, more so in these times…heck even romney being sec of commerce would be worthwhile…do you want to be in the game or the stands…don’t think romney could be a bystander for the next 4 years if he has any plans to run for the white house again either in 12 or 16 if mccain wins.
2) mccain is no nixon…ie nixon white house micromanaged everything + the job of sec of treasury isn’t exactly mccain’s strong suit so i could see him give a wide span of influence with the only demand showing some results.
3) I think the general rule is a politician gets 2 whacks at trying to get their party’s nomination and it is usually the second time around that gives them the best shot…from the 08 cycle i think romney, huckabee and hillary all have the political capital to make one more good run at their nominations depending on this years outcome…if those 3 position themselves right, they could either run in 12 or 16 for their second try.
4) If for some reason romney just wants to go back to the private sector and never run or have a govt job in the future which i find baffling…than the door is wide open for the current gov of utah to step up his plans for a white house run and fill the void romney would leave among a good chunk of his supporters…it would be partly a mormon thing but even ray charles could see the guy is gonna be a player in future presidential politics without regard to his religion…i would suspect huntsman wants to serve his second term out and than run for hatch’s senate seat in 2012 but if obama wins and romney doesn’t run, he might think about a white house bid instead in 2012 otherwise he will get himself elected to the senate and look at any cycle past that for a run.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Mitt Romney says electing Republican in 8th District ‘vital’
Story, 20 min video of Mitt’s speech today:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20081022/GPG0101/81022050/1207/GPG01
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:28 pm
I think Romney is true to his word and might not run again. We have seen this time and time again. When Mitt says something he means it. If Mitt finds that in four years he can win and has support then do I think he should run again? ABSOLUETELY. Yet I don’t bank on it. Maybe I am just showing my pessimistic side being that this was my first election and my hopes where crushed.
I voted absentee already. The only vote I was willing to give was my Yes on prop 8 vote. McCain was hard. On a side note I do not think Palin has no experience. She has about 10X more experience then Obama. She happens to be commander in chief on Alaskas 49th national guard which is responsible to protect the United States border and uses the missle defense system. She is the one Governor in the Union that has been briefed on every national security threat by the white house. Argue with me if you want, but I think that will only fall on deaf ears.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Letting the people that know her best, speak for themselves.
http://wasillaproject.typepad.com/
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:34 am
Seems there are quite a few of us out there.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-hirshberg/republicans-voting-for-ob_b_136997.html
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I can’t believe there are any. I mean, I believe it, but it makes no sense. Not voting for McCain I can understand, voting for Obama baffles me.
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Conservativesforchange.com. bigmo, it was not an easy decision. But the GOP left me. I did not leave it. This is the ONLY way many of us can stand a chance to get the GOP back on track. It was not easy to push the button. But I know it will be worth it.
Just watch. It will be fun.
October 24th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Don’t worry guys, he’ll be back; most def.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Ex-candidate Romney sees White House run for Jindal
2TheAdvocate.com
Friday, Oct 24, 2008
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/politics/33203229.html
Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney predicted Thursday that Gov. Bobby Jindal will consider a 2012 run for the White House if John McCain loses on Nov. 4.
“Bobby Jindal will certainly be taking a look at it,” Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, said on WWL-Radio.
Jindal denied Thursday afternoon that he is mounting a presidential campaign despite multiple fundraising trips outside the state and an upcoming visit to Iowa.
“I am not running for the White House in 2012,” Jindal said.
He said he plans to run for re-election for governor in 2011. It is not his “intent” to run for the White House in 2016, he said.
Jindal said his goal is to serve two terms as governor and then leave public office to focus on his family.
“I don’t have any intent of running for any other office. I’d like to ideally go back to the private sector,” Jindal said.
Romney, who sought the Republican presidential nomination earlier this year, said he will not be on the 2012 ballot.
“I think it’s unlikely that I’ll be running again,” Romney said.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Maybe veep? I know it’s unprecidented, but what if Romney ran, and immediately introduced his ‘running mate’ Jindal? Romney’s name top the the tickets, and everyone knows Jindal will be the veep nom. A twofer, not a gimmick like palin, but a real, rock solid ticket the primary voter can grasp on to?
October 24th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
that way, there will be no surprise announcements, and no shock and aweheck’s. We know when we vote in the primary who were getting.