Round 3 recap: Marco Rubio and Chris Christie continue to trounce their opponents while Tim Pawlenty slips-in with an upset over Jim DeMint with 52% of the votes. Pawlenty narrowly won both of the first rounds with 54% in each of the polls. Condoleeza Rice is the lowest seed to enter the final 4. Being a 5th seed she has overcome opponents at #4, #1 and #6 to earn her spot.
On to the FINAL FOUR!
Who would you want as Mitt Romney’s VP? The Final Four polls are below. Voting for this round will go until Sunday.
In each poll below pick which of the two candidates you’d most like to see as the VP pick in 2012.
[poll id="44"]
[poll id="45]
Nate owns and manages a small souvenir manufacturing business. He and his wife of 12 years have 2 children. Nate has been blogging for Mitt Romney since late 2006 and is co-founder and editor of MittRomneyCentral.com.
View Posts | View Profile
I still think Governor Nikki Haley should be his vice president. Or maybe General Petraeus. But, if it came down to these four, I’d pick Marco Rubio, who could help win the Spanish vote (and the Tea Party vote). Governor Christie can do more for America where he is than locked up in the VP’s office. Heck, he could be a Cabinet Secretary; maybe Labor or Justice. Condoleeza Rice is just a little too … Bushie. She has the foreign policy chops, no denying, but I’d pick her as an ambassador, or maybe put her back at State. As for Governor Pawlenty, he’s Romney-lite; he brings nothing new to the table.
Hey we all love Christie and Rubio. They have made it pretty clear they do not want the job. So this is a nice excercise but first things first, get Mitt the nomination and then find the best person to generate a victory in 2012. West of florida would be my choice strategicaly and philosophicaly.
The only name on this list who should be anywhere near consideration as a running mate is Tim Pawlenty.
Chris Christie has said that he’s not ready to be president. A VP needs to be ready from day one. He needs to do the job to which the voters of New Jersey elected him. He also has said some questionable things about the 2nd Amendment. Second Amendment voters are a little wary of Mr. Romney already. If he picks someone else with questionable 2nd Amendment standing, he may lose turnout with this group of voters. The GOP cannot afford to lose turnout with these voters.
Marco Rubio, like Chris Christie, needs to serve a full term in the office to which he was elected. He seems to be a good guy, but he has no executive experience. He doesn’t appear ready to be president on day one.
Condoleeza Rice has no executive experience and isn’t interested in the job. Even her foreign policy experience is based more in the Cold War than in where things are now. She has the same problems with pro-life voters that Chris Christie has with 2nd Amendment voters. Pro-lifers aren’t sure about Mr. Romney. He can’t afford to raise more questions with his VP pick.
Mr. Pawlenty has a good rapport with religious conservatives. He will not have credibility problems with them or with the overlapping pro-life community. His political experience is similar to Mr. Romney’s because that’s the resume that qualifies someone to be president. We’ve long ago learned that geographic balance on a ticket isn’t that important in modern campaigns. George Bush and Dick Cheney were both basically Texans when they won. Dick Cheney had to change his registration back to Wyoming to meet Constitutional requirements, but he had been in Texas for a long time. Bill Clinton and Al Gore were from neighboring southern states. Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney would offer no less geographic balance than the Obama/Biden ticket.
The real test will be the primaries. If Mr. Pawlenty does horribly with the voters, he can’t add much to the ticket. If he does well, particularly with groups that are suspicious of Mr. Romney, he could add a great deal.
You have to win the election. A Romney/Pawlenty ticket gives republicans the best chance. People like Rubio and Christy will be campaigning for Romney any way. Pawlenty can deliver states in the midwest. That would make Obama spend extra time and money. While this is happening Rubio can deliver Florida for Romney and Christy can energize the base. It’s all about the electoral college people. Let’s do the math.
Romney/Pawlenty- Making America Stronger
PLEASE READ
I was thinking last night about a hypothetical general election between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. I asked myself, “If this is the case, what the heck is Obama going to say to the voters to convince them Romney shouldn’t be president????”
Some things Obama could try to say:
(1) Mitt’s a flip-flopper
Why that wouldn’t work: Obama is the real flip-flopper here. Mitt has changed on 1 issue. Obama on 3 or 4.
(2) I’ve been president 4 years and he hasn’t.
Why that wouldn’t work: Obama has failed for 4 years. Give Mitt a chance.
(3) Mitt is looking out for the big corporations and special interests.
Why that wouldn’t work: Obama has been looking out for big corporations and special interests. Mitt never has done so in public office.
(4) Mitt is a war monger.
Why that wouldn’t work: Obama has brought us to war in Libya and escalated war in Afghanistan. He has also kept Guantanamo open.
So I’m just thinking: OBAMA cannot win a 1v1 against Mitt.
[b]* So the MOST IMPORTANT THING Mitt can do is to choose a SAFE running mate who will just shore up social Conservatives*[/b]
If the running mate has no baggage, Mitt wins. That is going to be CRUCIAL. Mitt could not pick a hail-mary like Sarah Palin because Obama would campaign against Mitt’s VP the whole time. Mitt needs someone who is a social Conservative, who is a safe pick, and has no baggage.
Thoughts?
I like LtColAllen West for VP!
@Sam
I think I completely agree with your analysis Sam. President Obama cannot beat Romney in a general election.
I was so disappointed when something happened in FL last primary. I was so mad at Mike Huckabee, I felt he was cheap shooting. I would love Mitt to win and pick a strong conservative who will compliment him and be able to help make our Country strong.