I don't know if it has anything to do with Romney's recent interview with Sean Hannity, But Mitt's website is up and running again. Shortly after his concession at CPAC, www.mittromney.com was reduced to a single page expressing thanks. Now it has various links to the issues he espoused during the campaign, speeches from the trail and even a contact link. Weird.
As you may know, Hannity and Karl Rove have been pushing a so-called "M&M" ticket. I don't know what to think about that, and I am highly doubtful that it will happen. Romney stated several times in the Hannity interview that there are no hard feelings between he and McCain since the primaries. Maybe this is true. After all, McCain was quick to support George W. Bush after a dirty and humiliating defeat in the 2000 primary.
Is it a good idea for him to consider Romney? Possibly. There are at least four things McCain and his advisors are asking themselves right now. ALL of these take a back seat to #1 listed below.
1. Who is best going to help me to beat my opponent in November?
2. Who is going to align with me on policy issues?
3. Who is going to fill in the gaps where I need additional strength?
4. With whom do I feel comfortable entrusting the Presidency if I cannot serve?
Maybe Romney is the guy to answer these questions, maybe not. If I were McCain, here would be my pro and con list about selecting Romney:
Pro:
-Romney has economics in his bloodstream. This is an admitted McCain weak spot.
-Romney has a solid conservative following, and it would help draw in voters that rejected McCain previously.
-Name recognition. The primaries have given Romney a lot of street cred
-He’s young. There has been nervousness within the party about McCain’s ability to serve long term.
-He’s good looking. This is probably the silliest reason, but hey, all those women who were “sMITTen” have votes too.
-Solid supporter of Iraq war and the surge. The two men favor staying in Iraq until victory is achieved.
-He is known for offering market-based solutions for the healthcare crisis, and could be a foil for a key Democrat issue.
Cons:
-Well known perception that the two men don’t like each other. May appear to voters as a union of expediency.
-Mitt’s “flip-flopper” tag. There’s some cannon fodder for the Dems.
-Even though Romney has a lot of conservative support, he does not have concrete backing by the southern evangelical voter, a must-have for the Republican nominee. If McCain wants to repair the damage in this voting bloc, Mitt’s probably the wrong guy.
-Mormonism. See previous bullet point.
-“Mr. Perfect” persona. Romney failed to connect with some voters because of this.
On a purely selfish level, I don’t want to see Romney hitch his wagon to McCain. No matter who the VP is, at the end of the day, you’re still voting for the guy at the top of the ticket, and I still see McCain losing this year. If McCain is going to go down in flames, I don’t want to see Romney attached to the fallout and thereby weakened for 2012. You don’t have to look any farther than John Edwards to realize that voters don’t like a loser.
However, I have cooled down enough from February 5th to admit that I will probably vote for McCain in November. I will do it while stifling a gag reflex and telling myself that I’m not so much voting FOR him as AGAINST the Dems. In the unlikely event that Mitt is chosen as McCain’s #2, It’ll take out some of the sting, but I still don’t know if I’d be happy about it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject...
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5 comments:
when it comes to comparison with john edwards, i think you have to distinguish trends between parties. john edwards is being treated by the dems the way they treated mondale, dukakis, gore, and kerry. the dems will not support a previous loser. however, republicans (and this isn't really a pro) tend to show their loyalty to the guy who run the most times. remember the comparison of bob dole and mccain? they waited their turn. reagan had to wait as well. he could have prevented a jimmy carter in 76, but republicans were loyalty to ford. but they let reagan have his chance later. that trend paid off with reagan, but not with dole. mccain is a much stronger candidate than dole was. i don't like the guy. i'd rather hang out with obama. but i don't want obama making foreign policy...
I think it would be a lot easier for Romney to become president if he were VP to McCain, because if McCain picks someone else (Huckabee for example), then that person would be in a stronger position to run next time. Also, what if something happens to McCain? He could be yelling at someone and have a stroke.
I agree with much of what you say here, Josh. I've been comparing Romney with Reagan '76. I'd just hate to see Romney lose some of his appeal if things go badly in November. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Again, it's probably a moot point since I don't see McCain giving Romney the slot.
I also agree that I'd much rather have a (root) beer with Obama than McCain.
Rise brings up a good point- McCain could have a massive thrombo during his first few years in office and THEN where would we be.
I too have been pondering this as well. And after much thought, I have come to the conclusion – America still needs new leadership, and we need it now. Selfishly we thought of (like we are part of the decision making process) holding back, and preserving Mitt for the next Presidential Election, as perhaps has happened with other Presidents. But I say – bring on the talent, the leadership, the experience, the insight and the moral clarity we need in Washington. From my view – this would certainly put my vote to better use. I would fully support a McCain/Romney ticket. And this pair would certainly give Americans a better choice, from the Democratic choices brewing. Mitt would certainly bring the hopes of the truly conservative Republican back into the race. The economy certainly is rising to the top of my concern list – yes, all be it – ahead of Global Warming (farce) but certainly ahead of the conflicts in the Middle East. Yes oil prices are hitting home hard, but the stability of the US Economy is a far greater concern now. Mitt will bring the direction and the experience we need. He won’t promise entitlements to garner votes – but he will offer alternatives where we can set a path for covering the concerns of the common US worker/family – whose backs would certainly be broken by the Clinton/Obama plans. As much as I wanted a President Romney – at this point I would certainly support and vote for the McCain/Romney ticket. Either way my vote will go for Mitt – either I get to check a box with his name in it – or I write it in!
Hey Ashley, this is the Russes. We found your blog again. Bryan says, "what's up with your family?" Do you have another blog site for them? Ours is brussandamanda.blogspot.com/
We love Romney too. We would love to see Romeny run with McCain and then McCain die and Romney take over sooner rather than later.
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