Why Obama/Biden Means McCain Has To Pick Romney
By Doug Mataconis | Related entries in 2008 Election, McCain, Romney
Since Justin raised the question last night, I figured I’d contribute these thoughts adapted from a post at Below The Beltway.
There’s a lot of merit in the argument that having Biden on the other side of the Democratic ticket makes it hard for McCain to pick someone who has only a limited amount of political experience without risking that the Vice-Presidential Debate could turn into another Lloyd Bentsen-Dan Quayle type matchup. That means, I think, that people like Tim Pawlenty, Bobby Jindal, or Sarah Palin should be off the list. They each have a lot of positives, but they also have one glaring negative — a very limited political resume. Placed side-by-side with someone like Biden, that lack of experience is going to be glaring, especially in the case of someone like a Jindal or Palin, or Pawlenty, none of whom have any foreign policy experience.
This also goes back to the argument I made last week that one of the most important criteria that McCain will have to live up to in picking in running mate is that the public will have to have some confidence that the person he selects would be ready to lead at a moment’s notice. Obama has the same concern, of course, but the reasons that this is a bigger issue for McCain are, I think, rather obvious.
Which leads to the guy who seems to be on the top of every pundit’s list right now, Mitt Romney.
As I’ve said before, picking Romney makes sense for McCain for many reasons, and the presence of Joe Biden on the other side only seems to reinforce that. Yes, Romney doesn’t have the foreign policy credentials that Biden does, but unlike Barack Obama, John McCain doesn’t need a running mate to reinforce his weaknesses on foreign policy. What McCain needs, is someone to reinforce his weaknesses on the economy, and Romney fits that bill very well.
Of course, if he does pick Romney, it’s going to be hard for McCain to make much headway out of Joe Biden’s statements about Barack Obama considering how bitter the primary fight between McCain and Romney got toward the end.
That little problem notwithstanding, the pluses for McCain of picking Romney far outweigh the minuses, and they far outweigh the arguments in favor of any of the other candidates on the short list.
This entry was posted on Monday, August 25th, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, McCain, Romney. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 25th, 2008 at 6:52 am
Despite the Dems and the allied main stream media’s desperation to see Romney as McCain’s Veep, Mitt is clearly out, with (1) Obama doubling down on the class warfare theme (McCain’s 7 houses) and (2) McCain doubling down with ads showing the hypocrisy of Biden attacking Obama in the primaries — Romney did way more than that contra McCain.
This leaves only Govs Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty. Pro-abortion Ridge and Dem-Lieberman were never real considerations, despite relentless media goading. Pawlenty’s lackluster TV performances, coupled with Palin pizzazz, the primacy of oil drilling and the ticked off women/Hillary voters, does now portend a McCain/Palin checkmate on the Dems. This is so albeit the Dems and liberal media dare not mention Palin’s name, that is, everyone but…..
And if there’s any question as to Palin being uniquely positioned and able to more than nullify Biden in debate, see the excellent discussion at palinforvp.blogspot.com
Team McCain, well done!!!
August 25th, 2008 at 7:10 am
Isn’t Plain under investigation for abuse of power? That will be used against the ticker by the dems, Keating five and Palin’s abuse opf power will make a great ad
August 25th, 2008 at 7:47 am
Dems who think that “living the American dream by having multiple homes” is somehow going to bring down McCain or Romney are simply ignorant of the American electorate.
The majority of Americans, democrats and republicans WANT multiple homes and abundant wealth. This attack by Obama only appeals to a very small segment of the Democratic base and the main stream media – its their issue – not a voter issue. ( You didn’t see voters asking the governement to eliminate the opportunity for Americans to earn enough wealth to have multiple homes.)
If Romney becomes the VP pick, Obama will lose the west. If Obama loses the west, he’ll be just another Democratic nominee who will bite the dust.
Pawlenty and Palin are unknowns – McCain isn’t going to put them up against Biden.
There’s only one republican who can trounce Senator Biden – it’s former Governor and successful business man, Mitt Romney.
August 25th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Over and over again simplistic Republicans try to claim that the thing about McCain and houses is about owning that many. No, it’s about actually being able to forget how many houses there are. We’re not talking ties, here, folks. And, James, most Americans are also realizing that those kinds of dreams just aren’t there for hardly anyone anymore. That kind of dream in the modern low socio-economic mobility America is roughly equivalent to planning your life around that lottery win you’re going to have next week.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Those of you who point out the hypocrisy of McCain choosing Romney because his latest ads attack Obama for “filling” his weakness forget that McCain is ALSO using ads that criticize Obama for not choosing Hillary Clinton. McCain says that Hillary should be on Obama’s ticket since she got so many votes during the primaries. Couldn’t the same be said of McCain if he picked someone like Pawlenty or Palin instead of Romney?
Romney got a lot of votes as well. He could be criticized as a hypocrite for picking Pawlenty.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Yes to the article, no to some commenters here.
McCain makes a serious miscalculation if he doesn’t pick Romney, just as Obama’s pick of Biden was a severe miscalculation. It’s true Obama needed to hedge himself on national security / foreign policy, but by picking Biden instead of say John Kerry or Wesley Clark–two Democrats with the military service, combat experience and foreign policy creds thereafter that match McCain’s–Obama, I dunno, cut McCain’s 99-yard lead to a 88-yard lead. Furthermore, Biden does nothing to help Obama’s lack of cultural appeal to typical, proven, actual democrat voters. The Reagan democrats who largely favored Hillary. Latest polling indicates 20% of those Hill supporters are now for McCain; 50% for Obama; 30% undecided OR uncertain about Obama. 20% going to McCain is huge in the era of marginal victories for the Presidency. Though Kerry’s a northeastern liberal elite even moreso than Biden, Kerry has proven appeal and success retaining traditional democrat voters b/c of his background despite his aloof aura. While Obama couldn’t pick any one individual to hedge both his foreign policy and economic weaknesses, he would’ve been best off selecting someone who could really close the FP gap while also appealing to traditional democrat, working class voters while relying on his microphone to sooth over economic woes himself.
Back to McCain, his weakness is the economy. Pawlenty is a national nobody and he does suck on the sunday shows. Palin is like Jindal, lots of promise but it’s too soon for them now. Romney’s got the creds, the exemplary careers in all sectors, great family, he’s extremely articulate, a pointed attack dog, the epitome of pragmatism and of course ready to be President in a blink. Also he would be the only of the 4 names on the 2 tickets with any executive experience–the other 3 are life long Senators and legislators–Biden wiht a whopping 45 years in the Senate, McCain 21, and Obama with barely anytime not campaigning for higher office be it in the Senate or Illinois state senate.
Plus, the mere fact that the big liberals and their choral media mouthpieces have all attacked Romney and criticized him so deeply and repeatedly to the degree of pettiness only tells us that he’s absolutely perfect.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:16 am
The housing issue is a non-starter. When you have a staff of people looking after your property and you have yours and your wife has hers and your mother plays into the mix as well, that can create some misunderstandings. The bigger issue is “wealth” rather than homes and understanding the economy. Can the conservatives sell one or two wealthy white guys to average americans. That’s the issue.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:50 am
McCain’s BEST choice is Gov Sarah Palin. It will add excitement, true “CHANGE,” ENERGY expertise, FEMALE and INDEPENDENT support.
Conservatives unite, get behinda
McCain/Palin ticket! Get involved, looks us up, contact the McCain campaign and sign the petition.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:50 am
I love Romney. He’s one of the very few out there with enough of a spine to tell the media about the issues for what they really are. Romney is difficult to take down from so many angles; you can’t bribe him, he already has money and is as clean as a whistle as far as his life and family goes, you can’t discredit him, he’s educated and speaks his mind regardless of what others think, you can’t play him down because he’s a proven success in the free market economy, management, and government. You can’t discount his fist-pounding leadership as the Mass Transit Authority and mob boss Whitey Bulger learned when he was governor.
I’m beginning to more fully understand why evangelical leaders hate him (he won’t be bought, bullied, or forced into their political interests), media hates him because he highlights the truth for what it really is, and Democrats hate him because he a legitimate, charismatic threat to their political agenda. These Romney hate groups then try to spin Romney as an opportunist and panderer! Ha! I’m 1000% behind Romney as VP. We need more men like Romney in Washington.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:26 am
The line of thinking in this article is seriously flawed. First off… your experience analysis is all wrong. I’m not a Tim Pawlenty fan, at all, and hope McCain avoids the pitfall of believing he should select both he and Romney altogether. That being said, Pawlenty is a “2-term” governor my friend, where as Romney is only a 1-term governor. There is a difference.
Secondly, you may have missed this, but Bush/Quayle “won” the election over Dukakis/Bentsen.
Third, Obama himself beat Biden and Hillary, with no experience.
Fourth, well… you’re just dead wrong about Sarah Palin, as I can assure you if McCain is smart enough to pick a woman to run with this year it’ll make a “massive” difference in this election.
August 25th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Thanks Baylor! I couldn’t have said it better. Romney is THE choice. He makes the most sense and I have a lot of respect for him. He has been an effective public servant (and didn’t accept a salary as governor or from the Olympic Committee – how many politicians can say that?!).
He would make a great VP and would bring balance to the ticket. I think it’s a DREAM TEAM!
McCain * Romney ’08 all the way!! :) No question – we’re ready.
August 25th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Brock and Baylor have got it down. Romney’s the real deal and McCain picking him as veep ought to be a no-brainer–though with McCain you never know what the hell’s he’s going to do so I’ve been gripping that he doesn’t get steered away from Mitt by the loud anti-Romney bigots and haters out there.
If McCain doesn’t pick Romney, then I’m perfectly content to sit this one out on the sidelines and pray Obama wins so I can watch Romney play the perfect foil on TV for 4 years as the face of the totally out-of-power Republicans as he rebuilds and reforms them as they need it badly, all the while Obama + the Democrat Senate combine to turbobotch the nation into a real malaisse.
August 25th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
To Jim:
My point was that you’re not going to get even 10,000 votes by claiming that McCain can’t be the President because he has many homes or fails to remember just how many his wife owns.
It does not follow that McCain doesn’t understand the American people simply because he can’t remember the number of “real estate” investments that his wife’s trust fund owns.
This is another dumb argument to divert attention away from Barak Obama’s lack of experience and judgment. Jim, just what exactly has Obama ever done or accomplished besides collect a Senate paycheck? Can you name any of this accomplishments?
And for the record, the number of millionaires has been a on steady rise for the last 8 years. So, there are more Americans LIVING the American dream than ever before. I understand your “democratic” need to strip these Americans of their wealth and give it to those who are not willing to work hard, but it is a fact nonetheless.
McCain Romney 08!
August 25th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Just what has Mccain done besides get shot down after 20 hours of combat and marry a rich white girl?
Derrr
August 25th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Somebody posted that it would be hypocritical for McCain to NOT pick Romney since he is criticizing Obama for not picking Clinton. Romney did not nearly as many votes or delegates as Clinton did. Huckabee got more delegates than Romney.
I’m not sure I understand the Romney obsession. He has certainly gotten a free ride from Fox and the talk show hosts. He may very well be a capable leader. But he’s not the only one and I don’t think he comes off well. He seems stiff and slick. I don’t think he’ll help get anybody excited about McCain other than Republican political junkies.
Sarah Palin would be a stroke of genius. The first female vice president would be a landmark event. The democrats wouldn’t own the idea! McCain already does pretty well across part lines — Palin would entice jilted Hillary voters. C’mon McCain be a Maverick again!!!
August 26th, 2008 at 9:38 am
I think it will be Pawlenty:
http://www.johnmccainvp.com
He’s the only governor who is scheduled to speak after the yet-to-be-announced VP nominee at the GOP convention. It could also be Crist, but I find that an unlikely choice.
August 26th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Gov Pawlwenty would be eaten alive by Sen Biden. He is a nice enough fellow but looks weak to me, if GOD forbid have to step in for Sen McCain.
I still think Gov Romney is the best choice. Amazing how he started Staples stores and turned the Utah Olympics around.
The Dems are making out as if it is a sin to do well in life. If anyone can do well in life and have several houses, (no, I have only 1 modest house) I say good for them. Isnt it the American dream? To do well for oneself and not expect meager handouts from the government.
Please give us women some credit, we dont vote for someone because they have a woman on their VP ticket. It is the policiesex of the candidates.
August 26th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I sincerely apologise, for my “policies” typo. Not sure how it happened.
August 26th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
VEEP Debates Q&A
QUESTION: How will Sarah Palin do in a debate with Joe Biden?
ANSWER: How many men watching will be aware that Biden is in the room?
August 26th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Funny, the number of people who would be classified as “rich” by OBAMA’S standard is around 1% of the population, and that’s setting the baseline at 250K. That number drops exponentially as that baseline increases. And yet the lion’s chare of the tax cuts went to that demographic. Kind of like having a tax “affirmative action” for the wealthy “minority.”
The talk of there being “more millionaires” is stupid because the percentage of millionaires vs. the general population isn’t growing at all.
Wrong-wingers are pretty laughable. They exploit uneducated, lower-class whites with promises of wealth and prosperity, all the while robbing them of their jobs, savings and opportunities. Play to their ignorance and fear and they will vote against their interests and for a promise, one that will never be kept.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
WHY YES TO MCCAIN & NO TO OBAMA …
It’s not that McCain was just a POW … it’s the fact that he was offered an early release by the enemy, after being tortured for 3 years. But, because John McCain had the honor, integrity, character, and love of America, he chose to refuse a release that would be earlier than his fellow prisoners, resulting in his being imprisoned and tortured for an additional 2 1/2 years. In addition to that, he also served this country as a senator for 20 years. What has Obama done? … He was a community organizer, who increased voter registration … then, he took away the people’s votes by disqualifying his opponents on technicalities. Next, he won the senate, due to a scandal by his opponent, Senator Jack Ryan. Furthermore, Obama is a junior senator, with no experience, who has spent half of his time in office running for President.
August 27th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
For the record? Gerade Ferrero (D-NY) was the democraate nominee for vice president. So, we can now get over the palinobsesion. She would not be the first.