May 21, 2012--Boring White Guys

This is how Mitt Romeny's shortlist of potential vice presidential candidates is being described. With the exception of Marco Rubio, Florida's Cuban-American senator, the list includes white guys such as--

Swing-state Senator Rob Portman of Ohio. Not a household name but then again neither was Dan Quayle when George H. W. Bush plucked him from obscurity and look how well that turned out. Though most close political observers concluded that Bush managed to get elected more on Ronald Reagan's coattails than because Quayle brought youth and energy to the ticket. Yes, he had great hair; but like Palin he was not noted for his gray matter. Remember his famous, "A mind is a terrible thing to lose"?

Portman, unlike Quayle, probably does know how to spell "potato," but what is he best known for? Before he was elected to the Senate he served as the younger Bush's Trade Representative and then head of the Office of Management and Budget, and we know what happened to the budget during Bush's tenure--the deficit more than doubled because spending under Bush-Portman surged out of control. This on his resumé is not what Romney needs.

Then there is the equally bland white-guy governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels. Though he is known as a deficit hawk, largely by laying off tens of thousand of Indiana teachers and other state workers, he is better known nationally as also having served as the head of Bush's OMB. And, another deficit, he doesn't have big hair. Rather he has a very obvious comb-over. Not quite the confection that is Donald Trump's. His feels too retro even for backward-looking Republicans.

Former governor of Minnesota Tim Pawlenty has been widely mentioned. Unlike Daniels he actually did a pretty good job during his time in office. He balanced the budget and didn't get in trouble trashing all unionized workers. But he doesn't look like or come off as a potential commander in chief. He's too milquetoasty and has a pencil-tin neck. It's too bad, but necks as well as hair count these days.

Then of course there is the governor of another key swing state, Virginia's Bob McDonald. Selecting him would probably not just put voters to sleep during his speeches but also would remind them--especially women--that he presided over the passage of the new Virginia law that mandates that women seeking abortions have sonograms so they can see the toes and fingers of their unborn fetuses. The last thing Romney wants to do is get himself into more trouble with women voters. McDonald, then, is a non-starter.

One governor who could spice up the ticket is New Jersey's Chris Christie. Not your usual GOP boring white guy. Though Jersey Shore continues to be popular and The Sopranos was a must-see, Christie could wear thin quickly when under a national spotlight. What's fun about him--his seeming naturalness and tough vernacular--after the jokes begin to sound stale and predictable, our enjoying him might turn into concern about what kind of person we want one heartbeat away from the presidency--a cartoon character or someone who knows something about the world. And after voters stop chuckling at him, they might note that he is more pro-choice than the Republican base would like. He's no Bob McDonald.

So what about Marco Rubio, the Cuban-American senator from the biggest swing-state of them all, Florida?  He is among the most highly-touted of potential VP wannabes. Polls show that he would help Romney in Florida but not in other important states where Obama has huge poll leads among Hispanics. This should remind non-Hispanics that not all Latinos are alike. There is great diversity among them, with Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Latin-American Americans far out weighing Cuban-Americans. And there is not that much interest among these Hispanics in what Cuban-Americans are about, To them, for example, Castro is not so much of a big deal. Then there are all sorts of financial corruption charges circulating around Rubio. How he played fast and loose with campaign funds. The ever-cautious Romney doesn't need this kind of grief.

But after finally watching the movie Game Change that focused on John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, I had some additional thoughts about what Romney might do to boost his chances in November.

In retrospect, as ditzy as Palin turned out to be, let's recall that after McCain choose her and especially after her remarkably effective acceptance speech at the GOP convention, the game did in fact change--the McCain-Palin ticket soared to the lead in the polls.

 It was only after Palin revealed herself to know nothing about anything (remember her disasterous interview with Katie Couric where Palin said she read "all" the newspapers and Tina Fey really went to work on her) that Obama-Biden retook the lead.

So, since Romney has problems with independent women voters, what would selecting Condi Rice do for his ticket?

She would strengthen his foreign policy cred. But, I know, forget it--she would link Romney to her boss, George W. Bush, and she is too wishy-washy about abortion to satisfy the fervent Republican base. (Again recall that McCain didn't pick his actual first choice--Joe Lieberman--for the same reason and then without any vetting choose Palin.)

What then about Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina? She's ethnic--from a South Asian family but also a Christian, which could do Romney's white-bread image some good. She is the first person of color and the first woman ever to have won statewide office in this bastion of conservatism. But since she was elected there have been some potentially damaging stories about her having been loose with her taxes and that she may have a history of fooling around with members of the press and even staffers. So much then for Governor Haley.

OK, back to Romney's having difficulty attracting Hispanic, non-Cuban-American support. What would selecting a female, Mexican-American do for him? That would check off two demographic categories. Assuming, of course, that he could find one with the appropriate level of experience who actually knows something about Russia. And reads the New York Times.

Perhaps perfect for him would be to reach out and pick Susanna Martinez, governor of swing-state New Mexico.

Thus far she is operating a little below the national radar; but if she checks out--and so far she does: as yet no skeletons have been found in her closet, there do not appear to be any boy or girlfriends hovering, no pending tax fraud charges, no hanky-panky with campaign funds, and she doesn't claim she can see Russia from her front porch--again, if she can pass scrutiny, she could prove to be the ideal running mate.

She sounds perfect to me. A real game-changer. Think about it--a Romney-Martinez ticket could actually turn out to be a winner.

I am hoping, therefore, that he selects Joe Lieberman. He's retiring from the Senate and needs a job. And has terrific hair.