Friday, February 29, 2008

7 Reasons why Romney would be the perfect VP



It's possibly the most important decision that a candidate can make - who will be their running mate. McCain has yet to choose one, and while I'm hearing plenty of good names being thrown about for McCain's possible veep, one stands alone. I've read about the possibilities of Sen. Joe Lieberman, Tom Ridge, Gov. Sarah Palin, Gov. Jim Pawlenty and Gov. Mark Sanford. They all have their pluses and their short comings, but none of them brings to the table what Mitt Romney could do for the McCain campaign. Could Senator McCain really do better than to have a VP who brings the following:

• Ready to assume the office at a moments notice
• Conservative Credentials
• A Washington Outsider
• Brings values voters
• A Strong Understanding and Credentials on Economics
• A great fundraiser, campaigner and debater
• A record of having worked on health care reform


All in all, Romney is the one candidate who can come aboard and give McCain the momentum he needs to win the presidency. Let's look at these issues one by one:

- Ready to assume the office at a moments notice- This is actually shores up a couple of John McCain's weaknesses, one he has as his running mate a) someone younger than himself and b) the first thing any candidate should look for in a running mate someone who could actually be President. The Democrats have already started attacking McCain for his age, with Barack's comments about McCains' 50 years of service to his country. Mitt Romney is younger, healthier and more energetic than McCain, not to mention having 2 out of those 3 against Barack Obama. His nomination would allay a lot of voters concerned about McCain's senior status.

-Conservative Credentials- Romney brings to McCain the endorsements of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin and Ann Coulter. Essentially, all the faces and voices of the conservative movement were in the Romney camp, it is hard to imagine a Republican winning without the support of conservatives. There may be some other people on the list who are also conservative, but Romney already has the key endorsements, not to mention the national name recognition.

-A Washington Outsider- McCain has the weakness that any Senator running for President has- his votes on key issues. In McCain's case he has a 25 year history of voting on different bills, some of which have turned out to be big winners for the country (welfare reform, TWOT) and some of which have been unpopular (McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy). The obvious tactic of the Dems is going to say that McCain is running for Bush's 3rd term. One thing that helps McCain is that he has been as vocal a critic of the administration as some Democrats. Romney brings to the McCain ticket real experience from outside the beltway. He will be able to say things that McCain wouldn't be able to and be able to attack Obama's record and his Washington insider status in ways McCain could not.

-Brings values voters- It was interesting that when James Dobson listed the Republican front runners that he would not support as President, he didn't mention Mitt Romney. I cannot think of a more photogenic functional family than the Romney's. The success of his family is a tribute to him and his wife, their example would serve the nation well. Not to mention Romney's pro-life record as Governor where he vetoed funding for embryonic cloning, fought Gay marriage, and supported abstinence education. McCain is luke-warm on the values issues while Gov. Romney has been in the center ring of this fight. Values voters like conservatives are essential to any GOP chances in November, and Mitt Romney brings their support to the McCain ticket.

-A Strong Understanding and Credentials on Economics- This one is interesting because it comes from McCain's own mouth, saying that he would need a VP who has a strong understanding of economics. With recent concerns about a recession, the price of oil, the crash of the housing market, and out of control government spending. Who better to address these concerns than someone who has real world experience creating jobs, and making money? With a Harvard MBA in business, and a successful business record, not to mention saving the state of Massachusetts from financial peril- Romney can address voters concerns with real solutions than will work. It will be a clear contrast to Obama's socialist rhetoric. The one weakness of the Romney candidacy was the lack of military credentials, and the weakness of McCain's resume is that he has no experience in the private sector- together they make a formidable ticket able to respond to any challenges the nation may be facing.

-A great fund-raiser, campaigner and debater- Despite all of the media's focus on the amount of Mitt's own money that he was spending on his campaign, Romney also raised the most money of any Republican candidate in the primaries. He was also credited with having the best organizations on the ground and having won the most of the Republican debates. When Mitt Romney "suspended" his campaign shortly after Super Tuesday, he had roughly won over 4 million votes to McCain's 4.7. This is a tremendous accomplishment given McCain's favorable media coverage and national name recognition. Romney brings to the McCain ticket enthusiastic grass roots campaigners ready to work on his behalf, and perhaps equally important he brings a huge injection of what any politician needs to win - money. That and Romney's superb debating style make him a great VP for McCain.

-A record of having worked on health care reform- This issue is key because it is a center piece of the Democrat campaign as the only candidate who has actually enacted health care reform- Mitt Romney takes away a key issue for them. He can also effectively argue for private sector solutions to the problems facing health care as an industry. Romney takes the issue off the table for the Democrats, and actually makes it a plus for the Republican ticket. Let's face it, if McCain were debating Barack on health care McCain would be citing Massachusetts as a case example of where Republicans have been more effective on health care. As long as he is going to be talking about Mitt's programs he may as well have him on the ticket.

In short, there is not a running mate out there that could bring as much to the McCain candidacy as Gov. Mitt Romney. Ultimately, it is one mans' decision, let's hope he makes the right one.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You make a good case. Seems that all the other possible VP suggestions fall short on many areas where Romney does not. I for one would rather Romney was in the top slot but really, if he could serve 8 years in the #2 spot and 8 more in the #1 spot how much more Romney could do for the country. It is an excellent idea to get the influence of a good, brilliant, and moral man for sixteen years. America would benefit a great deal.

Kathryn said...

I would even go as far as to say that if he were the VP, Mitt Romney might be the Republican nominee as soon as 2012, should McCain decide to only serve one term - because of either personal choice or health reasons.

SFG said...

Recent article where we can post why we want Mitt as VP: http://news.bostonherald.com/news/2008/view.bg?articleid=1078147&format=comments


I think it is a good idea as well. Nobody brings as many positives to the ticket as Mitt does. Also, if he is the GOP VP nominee -- win or lose -- it will give him an edge over Huckabee the next time around. The Huckster and the Huckabee effect are not going away anytime soon, so anything that gives Mitt an advantage over Huck is a good thing in my opinion.