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Romney's Veep Pick
American Thinker
J. Robert Smith
5/24/2012
Excerpt:
"Don't expect Mitt Romney to pull a John McCain. A safe bet is that there will be no Sarah Palin-like surprise when Romney announces his running mate. The reason is that Mitt Romney doesn't need a stunner to grab voters' attention or swing the momentum from Barack Obama. President Obama's charisma counts for squat this year. In big ways and small, the 2012 election isn't the 2008 version. Romney's veep pick will reflect that critical difference.
The Daily Beast ran an article in early April stating that the "[c]onventional wisdom says Romney will need a running mate who's not another boring white guy." As is so often the case, the CW is wrong. It's wrong because the media assumes that voters will be as taken with Mr. Obama's smile and style as they were four years ago. Hence, Romney will seek some pizzazz in his veep selection to compensate.
Charisma-obsessed journalists and commentators can't accept that this year's electorate seems willing to look past the sizzle to the steak. A "boring white guy" like Mitt Romney is looking like a better cut of steak to voters than the much-chewed-on Mr. Obama.
Twenty-twelve's voters don't desire a glitzy, glamorous Moses to lead them to a Promised Land. The indications are that voters want someone to clean up Mr. Obama's mess. A million-dollar smile and nice-fitting designer threads aren't part of this year's job qualifications. The same goes for Romney's running mate. Expect Romney to pick a veep who has consistently exhibited high competence in his career and who largely mirrors Romney's personality and style. That pick could well be a boring white guy or gal.
Romney isn't hemmed in like McCain was in choosing a running mate. In 2008, the Arizona senator was an inheritor of the Bush record and Bush fatigue. The economy had just tanked on Mr. Bush's watch in December 2007. Voters wanted a respite from the War on Terror and the economy righted. Mr. Obama's then-youthful buoyancy and airy sound bite-riddled stump speeches seemed the tonic for what ailed America.
These days, youthful buoyancy, airy sound bites, and a dime ain't gonna buy you a cup of coffee. Besides, Mr. Obama's graying pate means that even he, too, alas, ages. And the president's airy sound bites sound shopworn -- that is, when the president isn't indulging his taste for vituperation, through his class warfare rhetoric and wedge polemics.
Four years later, the economy isn't in crisis, but it is terribly anemic. Mr. Obama's snake-oil concoction of stimuli, bailouts, and historic debt hasn't improved the economy. The president's obsession with passing a government-run health care scheme had Americans scratching their heads, wondering why so much presidential energy and executive-level resources were being funneled into another big-government scheme when it was, is, and continues to be the economy, stupid.
Voters don't want to be wowed in 2012; they want to be reassured that the next president will roll up his sleeves and get dirty restoring prosperity and cutting Uncle Sam's enormous credit card debt. Joel Osteen is plenty of inspiration on Sunday mornings.
The 65-year-old Romney has said on occasion that he wants a veep who can take over the presidency if -- God forbid -- something happens to him. This can be construed as boilerplate, the thing a presidential candidate says about a vice presidential pick (even about plagiarist and funnyman Joe Biden).
But Romney's a business exec, a button-down guy who has a responsibility to shareholders and investors, so to speak. Chances are, Romney means to have someone as veep along the lines of Dick Cheney, who can provide experienced backup and a seamless transition to the presidency, if the need arises.
That doesn't strike Marco Rubio or Paul Ryan from Romney's veep list. Both men are intelligent, capable, and politically astute. Rubio has an obvious appeal to Hispanics and would likely sew up Florida for Romney. Ryan, an upper-Midwesterner, could help move Wisconsin (his home state), neighboring Minnesota, Michigan, and Iowa into the Romney column. Both Rubio and Ryan are button-down sorts, which should appeal to Romney.
But Rubio and Ryan are young and short on the sort of the executive experience that Romney may be seeking in a vice president. The nation is facing serious challenges. Seasoning and a strong track record heading enterprises of one type or another may be the ticket to run with Romney."
.......................................
View the complete article at:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/...veep_pick.html
American Thinker
J. Robert Smith
5/24/2012
Excerpt:
"Don't expect Mitt Romney to pull a John McCain. A safe bet is that there will be no Sarah Palin-like surprise when Romney announces his running mate. The reason is that Mitt Romney doesn't need a stunner to grab voters' attention or swing the momentum from Barack Obama. President Obama's charisma counts for squat this year. In big ways and small, the 2012 election isn't the 2008 version. Romney's veep pick will reflect that critical difference.
The Daily Beast ran an article in early April stating that the "[c]onventional wisdom says Romney will need a running mate who's not another boring white guy." As is so often the case, the CW is wrong. It's wrong because the media assumes that voters will be as taken with Mr. Obama's smile and style as they were four years ago. Hence, Romney will seek some pizzazz in his veep selection to compensate.
Charisma-obsessed journalists and commentators can't accept that this year's electorate seems willing to look past the sizzle to the steak. A "boring white guy" like Mitt Romney is looking like a better cut of steak to voters than the much-chewed-on Mr. Obama.
Twenty-twelve's voters don't desire a glitzy, glamorous Moses to lead them to a Promised Land. The indications are that voters want someone to clean up Mr. Obama's mess. A million-dollar smile and nice-fitting designer threads aren't part of this year's job qualifications. The same goes for Romney's running mate. Expect Romney to pick a veep who has consistently exhibited high competence in his career and who largely mirrors Romney's personality and style. That pick could well be a boring white guy or gal.
Romney isn't hemmed in like McCain was in choosing a running mate. In 2008, the Arizona senator was an inheritor of the Bush record and Bush fatigue. The economy had just tanked on Mr. Bush's watch in December 2007. Voters wanted a respite from the War on Terror and the economy righted. Mr. Obama's then-youthful buoyancy and airy sound bite-riddled stump speeches seemed the tonic for what ailed America.
These days, youthful buoyancy, airy sound bites, and a dime ain't gonna buy you a cup of coffee. Besides, Mr. Obama's graying pate means that even he, too, alas, ages. And the president's airy sound bites sound shopworn -- that is, when the president isn't indulging his taste for vituperation, through his class warfare rhetoric and wedge polemics.
Four years later, the economy isn't in crisis, but it is terribly anemic. Mr. Obama's snake-oil concoction of stimuli, bailouts, and historic debt hasn't improved the economy. The president's obsession with passing a government-run health care scheme had Americans scratching their heads, wondering why so much presidential energy and executive-level resources were being funneled into another big-government scheme when it was, is, and continues to be the economy, stupid.
Voters don't want to be wowed in 2012; they want to be reassured that the next president will roll up his sleeves and get dirty restoring prosperity and cutting Uncle Sam's enormous credit card debt. Joel Osteen is plenty of inspiration on Sunday mornings.
The 65-year-old Romney has said on occasion that he wants a veep who can take over the presidency if -- God forbid -- something happens to him. This can be construed as boilerplate, the thing a presidential candidate says about a vice presidential pick (even about plagiarist and funnyman Joe Biden).
But Romney's a business exec, a button-down guy who has a responsibility to shareholders and investors, so to speak. Chances are, Romney means to have someone as veep along the lines of Dick Cheney, who can provide experienced backup and a seamless transition to the presidency, if the need arises.
That doesn't strike Marco Rubio or Paul Ryan from Romney's veep list. Both men are intelligent, capable, and politically astute. Rubio has an obvious appeal to Hispanics and would likely sew up Florida for Romney. Ryan, an upper-Midwesterner, could help move Wisconsin (his home state), neighboring Minnesota, Michigan, and Iowa into the Romney column. Both Rubio and Ryan are button-down sorts, which should appeal to Romney.
But Rubio and Ryan are young and short on the sort of the executive experience that Romney may be seeking in a vice president. The nation is facing serious challenges. Seasoning and a strong track record heading enterprises of one type or another may be the ticket to run with Romney."
.......................................
View the complete article at:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/...veep_pick.html