Was just chatting with Andrew Langer at the Institute for Liberty for his podcast about last night’s debate, and he asked something along the lines of: If Romney is the frontrunner in the end, will he have to pick Michele Bachmann?
It’s way too early to consider Romney the nominee, of course — we’ve had one debate and the whole field may not even be in place yet. But I think the vice-presidential choice will not have to do with demographics so much as enthusiasm and inspiration. And if the presidential candidate is eminently steady, an impatient streak in a veep will be appreciated. Rep. Bachmann could have all these things. So could Senator Rubio.
But it also has to be a responsible choice. Is either ready to be president?
I see that as an open question. But it is one to ask. Right? Candidates do learn from experience, after all. Voters, too.
The ticket that sends a thrill up my leg is Perry/Bachmann. That would be Obama's worst nightmare.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf it's an R, the question of prepardness to assume of the office of the president will loom large. If it's a D, eh, well, it's Joe Biden.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFor goodness sakes, Slow Joe Biden's the current VP. Defending the qualifications of a Republican for that post should never, ever be an issue again.
Bachmann, Rubio, or any second rate state senator has more sense than Biden.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAbsolutely my thoughts. For the media, the benchmark will -- of course -- be Palin (i.e., how much MORE qualified this VPOTUS GOP nominee is than the LAST one...).
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSorry, I feel it is simply far too early for this kind of thing. Who knows who is going to take the prize - the honor of running as the GOP Nominee to return the Nation to some sanity in 2012. Could be anyone really, even someone not on the stage as of yet.
At least, last night shows we have a fine field of talent for the POTUS and the VP position. It was simply wonderful, to see such a fine - robust rebuke of Obama and Democrats on CNN. Also, no John McCain on the stage, telling us how much he admires Hillary Clinton.
Yet, we can see the fashion is already still picking away, talking about "thrills" in the leg - mimicking the emotive image games of the disastrous Democratic Party. I know a number of folks who did not even watch the debate, who naturally are saying Mrs. Bachmann won the night - a predictable fashionable assumption. When did conservatism turn to such hype and fan fare? She did very well, but we all won last night - and the Democratic Partisans took it on the chin.
It continues to be a fad game in the once powerful conservative movement. For example, a few weeks ago, this "fashion" would have selected Trump to run - even as a third party. It simply is over the top, lost in romanticizing fantasies about 'dream tickets'.
But sanity grew in NJ, when the fashion wanted Lonegan, and began to demean Christie. Cooler heads prevailed, and the Democrats received one of their most incredible rebukes in the Garden State. We can make a huge step forward this 2012, as long as we don't fall apart, or provide another Delaware Disaster.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI would love to see Palin as president. Bachman will do nicely as well. But I keep wondering how either of them picks a VP. The VP can't have too much more experience - or why not just put them on top of ticket. They can't be too unknown.
But I'm bored to tears by the men in the GOP field.
I'd love to see Palin/Ryan!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhen did it become the job of a president to entertain you? This is one of the problems with modern politics. Give me a boring competent president who will get unemployment down to 4% and bore the Washington crowd in the process.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt may be too early to call Romney the nominee, but that shouldn't stop NRO from dragging out the old endorsement and sealing the deal as quick as possible. After all, we all know who the preferred candidate is.....
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm not sure why anyone qualified would want the job. Michele Bachmann has a lot more power to effect change now than she would as VP. Thats's also true for Paul Ryan, who I wish would run for president.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePerhaps the Cheney model, an eminent elder statesman with no further ambitions, is the one that makes sense now. -- Good Lord! Is that what Obama thought he was doing when he chose Joe Biden?
Someone should do a commercial on the VP candidate being a heartbeat away. Show all the quotes and other embarrassing statements made by them and ask if this is who we want in that post.
Really, Biden is just too big a target! I have a friend who keeps saying that Palin was just too stupid to be VP based on things she never said. I just remind him of the things Biden has actually said.
I won't say if I think Palin was ready or not. But it seems fair to compare her( and the next candidate), not to Obama(also not ready but better at faking it) but to Biden.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe job of the Vice President is to balance the ticket. Normally that's done geographically. Mondale is the only candidate to ever try to balance the ticket by gender, and that got him nowhere.
I predict the eventual GOP nominee will balance the ticket by Establishment/Tea Party, reminicent of the Conservative/Establishment balance of Reagan and Bush. I'm hoping (but not predicting) that the Tea Party will be at the top of the ticket.
So maybe Bachmann for Prez and Romney for Veep...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI understand he's the "front runner", but Romney has the most obvious Achilles heel of the bunch. Nobody chose to kick it last night, the lucky dog. There is no way he gets the nomination. If by some miracle he does, then the Republican Party will have learned nothing from the Bush/DeLay years. Limited government will remain a fairy tale.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI love Bachmann, and she's my favorite choice for the nomination at this time, but I'm afraid putting her in the veep slot would be too reminiscent of Palin in 2008. It would seem like a retread of a failed campaign (assuming the presidential nominee would be an older white male like Romney). It would also smack of pandering -- "Okay, you didn't like Palin, how about this one?"
Rubio makes more sense -- a younger, ethnic conservative who could help sew up Florida and attract independents and Hispanics.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt is too early to for candidates to talk about the veep. Rubio would have been the ideal choice, maybe they can convince him to reconsider. I think Portman is probably it, if not Rubio. He would make a good choice, he would help in Ohio and he would do very well in a debate with Biden.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLet's not discount Cain as the VP pick if either Romney or Bachman gets the nod.
For Romney he brings Tea-party credentials to balance out his RINOness.
For Bachman, he brings solid business credentials she may not have AND he's not from "the government" which balances out her insider status in Congress.
AND he can split the Black vote.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNo one is ready to be President. Just find me someone who can grow into the job and handle it competently.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe bottom half of the ticket doesn't matter; the selection merely reinforces peoples' preconceived notions about the candidate. Over the past dozen election Veep picks for both parties tend to focus on healing within the party.
The last election where the Vice Presidential candidate mattered was 1960, with Johnson insuring Texas and much of the South stayed Democrat one last time.
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