Political Wire reports:
At a Virginia fundraiser, Mitt Romney took the highly unusual step of naming people on his short list for a vice presidential running mate, reports Bearing Drift. The names: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).
Aside from bucking a well-established trend, this is a strange move for two reasons: Firstly, because Romney does not know what the lie of the land will be should he find himself as the nominee. (There is often a gap between the abstract and the reality.)
Secondly, because it seems to show that he is focused more on the prospect of a general election than on the primaries. Even if he is just thinking out loud, Romney does run the risk of appearing as if he considers his nomination to be a foregone conclusion.
Everyday brings more evidence of Romney sabotaging his own campaign. Yesterday was a double whammy - first the news of this foolish VP speculation and then two positions on Boehner's bill in one day: first for it, then backing off the support for it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis seems like a clever move to me. If you can't generate excitement yourself, drop hints that you'll add one of the people everyone wishes were running.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI think this is a dumb move, but not because it shows he's assuming he'll win the nomination. ANY running mate would only be relevant post-nomination, so the very idea of a running mate presumes the nomination is won and the general election is in view. And any candidate for president ought to be thinking ahead to governing and to winning the general election.
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