The Republican Vice-Presidential Spectulation Thread.

[Zioneer]

What about John Thune? He seems to be a fairly good, noncontroversial choice. He's got a fair amount of experience, and doesn't seem to have any looming problems.

I'm guessing that it's because he might be boring?

[Senator Clarence]

The perfect choice would be Petraeus but he would not accept... so I will go with Duncan Hunter I

[IDS Speaker Ben Kenobi]

Huntsman.

Why have just one Mormon?

[Zioneer]

Huntsman.

Why have just one Mormon?

It'd be electoral suicide, for one thing. If you think people from both the South and more liberal states are uneasy with Mormons, then you should see how disappointed they would be to see two Mormons on their party's ticket.

[IDS Speaker Ben Kenobi]

I've never seen them unpaired. It must be contrary to God's will.

[Paul Kemp]

Cuz he would definitely help win Independents

That's not going to be Romney's problem.

[Harry]

What about Condoleeza Rice?  She's pretty popular with both moderates and conservatives, and might heal some of the damage the entire Republican field did with women voters.

[Jayhawker]

I would like a more bold choice, but after consideration...

Marco Rubio.

- He's young.
- He's charismatic and conservative. Tea Party voters will be energized to vote for Romney with a Rubio selection. Plus, while he's conservative, he doesn't turn off moderates the way others might.
- He gives Romney a significant boost in Florida, probably enough to tip it to Romney in a close election.
- He'll help Romney do better with Hispanics, which Romney desperately needs.
- He seems pretty intelligent, so he should handle himself much better than Palin.
- He has no major skeletons that would severely hinder the ticket.

[crypto-fascist superhero]

What about Condoleeza Rice?  She's pretty popular with both moderates and conservatives, and might heal some of the damage the entire Republican field did with women voters.

Pro-choice.

[IDS Speaker Ben Kenobi]

He seems pretty intelligent, so he should handle himself much better than Palin.

He's charismatic and conservative. Tea Party voters will be energized to vote for Romney with a Rubio selection

Wow, I'm feeling positively energized here. I hope Mitt puts you in charge of the press release.

[retromike22]

Marco Rubio has been a Senator for 14 MONTHS! 22 Months by November. I would disqualify everyone who hasn't held office for at least 4 years, or going on 4 years come next January. So if they're in office now, they should have been elected by 2008 at the latest.

Remember, Romney's only a one term Governor. Shouldn't he be looking for someone with more experience to back him up on some issue he has limited experience with? Such as foreign policy?

[Jayhawker]

He seems pretty intelligent, so he should handle himself much better than Palin.

He's charismatic and conservative. Tea Party voters will be energized to vote for Romney with a Rubio selection

Wow, I'm feeling positively energized here. I hope Mitt puts you in charge of the press release.

Sorry, I certainly would have tailored my post if I knew the point of this thread was to make you feel energized, not explain why Rubio would be a smart VP pick.

Marco Rubio has been a Senator for 14 MONTHS! 22 Months by November. I would disqualify everyone who hasn't held office for at least 4 years, or going on 4 years come next January. So if they're in office now, they should have been elected by 2008 at the latest.

Remember, Romney's only a one term Governor. Shouldn't he be looking for someone with more experience to back him up on some issue he has limited experience with? Such as foreign policy?

Experience didn't seem to be too much of an issue to voters in 2008.

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

General David Petraeus.

[milhouse24]

He seems pretty intelligent, so he should handle himself much better than Palin.

He's charismatic and conservative. Tea Party voters will be energized to vote for Romney with a Rubio selection

Wow, I'm feeling positively energized here. I hope Mitt puts you in charge of the press release.

Sorry, I certainly would have tailored my post if I knew the point of this thread was to make you feel energized, not explain why Rubio would be a smart VP pick.

Marco Rubio has been a Senator for 14 MONTHS! 22 Months by November. I would disqualify everyone who hasn't held office for at least 4 years, or going on 4 years come next January. So if they're in office now, they should have been elected by 2008 at the latest.

Remember, Romney's only a one term Governor. Shouldn't he be looking for someone with more experience to back him up on some issue he has limited experience with? Such as foreign policy?

Experience didn't seem to be too much of an issue to voters in 2008.

Yeah, Biden was picked as VP because he had 30 years of experience. 
As for Obama, he had 4 years of experience, but he campaigned nationally for 2 years as president, so he learned and adapted to the media questioning and presidential questions/answers debates. 

Picking an inexperienced VP in August-November would be a disaster as Palin showed. 
Rubio might be able to handle the media spotlight, but then again, maybe he won't be able to, and he will sink Romney's campaign faster than Palin sunk McCain.  With a VP, you do not want to be too Risky especially with Inexperience.

If there is one thing you can control with VP selection, it is Experience.  So to even be a "not hurt the nominee" the VP has to have the experience and competence to replace the president immediately if necessary (example: Pres. Harrison).  So a "Do no Harm" VP must always have experience. 

[retromike22]

PPP just tweeted:

"Portman would do little to nothing for Romney in Ohio and generally would be a bizarre VP choice. Much better known in DC"

[Cory]

I would say wither Robert Jindal, Susana Martinez, or Paul Ryan.

I think Rubio gets the keynoter.

[retromike22]

Let's go through the current Senators and see which ones we can disqualify and which ones are possibilities.

Two Rules:
1. They must have been in office by 2009 at the latest.
2. They cannot be older than 60.

I'm going to go from youngest to oldest.
1. David Vitter, 51, 2005- (LA). Nope. DC Madam Prostitute Scandal.
2. John Thune, 51, 2005- (SD) Yes.
3. Lisa Murkowski, 55, 2002- (AK) Nope. Pro-choice.
4. Richard Burr, 57, 2005- (NC) Yes.
5. Lindsey Graham, 57, 2003- (GA) Yes.

And that's about it. There are a few that are 60. John Cornyn (TX), Bob Corker (TN), John Barrasso (WY), and Susan Collins (ME). Collins is disqualified because she is pro-choice.

So that leaves this list, which I rank in order of how good of a vp choice I think they would be.

1. John Thune
2. Richard Burr
3. Lindsey Graham
4. John Corynyn
5. Bob Corker
6. John Barrasso.

[milhouse24]

PPP just tweeted:

"Portman would do little to nothing for Romney in Ohio and generally would be a bizarre VP choice. Much better known in DC"

I think Rasmussen found that VP Jeb would tie with Obama/Biden
But VP Rubio would lose to Obama/Biden by 2 percentage points. 
Therefore, I think that the Bush last name is not a dealbreaking turnoff for swing voters. 
Democrats were not going to vote for a Bush or Romney anyways. 
However, the liberal media may unfairly pile onto Jeb, but that would be a sideshow. 
I think a lot of Christian conservatives hold Dubya and the Bush family in high regard, so they may stick with Romney instead of voting for Obama.  Romney needs help with evangelical voters.  Catholics also look favorably onto Bush as well.  I think there is sort of a silent majority when it comes to Bush.  He won 2 elections after all.

[milhouse24]

Let's go through the current Senators and see which ones we can disqualify and which ones are possibilities.

Two Rules:
1. They must have been in office by 2009 at the latest.
2. They cannot be older than 60.

I'm going to go from youngest to oldest.
1. David Vitter, 51, 2005- (LA). Nope. DC Madam Prostitute Scandal.
2. John Thune, 51, 2005- (SD) Yes.
3. Lisa Murkowski, 55, 2002- (AK) Nope. Pro-choice.
4. Richard Burr, 57, 2005- (NC) Yes.
5. Lindsey Graham, 57, 2003- (GA) Yes.

And that's about it. There are a few that are 60. John Cornyn (TX), Bob Corker (TN), John Barrasso (WY), and Susan Collins (ME). Collins is disqualified because she is pro-choice.

So that leaves this list, which I rank in order of how good of a vp choice I think they would be.

1. John Thune
2. Richard Burr
3. Lindsey Graham
4. John Corynyn
5. Bob Corker
6. John Barrasso.

Lindsey is a bachelor and has the same problem that prevents Charlie Crist and David Dreier from running for national office, supposedly, which is they don't like women, cooties. 

I though Lamar Alexander would be a good choice if he was younger, since Tenn has regional importance.  I think DeMint is the best active Senator to appeal to conservatives and southern swing states. 

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

Richard Lugar, the ideal candidate for VP, experienced Senator, knows his way around how Congress works, considerable foreign policy credentials.

Now, if only he was 20 years younger.

But alas..........

[CultureKing]

Personally I think Thune or Petraeus would be great picks for Romney. Unfortunately I think that it would be difficult for him to convince either to join the ticket (though Thune might bite after a bit of pushing).

[GLPman]

Let's go through the current Senators and see which ones we can disqualify and which ones are possibilities.

Two Rules:
1. They must have been in office by 2009 at the latest.
2. They cannot be older than 60.

I'm going to go from youngest to oldest.
1. David Vitter, 51, 2005- (LA). Nope. DC Madam Prostitute Scandal.
2. John Thune, 51, 2005- (SD) Yes.
3. Lisa Murkowski, 55, 2002- (AK) Nope. Pro-choice.
4. Richard Burr, 57, 2005- (NC) Yes.
5. Lindsey Graham, 57, 2003- (GA) Yes.

And that's about it. There are a few that are 60. John Cornyn (TX), Bob Corker (TN), John Barrasso (WY), and Susan Collins (ME). Collins is disqualified because she is pro-choice.

So that leaves this list, which I rank in order of how good of a vp choice I think they would be.

1. John Thune
2. Richard Burr
3. Lindsey Graham
4. John Corynyn
5. Bob Corker
6. John Barrasso.

Good analysis, but do you really think Thune would be better than Burr?

[Cory]

Stop talking about Richard Burr or John Thune. Neither of them even remotely qualify to be Romney's VEEP.

It's not nice to say, but the American people like novelty. Romney will need a conservative Hispanic or woman, and that's all there is to it. With the exception of maybe Paul Ryan.

[Gravis Marketing]

Romney is facing his demise by the gender gap in the general election. He'll be fine with conservatives but can't be seen to be doubling down on the War on Women when it has already cost him support he needs to defeat Obama. Petraeus get him nothing, even if he were interested. Culture warriors with solid credentials won't fit the ticket.

I agree with the above poster, Romney is going to go with a game changer. If his experience in Mass is any guide, he's more likely to go with obscure-but-safe than high profile but risky.

[Gravis Marketing]

Linda Chavez? She had a fumbled Cabinet nom in '01.