Latest Romney campaign leaks on VP search: they want a "boring white guy"

[The_Texas_Libertarian]

The Sarah Palin disaster of 2008 obviously weighing heavily on this.  There is little chance Romney will select someone who will cost him votes. 

Rob Portman - Boring, uninspiring, white, bland, similar haircut, dull

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Palin quite possibly won McCain Montana, Georgia, and Missouri. People like to blame Palin for the GOP loss... But all things considered, she was a huge asset. Everyone knew the Democratic Primaries were really what would determine the next POTUS. At least McCain was able to seem competitive thanks to the Palin factor.

[milhouse24]

Pawlenty is the most boring guy, but he has the strangest last name.  It might be too difficult for voters to pronouce.  It might sound too foreign. 

reality check: our current president's name is "Barack Hussein Obama"... I don't think you can really claim that "a foreign sounding name" is really a negative anymore.

Just because someone has a foreign name doesn't make it more likely voters will vote for him/her.  There was a study that simpler last names, such as two syllabels, actually helps a political candidate win elections.  Many of our presidents have had 2 syllabel names.  It just seems that the american electorate is really dumb for some reason. 

I admit, Barack Hussein would have been unelectable. 

No one in the liberal media talks about his middle name except only to talk about racism.  Otherwise, the liberal media ignores his middle name at all costs. 

Its purely a matter of pronounciation.  Obama is fairly easy to prounounce and spells like you say it.  Of course, even Teddy Kennedy called him Osama from time to time in speeches for some reason but maybe it was the brain cancer. 

[Mr. Morden]

I'm not sure how "Pawlenty" is  "foreign sounding name".  As a native of the "Real America" of the Midwest, I'd say that the 3-4 syllable German and Polish last names there sound more "American" to me than WASP-y names like Bush or Clinton.

[milhouse24]

I'm not sure how "Pawlenty" is  "foreign sounding name".  As a native of the "Real America" of the Midwest, I'd say that the 3-4 syllable German and Polish last names there sound more "American" to me than WASP-y names like Bush or Clinton.

I would classify Germany and Poland as foreign countries, or at least non-english speaking countries.  We haven't had any Italian American presidents either and Catholic Italians are almost 50% of the population in the northeast.  I'm just observing that for whatever reason, Americans can't elect a president with more than 2 syllabels in his last name.  Eisenhower had to defeat the world and the germans to become famous, and he had a german last name! 

If its too difficult to spell, americans get confused.  Palenti may be Italian or Paulenty or Polentti. 

Its probably a Southern Strategy thing, since the South has less immigration, voters only want to vote for the same wasp last names they are used to. 

[Mr. Morden]

Virtually every American has a last name that can be traced to a foreign country.  OK, if you tweak "foreign" to mean "a country that doesn't speak English", then that's not true.  But certainly in the Midwest, it's absolutely common for people to have last names like Blagojevich, Hoekstra, Kleczka, Pawlenty, Rostenkowski, Sebelius, and Sensenbrenner, and for politicians to get elected with such names.

I don't think the "voter confusion over the candidate's last name" thing is at all an issue.  In fact, I find it utterly ridiculous that someone would be less likely to vote for Romney if his running mate has an unusual last name.  The reason why most recent presidents have had Anglo-Saxon last names is because a disproportionate number of presidents are people who have $ and who got degrees from Ivy League schools several decades ago.  Until recently, that was a demographic that skewed heavily towards people with Anglo-Saxon last names.

Also, of course, there was more suspicion of Catholics and "white ethnics" back in Eisenhower's day.  Nowadays, it's a non-issue.  I mean, about 75% of the likely 2016 presidential candidates are Catholics, which obviously would have been unheard of not long ago.

[milhouse24]

Virtually every American has a last name that can be traced to a foreign country.  OK, if you tweak "foreign" to mean "a country that doesn't speak English", then that's not true.  But certainly in the Midwest, it's absolutely common for people to have last names like Blagojevich, Hoekstra, Kleczka, Pawlenty, Rostenkowski, Sebelius, and Sensenbrenner, and for politicians to get elected with such names.

I don't think the "voter confusion over the candidate's last name" thing is at all an issue.  In fact, I find it utterly ridiculous that someone would be less likely to vote for Romney if his running mate has an unusual last name.  The reason why most recent presidents have had Anglo-Saxon last names is because a disproportionate number of presidents are people who have $ and who got degrees from Ivy League schools several decades ago.  Until recently, that was a demographic that skewed heavily towards people with Anglo-Saxon last names.

Also, of course, there was more suspicion of Catholics and "white ethnics" back in Eisenhower's day.  Nowadays, it's a non-issue.  I mean, about 75% of the likely 2016 presidential candidates are Catholics, which obviously would have been unheard of not long ago.

Just because candidates win in the midwest doesn't mean they can win nationally.  I think the Southern Strategy covers a lot of states and is a powerful voting bloc.  Most of the winning presidents in the past 50 years have held onto the South.  Certainly America is becoming more diverse, but I would say there are advantages to a simple spelling name that is easy to pronouce for casual and disinterested voters.  "Obama" only has five letters and is easy to pronounce and remember.  Reagan, Carter, and Clinton were not rich Wasps.  Political campaigns are mostly marketing experiences.  Pawlenty is a 2 term governor from the midwest and he couldn't win in Iowa, so there is something wrong with his image.  Huckabee is another person who gets criticized for his last name, among other things. 

[Reaganfan]

I still say go with Bush.

[Mr. Morden]

I highly doubt a single southern state (or any state) would flip from Romney to Obama over the last name of Romney's running mate.  It's not as if the voters even need to know the running mates' last names when they vote.  What next?  Gore lost Florida because voters thought "Lieberman" had too many letters?

In any case, even if this sort of thing were an issue, I don't see what's confusing about the name "Pawlenty".  It's an incredibly easy name to remember.  Much moreso than, say, "Schwarzenegger".

[milhouse24]

I highly doubt a single southern state (or any state) would flip from Romney to Obama over the last name of Romney's running mate.  It's not as if the voters even need to know the running mates' last names when they vote.  What next?  Gore lost Florida because voters thought "Lieberman" had too many letters?

In any case, even if this sort of thing were an issue, I don't see what's confusing about the name "Pawlenty".  It's an incredibly easy name to remember.  Much moreso than, say, "Schwarzenegger".

I don't know the polling regarding Lieberman in 2000, but he might not have been Waspy enough for southern voters, but other liberal voters may have been attracted to the first jewish vice president, however in most states, jewish people are just 2% of the population.  A catholic vice president like John Kerry would have been more of an asset, at least to suburban main street voters. 
I think part of Quayle's downfall was that he has a name similar to "quail" which is a duck, and people though he was an incompetent buffoon not just because he was stupid but because he had a humorous name. 
I would have expected Gephardt to get more consideration as vice president, but for some reason he was never chosen. 
I fully expect Romney to play it safe and pick Pawlenty - so we'll see if Romney-Pawlenty can win in November. 

[AmericanNation]

A catholic vice president like John Kerry would have been more of an asset, 

LOL.   

[RogueBeaver]

Long WaPo article on Portman. Apparently the chemistry between Portman and Romney isn't that stellar.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rob-portman-said-to-be-on-short-list-for-romney-vice-president/2012/05/23/gJQAtd6alU_story.html

[Lief 🗽]

In Portman's defense, it's hard to be friends with a robot that thinks drinking alcohol or caffeine is a sin.

[Allard]

Governor Romney should pick a proven conservative. Not sure how conservative Portman really is.

[AmericanNation]

Long WaPo article on Portman. Apparently the chemistry between Portman and Romney isn't that stellar.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rob-portman-said-to-be-on-short-list-for-romney-vice-president/2012/05/23/gJQAtd6alU_story.html

[Bush asked: ‘What are you doing?’ Rob said something like, ‘I’m coming into your space.’ ”
Bush shook his head. “Gore’s never going to do that.” “He might do it,” Portman said.]
...that is really funny.

  [“Anybody who saw Rob Portman in the role of Barack Obama during debate preps has no doubt about his ability to compete, debate and campaign effectively at the highest levels.”]
...Pretty encouraging.

...and he learned to speak Spanish working on a border ranch.  

(I'll say it again: Rubio is interesting and needs to be considered, but)
 it's Ryan, Portman and everyone else.  

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

...and he learned to speak Spanish working on a boarder ranch.

What does speaking Spanish have to do with picking a Vice President?  The idea that any VP pick will significantly help the GOP woo the Latino vote this year given the positions that Romney took in the primaries is ludicrous.

BTW, by "boarder ranch" did you mean a dude ranch where guests come for room and board as they pretend to be cowboys or a ranch that is located near the Mexican border?

[AmericanNation]

Yes, those positions like:
1)stop ignoring illegal migration and 2)address the problem
...will forever cement legal Hispanic immigrants in the dem column.     

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I love how Romney relatively sensible solution to illegal immigration--which people need to remember is a big PROBLEM--is now a heartless deal breaker. An e-verify system and reliance on self-deportation is pretty soft.

[AmericanNation]

I love how Romney's relatively sensible solution to illegal immigration--which people need to remember is a big PROBLEM--is now a heartless deal breaker. An e-verify system and reliance on self-deportation is pretty soft.

and add the horror of a guest worker program.  So an illegal could self deport and come back as a guest worker almost immediately  ...sounds like a VERY EXTREME position! 

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Yes, those positions like:
1)stop ignoring illegal migration and 2)address the problem
...will forever cement legal Hispanic immigrants in the dem column.     

Well if people want to vote for someone who will deport illegals, then they should vote for Obama as he has a proven track record there since deportations have been at record levels these past few years, and ICE has been focusing on the serious criminals among the illegals.

So long as the GOP is paranoid delusional about the reality of immigration, it's not going to win many votes among the segments of the population that have recently immigrated here.

[AmericanNation]

Yes, those positions like:
1)stop ignoring illegal migration and 2)address the problem
...will forever cement legal Hispanic immigrants in the dem column.     

Well if people want to vote for someone who will deport illegals, then they should vote for Obama as he has a proven track record there since deportations have been at record levels these past few years, and ICE has been focusing on the serious criminals among the illegals.

So long as the GOP is paranoid delusional about the reality of immigration, it's not going to win many votes among the segments of the population that have recently immigrated here.

Yes both the illegal immigrants AND the people who want illegals deported should rightly vote for Obama.  Republicans are so delusional. 

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Yes, those positions like:
1)stop ignoring illegal migration and 2)address the problem
...will forever cement legal Hispanic immigrants in the dem column.     

Well if people want to vote for someone who will deport illegals, then they should vote for Obama as he has a proven track record there since deportations have been at record levels these past few years, and ICE has been focusing on the serious criminals among the illegals.

So long as the GOP is paranoid delusional about the reality of immigration, it's not going to win many votes among the segments of the population that have recently immigrated here.

Yes both the illegal immigrants AND the people who want illegals deported should rightly vote for Obama.  Republicans are so delusional. 

I'd reply to this, but there are far more entertaining people on this forum who ignore facts so that they can repeat their talking points than you.