The DKrol Saga: A Series of TLs

[DKrol]

Big Bet: Game Change 2016


Chapter I: The Pre-Game

The year before a Presidential election is known as the invisible primary. This is the time when the media and big donors whittle down the field, leaving only a few strong and tested candidates for the voters when Iowa and New Hampshire get their "First In The Nation" votes. 2015 opened with a sputter. Candidates were delaying their announcements until April, May, or June, instead of the traditional January or February, in order to get the most out of their Super PACs. Without any candidates to fawn over, the media was left to speculate...for months.

Every name from Mitch Daniels to Paul Ryan to Joe Scarborough was thrown around by Republican commentators. For the Democrats, only two names were mentioned: Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. Pundits and talking heads waged war, back and forth, over which candidate was going to get in and when. Senator Ted Cruz was the first to declare his intentions, on April 2nd. He was quickly joined by Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, George Pataki, Lindsey Graham, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, John Kasich, Jim Gilmore, Rick Perry, Scott Walker, Bobby Jindall, and Mark Everson. But all of these candidates were quickly overwhelmed by the behemoth that was Donald J. Trump. Loud, boisterous, and disruptive, Trump dominated air waves, television time, headlines, and polls for months.

Hillary Clinton formalized her campaign in the middle of April. A few other candidates trickled in, including former Senator Jim Webb, former Governor Lincoln Chaffee, and professor Lawrence Lessig. The Clinton Coronation appeared set, that is, until a self-described socialist threw his hat in the ring. Two weeks after Clinton's announcement, Senator Bernie Sanders launched his campaign and immediately gained traction with many of the voters that made up the crucial Obama Coalition of 2008 and 2012.  

In neither party were things going according to anyone's plan.

[DKrol]

Chapter II: Hail Mary

The fall came up suddenly for the political observers of the country. Everyone had been waiting with baited breath, watching for Donald Trump's hold on the Republican Primary Electorate to slip. And they kept waiting. For more than 100 days, Trump led in every national poll of the Republican Primary. Jeb Bush, the pre-ordained nominee, was struggling to hold onto fourth in many polls. Dr. Ben Carson had fallen out of favor following the controversy over his biography and he ended his campaign in late August.  Marco Rubio had pulled into a weak second, followed by John Kasich in third. Chris Christie and Bush swapped the fourth place position, depending on the day the poll was taken.

The Republican Establishment was in a panic. Donors were balking, refusing to donate money to a party that was going to nominate a man who supported single-payer healthcare, who was friends with Hillary Clinton, and who supported abortion. Republican Chairman Reince Priebus was facing a mutiny within his organization for allowing "The Donald" to happen. Priebus had to do something, and fast. While the RNC couldn't endorse an anti-Donald, they could give behind the scenes support to a candidate that they felt could surpass Trump. But who? Rubio was barely polling 16% nationally. Bush was in the high single digits - usually.

It was a cold evening in the middle of September when Priebus made up his mind. He placed the call personally, on his cell phone, while driving from the RNC headquarters to his Maryland townhouse. He didn't need his secretary to pull the number - he had used it many times before. The conversation started with "Hey, I know it's a little late but I need you. The Republican Party needs you. America needs you" and ended with "Great, let's do a press conference tomorrow."

[rpryor03]

Is it Mittens?

[DKrol]

Any guesses as to who the call was to?

[Maxwell]

Michael Steele?

[Kingpoleon]

McCain or Palin?

[tmthforu94]

Mitt Romney!

[Enderman]

Huntsman? I'm going with Huntsman

[DKrol]

Chapter III: The Big Bet

September 21st. A crowd of nearly 2,000 was assembled on the Quad of Saint Anselm College. Many were students who were required to attend the rally by their professors, who were enticed themselves to make the rally mandatory by the President of the College. Others were hardened political operatives from the New Hampshire GOP, hastily assembled by their Chairwoman. No one was really sure what was going to happen at the rally but there were chairs and a podium set up outside of the school's main building - Alumni Hall. Dr. Steven DiSalvo, President of the College, had received a call from Reince Preibus two nights earlier asking DiSalvo to assemble a "sizable crowd" for a "major political announcement". No one was really sure what to expect.

As the bells of Alumni Hall tolled noon, the doors opened. Once the crowd recognized his face, they burst out in cheers. It was a familiar face; he had been at Saint Anselm College in May to deliver their commencement address. After several moments of raucous applause the speaker signaled for quiet and began his speech. He thanked everyone for coming out, he thanked President DiSalvo for allowing him to use the Quad on such short notice, and he thanked Chairwoman Jennifer Horn for coordinating the day. He then began lamenting Donald Trump as "divisive", "rude", and "wrong for the Republican Party and the nation". He then cited his extensive career in the business sector - including many decades as the head of a company "that saved several businesses Donald Trump had given up on". After 30 minutes, members of the crowd began to think this was just another political speech from a senior Republican sent out to rally the anti-Trump wing of the party.

But then Mitt Romney said "That's why I'm here today to launch my candidacy for President of the United States of America!"

[Enderman]

#RomneyComeback

[I support Sanders]

Chapter III: The Big Bet

September 21st. A crowd of nearly 2,000 was assembled on the Quad of Saint Anselm College. Many were students who were required to attend the rally by their professors, who were enticed themselves to make the rally mandatory by the President of the College. Others were hardened political operatives from the New Hampshire GOP, hastily assembled by their Chairwoman. No one was really sure what was going to happen at the rally but there were chairs and a podium set up outside of the school's main building - Alumni Hall. Dr. Steven DiSalvo, President of the College, had received a call from Reince Preibus two nights earlier asking DiSalvo to assemble a "sizable crowd" for a "major political announcement". No one was really sure what to expect.

As the bells of Alumni Hall tolled noon, the doors opened. Once the crowd recognized his face, they burst out in cheers. It was a familiar face; he had been at Saint Anselm College in May to deliver their commencement address. After several moments of raucous applause the speaker signaled for quiet and began his speech. He thanked everyone for coming out, he thanked President DiSalvo for allowing him to use the Quad on such short notice, and he thanked Chairwoman Jennifer Horn for coordinating the day. He then began lamenting Donald Trump as "divisive", "rude", and "wrong for the Republican Party and the nation". He then cited his extensive career in the business sector - including many decades as the head of a company "that saved several businesses Donald Trump had given up on". After 30 minutes, members of the crowd began to think this was just another political speech from a senior Republican sent out to rally the anti-Trump wing of the party.

But then Mitt Romney said "That's why I'm here today to launch my candidacy for President of the United States of America!"

One can hope.

[DKrol]

Chapter IV: A Whole New Ballgame

The late entrance of Mitt Romney sent shock-waves through the political landscape. Polls taken days after his announcement showed Romney trouncing Trump both in New Hampshire and nationally. Donors were flocking to the already wealthy Romney, adding more to his deep war chest. The few donors who had remained with Jeb Bush changed the memo lines of their checks to "Romney For America". Candidates like John Kasich, Chris Christie, George Pataki, Lindsey Graham, and Carly Fiorina quickly faded away into the "Below 1%" category and ended their campaigns: all to endorse Romney. Romney's favor-ability rating sat at a comfortable 55% among likely Republican voters, while Trump's hung around 34%.

The next debate in the cycle was held in Boulder, Colorado by CNBC. The "Kiddie Table Debate" featured Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindall, Rand Paul, and Mike Huckabee and drew an audience of only 2 million. The real debate featured, in order of poll ranking: Mitt Romney, Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz. Trump tried to hit Romney as "weak" and "low energy" but Romney was able to avoid it and hit home runs on the economic-theme of the debate. All post-debate polls showed that Romney had won it.

Meanwhile in the Democratic Primary, Bernie Sanders was still holding his own. Hillary Clinton came out battered and bruised after a 13-hour hearing in front of Trey Gowdy's Benghazi Committee. Jim Webb hit her on her right, Sanders on her left. While the majority of super delegates had endorsed her, she was having trouble connecting to the people - the same issue she had had 8 years earlier. Polls in New Hampshire and Iowa showed Sanders with a 3%-5% lead, while nationally they were dead even. The Clinton Campaign began to see the writing on the wall and braced for the impact of a repeat of her disastrous 2008 loss.

The Democrats had their first debate a week before the Republicans had their second. Clinton was hit on her changing positions over her decades in office - between gay marriage, the Iraq War, and the Keystone Pipeline - and she failed to provide a clear response to any of them. Sanders' style, the rapid recitation of facts and figures, did not relay well into the format. Some viewers found him "angry" and "hard to follow". Webb, polling at less than 1% before the debate, come across as common-sense, middle of the road, and concise. Although some of his comments on his Vietnam service raised some eyebrows, many in the media considered him the winner of the debate - by a hair.

On both sides, things were shaking up.

[DKrol]

Chapter V: The Walk Out

Because of the RNC's goal of denying a candidate a coronation to the nomination, they issued rules pushing the first caucus and primary to February, instead of the usual early January. This created the opportunity for more debates, more rallies, and more interviews. However, none of that matter.

The Fox News debate, held in Des Moines, Iowa, was moderated by Brit Hume, Megyn Kelly, and Paul Gigot. When it was announced that Kelly would be returning as a moderator for the second debate, after her spat with the Trump Campaign after the first debate, Donald Trump went on a Twitter campaign for weeks, blasting her for everything from her reporting style to her voice to her face, tweeting "Look at her, she's dopey - so bad at news, unfair to 'Trump'!" Fox Chief Roger Ailes held firm though and Trump gave in, telling Steve Doucey on Fox and Friends "I'm going to be in the debate - someone needs to stand up to Mitt, he's so low energy it's sad. It's really sad."

When January 28th rolled around and the candidates lined up on stage (in order of ranking, going Romney, Rubio, Trump, Cruz, Santorum) at 7pm (there was no Kiddie Table debate) the tension was thick. The first question was about the economy, asking "What makes you different than the other candidates in handling the fragile economy?". During Romney's response to the question, posed by Gigot, Romney said "I have the experience to fix this failing economy,". This led Trump to chime in, saying "We've heard it before Mitt. Bain was a failure, a complete and utter failure." When Gigot attempted to reestablish order, Trump ignored him and kept on going, attacking Romney and his record at Bain Capital. Kelly then attempted to quiet Trump, leading to the moment of the debate. Trump turned to Kelly and said "Oh shut up and sit there and look pretty. It's all your good at."

The other candidates immediately began heckling Trump for insulting Kelly, while Trump went on for another three minutes - jumping between Mitt's record and the "low quality" of Kelly's career and the Fox moderators - before he said "You know what? This isn't worth it." He calmly removed his lapel microphone, set it on the podium, and gave a thumbs up to the audience.

Then Donald Trump walked off the stage, ten minutes into the debate.

[DKrol]

Chapter VI: They Pick Corn...And the President

For many years, the Republican Party had lived by the saying "In Iowa, they pick corn. In New Hampshire, they pick the President." Governor Jon Huntsman used this to justify his miserable showing in Iowa in 2012. Many observers, seeing Trump as the most likely candidate to carrying Iowa, were hoping it would hold true in 2016.

After Trump walked off the stage in Des Moines, his numbers plummeted. Even though he attempted to play it off as "Standing up to Fox News who weren't, you know, treating me very nicely", only the most ardent of Trump supporters stayed with him. Unfortunately for Trump, that number of strong supporters was limited to about 6% of national voters and 11% in Iowa.

With Trump out of the way, Romney saw his chance. He had never been able to win the Iowa Caucus. Team Romney, lead by former McCain director Steve Schmidt, hit the airwaves hard in Iowa, portraying Romney as the elder statesmen who would be able to right the ship, rebuild the economy, and fix America. Some lower Romney staffers were already passing around names for a running mate, but Schmidt would hear none of it. Iowa was all that was on his mind.

The Romney Family spent caucus night in Des Moines with Governor Terry Branstad and Senator Chuck Grassley, two major surrogates in the Hawkeye State. Mitt and Ann spent most the night alone, away from the rest of the family, listening to the results on the radio in the Secret Service car in the back of the hotel. And then the moment came, the time when Fox News was prepared to announce the winner. Mitt held his breath; his political comeback was stacked on this result.

With 37% of the vote, Mitt Romney won the Iowa Caucus. Ted Cruz came in second, followed by Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, Rand Paul, and, in a distant sixth, Donald Trump. That was the beginning of the end. Trump ended his campaign that night, and Santorum followed suit the next day. Over the next three months it became a three-man fight between Romney (the Establishment), Cruz (the Conservative), and Rubio (the Youngster). However, Iowa set the mold. 

The Democratic field was also set early. Senator Jim Webb made a come-from-behind victory in Iowa, with a margin of 14 votes, but quickly fizzled out due to a lack of funds. Senator Bernie Sanders then surged to win New Hampshire and South Carolina, only to be out-spent by the Clinton Campaign and beaten down by the DNC. Former Secretary Clinton secured enough delegates, when combined with her superdelegates, when she carried eight Super Tuesday states.

2016 Republican Primary

Former Governor Mitt Romney
Senator Ted Cruz
Senator Marco Rubio

2016 Democratic Primary

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Senator Bernie Sanders
Former Senator Jim Webb

[DKrol]

Chapter VII: Operations Aquariu

With their respective primaries set and the nominations all but finished, the candidates began to assemble their shortlists. For Romney, who had done this four years earlier, it was a simple process to whittle a list of three or four names for the media. On May 15, Romney campaign director  Steve Schmidt "leaked" a list of the following potential running mates to the press. According to Schmidt, Governor Scott Walker (R-WI), Senator John Thune (R-SD), Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), and former Governor Jeb bush (R-FL) were the Final Four for the Romney Campaign. The vetting process, codedname Operation Aquarium, gave each of the finalists a codename: Walker was Pike, Thune was Pollock, Rubio was Swordfish, and Bush was Gator.

The Clinton Campaign had a much harder time narrowing down their candidates for vice president. On May 20, forced by Schmidt's decision and pressure from the DNC,  John Pedesta "leaked" the Clinton Campaign's "shortlist": Former Governor Mike Beebe (D-AR), former Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA), former Vice President Al Gore (D-TN), First Lady Michelle Obama (D-IL), former Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Secretary Julian Castro (D-TX), Senator Al Franken (D-MN), Secretary John Kerry (D-MA), and former Governor Martin O'Malley (D-MD). This list of 10 candidates shocked the media and created a narrative that the Clinton Campaign had not begun thoroughly vetting its candidates for vice president.

In reality, the Clinton Campaign had been vetting candidates for a while. However, they were vetting almost every sitting Democratic Governor, Senator, Congressman, and Secretary, as well as many former officeholders. The list that Pedesta released just happened to be the list that was on his desk that morning. Very few of those candidates had actually been approved to move on to the second round of screening.

On June 2, at a rally in Detroit, Michigan, Mitt Romney announced his running mate. And the Clinton Campaign was left behind, still largely in the first round of vetting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who do you guys think Mitt's running mate is?

[NeverAgain]

Learned from his 2012 mistake and picked Rubio.

[Enderman]

Id say Rubio. If he didnt do it last cycle, he'd definitely do it again.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

(Speaking from the view of someone of the conservative/tea party/libertarian base of the GOP ITTL)

Just like the establishment to screw us out of the nomination again. We want Cruz. Rince, you're fired. We don't want Romney. It's the conservative wing's turn not this guy again.


Rand should be in the main event debate.

[DKrol]

Chapter VIII: Convention Central, Part I

The Republican National Convention was held in Cleveland, Ohio at the Quicken Loans Arena, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers. There had been some concern of an overlap between the Cavaliers season - had they made it to the NBA playoffs - but those were negated when the Cavaliers' star LeBron James tore his ACL in December and was injured for most of the season. When the Republicans moved in, the Cavaliers were long gone.

The first night of the Convention was titled "A History of Greatness" and focused on the long history of the Republican Party in government. Video tributes to former Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush were shown to the delegates, as well as speeches by former President George W. Bush, former Vice Presidents Dick Cheney and Dan Quayle, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and Senator John McCain.

The second night of the Convention was titled "A Vision for Tomorrow" and focused on the future of the Republican Party. Video messages from various College Republican groups were shown, as well as a highlight reel of all of the Republicans under 45 who won their races in either 2010 or 2014. Representatives Mia Love, Elise Stefanik, Justin Amish, and Sean Duffy, Senators Tom Cotton, Cory Gardner, and Ben Sasse, and Governors Nikki Haley and Matt Bevin all gave speeches, as well as Alexandra Smith, Chairwoman of the College Republican National Committee. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, the youngest Speaker since 1875, delivered the keynote address, speaking about the return of the Republican Party to "the common-sense party of governance".

The third night of the Convention was titled "Ready to Lead" and highlighted the achievements of the Vice Presidential nominee. The day began with speeches from Florida Governor Rick Scott, Representatives Jeff Miller, Ted Yoho, David Jolly, and Ileana Ros-Lethinen, and Senators Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham, gave speeches throughout the day, talking about their relationship with Senator Marco Rubio during their careers and lives. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush formally placed Rubio's name into nomination for the Vice Presidency, it was seconded by former Senator George LeMieux, and accepted by acclamation. Then Senator Rubio took the floor and gave a rousing speech, talking about the need from Americans to "set aside our partisan differences and work together because, if we do not, we will fail. That is not the America my parents came to. That is not the America I want my children to grow up in. That's why we need Mitt Romney as the President of the United States!"

The fourth and final night was titled "Believe in America". Governors Charlie Baker, Scott Walker, Gregg Abbott, and Brian Sandoval, Senators Lisa Murkowski, Mark Kirk, Joni Ernst, and Rand Paul, Mrs. Ann Romney, and former Senator Scott Brown and former Governors Jane Swift and George Pataki all gave speeches about their relationships with former Governor Mitt Romney. Massachusetts Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr introduced Romney's name into nomination; it was seconded by former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld. Senator Ted Cruz motioned to suspend voting by delegates and nominate Romney by unanimous consent, which passed by unanimous consent. Mitt Romney spoke for almost 45 minutes, hitting home on his usual themes of "fixing the economy", "strengthening America's image abroad", and "restoring confidence in America".

Immediate polls taken after the Republican Convention showed the Romney/Rubio ticket sitting at 49% with the Democratic ticket at 44%, and undecided voters at 7%.

[DKrol]

Chapter VIII: Convention Central, Part II

One week after the Republicans commenced their Convention in Cleveland, the Democrats moved into Philadelphia. The major difference - the Democrats did not know who their Vice Presidential nominee was going to be. When Debbie Wasserman Schultz gavelled the convention to order on July 25, the Clinton Campaign had not announced who would be joining Hillary on the ticket - because they weren't sure.

By the start of the Republican Convention, Hillary Clinton and John Pedesta had narrowed it down to two final candidates: former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro. They planned to announced their selection at a rally in New Orleans - part of the campaign's plan to expand the Democratic Electoral firewall, building on the victory of Governor John Bell Edwards - the same day the Republicans formally nominated Marco Rubio. When Hillary called her choice, Secretary Castro, she received an answer she hadn't been expecting: No. Castro, politely, told Clinton that, due to their differences over TPP and her current sagging poll numbers, he could not accept the spot on the bottom of her ticket.

That threw the Clinton Campaign into turmoil. They now had less than twenty-four hours to change their banners, redraw the general election logo, and find a running mate. She received the same answer from Patrick, who said that he was enjoying retirement and couldn't imagine getting back into politics. Panicked, she had to make her own Big Bet. She called up an old friend and pleaded. And the reporters at the New Orleans rally were none the wiser to the fact that the nominee had been selected only an hour prior and that the nominee had just gotten off the plane as his introduction was wrapping up.

In Philadelphia, the first day of the Convention centered on Democratic foreign policy. General Wes Clark and Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy were the main speakers of the day, with Secretary of State John Kerry, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, former Secretaries of State Madeline Albright and Colin Powell, former Secretaries of Defense Leon Panetta and William Perry also speaking.

The second night was devoted to Democratic domestic policy, with President Barack Obama and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg giving the major speeches of the day. The other speeches of the day came from former Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Senator Charles Schumer, former Secretaries Arne Duncan and Tom Vilasck, Planned Parenthood President Cecil Richards, and former Congressman Barnie Frank.

The third night was focused on the career of Al Gore. Vice President Joe Biden gave the main speech and placed Gore's name into nomination, while it was seconded by Leon Panetta, and accepted by acclamation. Other speeches from the night came from former Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Second Lady Jill Biden, former Second Lady Tipper Gore, former Congressmen Harold Ford, Jr. and Tony Coelho, as well as former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Gore's speech focused on continuing "the good work that President Barack Obama and Secretary Clinton have started". Republican operatives would point out that Gore's running mate from 2000, Senator Joe Lieberman, did not attend the convention or support Gore.

The fourth night was Clinton Central. Former President Bill Clinton put his wife's name into nomination and was seconded by Chelsea Clinton. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand motioned to suspend voting and nominated Clinton unanimously. Speeches were given by Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senators Gillibrand and Schumer, Mayor Bill DiBlasio, former Senator Kay Hagan, and businessman Marc Mezvinksy, but the main event was Secretary Clinton's acceptance speech. She lambasted the Republican Party for "playing games with their majority in Congress, instead of doing the work the American people sent them there to do," as well as laying out her 100 Day Agenda, which included expanded gun control measures and "making citizenship a reality for those who yearn for it".

After the Democratic Convention, the Romney/Rubio lead only increased. A Marist Poll taken the day after Secretary Clinton was nominated showed Romney/Rubio at 51%, Clinton/Gore at 44%, and undecideds at 5%.

[Enderman]

Called it. Romney/Rubio all the way! This is definitely gonna be an interesting election. Good job so far, Dkrolga!

[DKrol]

Called it. Romney/Rubio all the way! This is definitely gonna be an interesting election. Good job so far, Dkrolga!

Thanks!

I was thinking, since the Game Change books only cover elections, of having a sequel to this TL centered around the administration of the winner. Thoughts?

[Enderman]

I was thinking, since the Game Change books only cover elections, of having a sequel to this TL centered around the administration of the winner. Thoughts?

Game Change meets West Wing? YES!!

[DKrol]

Chapter IX: The Long Haul

After the fervor of the conventions died down, after both the nominees returned to the United States from the Rio Olympics, and after the talks of a third party bid by Donald Trump finally ended, the campaigns settled in for the long haul - the 133 days between the end of the Democratic National Convention and Election Day 2016.

The Romney/Rubio ticket, billing itself as the ticket of "Youthful Experience", had a game plan. They needed a strong ground game in the states that Romney had lost four years earlier. They pair held a total of 35 joint town halls, in the first 50 days after their convention, in five states: Ohio, New Hampshire, Virginia, Florida, and Colorado. Although both internal and external polls were showing the Republicans with a healthy lead over their opponents, Romney had learned the double-edge sword of polling from his last run: polls can be wrong. Said an adviser after Election Day, "We ran this campaign like we were down 10% the entire time, not up 3%."

The Clinton/Gore ticket, hoping to position itself as "Steady Captains for a Steady Ship", had their own game plan. They needed to hold together the Obama Coalition, while possibly seeking to chip away at the now-Republican Solid South and rebuild the Bill Clinton Coalition. As a wealthy individual herself, Clinton could not reuse the 2012 attacks of Romney's affluence. Instead, she ran as though she were an incumbent seeking reelection, highlighting the achievements of the Obama Administration and her role in them: Expansion healthcare coverage, the end of several Middle Eastern and African dictatorships, the mild recovery from a financial collapse. Clinton and Gore rarely campaign together, instead they separated to appeal to their own bases. Clinton spoke to women and blue collar folks, Gore spoke to men and academics.

Going into the first Presidential debate, which was held September 26 at Wright State University in Ohio, the race was closer than the immediate post-convention polls. Romney/Rubio was holding a slight lead at 50%, Clinton/Gore was close behind at 46%, with 4% undecided.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Is Gore constitutionally eligible for a third term as VP? That might be an issue on the trail.