Romney VP vetting has begun; (rumored?) leaks on who's been contacted

[milhouse24]

Senator Rob Portman gets the nod.

Portman's budget deficit with Bush would be too contradictory to Romney's message. 

I suspect Romney will go for ultra-safe non-controversial and that would be Pawlenty. 

[milhouse24]

I think it only seems like it was just for Republican women because whenever anyone thinks of Democrat women, they automatically think of Hillary. And there would be no question that Hillary is qualified. She is more experienced to be the president than Obama is, and Obama's already been the president for three years.

I make that point all the time.  That needs its own thread: People more qualified than Obama to be president.  The list would be huge.  Maybe try to estimate the numbers in categories instead of listing to tidy it up a bit.  For instance maybe only 100 mayors are actually more qualified to be president than the sitting president, instead of listing them.    

I'd say it would be more limited than that, and it also depends on how you define 'qualified'. Hillary definitely counts. Romney probably does not. Someone like Jon Cornyn, as much as I dislike him politically, probably does.

Yea, I know it depends on a lot.  Romney obviously would be more qualified because he has been a successful executive of a state, corporation, and Olympics.  Obama has been a successful executive of... nothing.  I'm not being hyper partisan about it, if I was an Obama democrat I would have to honestly admit that.  I would probably say experience or qualification isn't important or something. 

I think once a president has been in office for a while, his previous experience or lack of experience is kind of a moot point. I'll admit that Obama had a small(er) amount of political experience, but I don't think it made him unqualified. I just don't think there's that strong of a correlation between being able to handle the presidency and how much previous political experience one has.

I see your point, just because someone has youth and inexperience doesn't make them a political expert capable of commenting on political forums, lol. 

In reality,  Obama used his youth and inexperience as a campaign talking point, in order to create a "Blank Slate" for liberals and moderates to project their idealism and goals.  He had no record of being for or against such goals.  He never voted for or against the Iraq War, so he proudly and pointlessly claimed he was against the Iraq War. 

This contrasted him from the "wrong decisions" and experience that Hillary Clinton made in voting for Bush's Iraq War and aligning herself with Bush's activist foreign policy.  Hillary also had the stench of a failed Universal Health Care, and other Clinton scandals, and past enemies. 

So Obama was a pure angel, who had no enemies yet, and everyone was his friend. 

[milhouse24]

Senator Rob Portman gets the nod.

Portman's budget deficit with Bush would be too contradictory to Romney's message. 

I suspect Romney will go for ultra-safe non-controversial and that would be Pawlenty. 

A Romney/Pawlenty ticket would have all the personal warmth and affection of a refrigerator. I know Romney wants to play it safe, but he has to draw the line somewhere. I'm cringing at the mental image of the two of them trying to interact with everyday people.

That is why I think that if Romney plays it too safe, he'll probably lose the election. 

But if he takes a calculated risk and convinces Jeb Bush to be VP, he can win a lot of Hispanic voters in Ohio and Florida, and elsewhere.  In addition, Liberals heads will explode.  It will almost be as bad as if Hillary won the nomination, and continued presidential legacies.