Romney to announce running mate on Saturday @9am ET in Norfolk, VA

[RogueBeaver]

Apparently page 2 of that article says that Pawlenty and Portman are the finalists with Ryan and Jindal as dark horses. Yet I'm still unconvinced for all the reasons I've said before.

Pawlenty:

The buzz is too loud and it makes no sense for the pick to be publicly named before the actual rollout. Plus his debate bombing- not just Obamneycare but losing to Michele Bachmann. If you can't beat Bachmann how are you going to fare against Joe Biden? Bob Costa at NRO said one of Romney's criteria is attack dog. Pawlenty perfectly fits Healey's description of Howe: "like being savaged by a dead sheep."


Portman:

1) Flunked the chem test.

2) Bushier than any Bushie not named Bush, as I said in the other thread.

Oh, and apparently Christie and Pawlenty will be holding a joint fundraiser for Romney next week.

Money quote from Costa's interview with Romney:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Phony Moderate]

Question: If Romney announces this week, will the running mate go with him to the Olympics?

[HagridOfTheDeep]

If I was Romney, I'd leave him/her behind to fundraise and make media appearances.

[RogueBeaver]

Question: If Romney announces this week, will the running mate go with him to the Olympics?

No, they're doing what Hagrid said.

[Mr. Morden]

Can anyone put up the full article? Thx.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/us/politics/romney-vice-presidential-search-began-months-ago.html?gwh=E93A55FCE987AD87C3257E64BB5BF0D8&pagewanted=all

Paywalls are irritating, but don't ask people here to violate copyright, OK?

In any case, there are a million ways to get around the NYT paywall.  Just reset NYT cookies:

http://www.labnol.org/internet/nyt-paywall/18992/

Or even just use a different browser, and you'll get past their 20 articles a month limit.

[argentarius]

I think Ryan is probably the best choice.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

The Dems will rip Romney and Ryan on the Medicare Budget. And there are contradictions in his voting record, seeing he voted for the deficit ballooning Bush Tax Cuts, Iraq War, and Prescription Drug benefit while proposing cuts to Medicare and turning Social Security into a voucher program. Id say McDonnel wouldve been good before the whole Vaginal Probing thing. Now I believe Thune or Pawlenty might be the best choices. This article does a good job of displaying the veeps's strengths and weaknessess.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/16/12767257-handicapping-a-potential-veep-shortlist

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Ryan's a smart guy. He could hold his own against Biden.

[RogueBeaver]

Apparently Jindal is campaigning in Ohio for Romney tomorrow, but on the other side of the state from him.

So is Jeb.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/07/jeb-jindal-to-headline-romney-ohio-events-129239.html

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Apparently Jindal is campaigning in Ohio for Romney tomorrow, but on the other side of the state from him.

So is Jeb.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/07/jeb-jindal-to-headline-romney-ohio-events-129239.html

So no one wants to get too close to Romney? 

[RogueBeaver]

[milhouse24]

Thune is not going to juice the base, has done no surrogacy for Romney and has never met Romney one-on-one so far as we know. An establishmentarian who won't juice the base and has never been publicly vetted. Not happening.

Thune met Romney at the big GOP retreat a few weeks ago when Condi Rice gave a speech that everyone liked.  Rubio was not invited to that retreat (Rubio is not being vetted, and will decline to be vetted because he knows he has no shot at being picked). 

I just mentioned Thune because in many ways he is the polar opposite of Romney, and if the GOP pattern remains of picking someone the opposite for the ticket.  I don't necessarily think "choosing an opposite" is a wise choice, but sometimes it can be advantageous, especially since romney has an evangelical GOTV problem. 

Also, maybe Thune is being quiet on purpose to increase the "Surprise factor" 
Still, he should be campaigning more for Romney, like the other guys and gals.  Maybe Thune is going to turn Romney down and wait for his own chance in 2016.

[RogueBeaver]

We'll agree to disagree.

Here's my compilation of the Fab 4's last campaign appearances or TV surrogacies, in alphabetical order.

Jindal: CNN July 1, LA July 18 (OH July 19).

Pawlenty: CBS June 24, OH July 5.

Portman: FOX July 16.

Ryan: Janesville June 18, FTN July 15.


For once I agree with Ezra Klein.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/11/veepstakes-the-case-against-an-incredibly-boring-white-guy/

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I would almost argue that Romney needs a gamechanger now more than McCain did back in summer '08.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Just got another Romney email...

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Looks like the waiting game is back on.

[RogueBeaver]

OK then. The idea of doing it before the Olympics was always a bit far-fetched and OOC for a by-the-book guy like Romney. So either after he returns or the traditional schedule.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I was starting to get excited, too. Shucks.

[RogueBeaver]

I was starting to get excited, too. Shucks.

Don't worry. Something tells me our patience will get rewarded.

[AmericanNation]

Ryan's a smart guy. He could hold his own against Biden.
understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!

We have a nominee for understatement of the year! 

I almost shot a mouthful of my drink against the screen reading that. 

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Ryan's a smart guy. He could hold his own against Biden.
understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!

We have a nominee for understatement of the year! 

I almost shot a mouthful of my drink against the screen reading that. 

Would you like a cookie for pointing that out? Here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQYob6dpTTk

[AmericanNation]

I think understatement is a good thing and it's often funny.  Chill.   

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

Ryan's a smart guy. He could hold his own against Biden.
understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!     understatement of the year!

We have a nominee for understatement of the year! 

I almost shot a mouthful of my drink against the screen reading that. 

Don't underestimate Biden's debating skills. He wiped the floor with Palin four years ago and unless it's Portman who could take him on, Biden's gonna kill the Veep, be it Ryan, Jindal, or Pawlenty.

[RogueBeaver]

No one's going to "kill" anyone. Substance is subjective in this case (since everyone mentioned is knowledgeable on the issues) and style is an eyelash either way. Cheney-Edwards was a classic but I doubt it moved many votes. After all, they didn't top the ticket.

[RogueBeaver]

NYT again hints that the selection will be within the week.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/us/politics/romney-considers-early-vice-presidential-announcement.html?gwh=1D3F47C1008F37C6F2E6E071BFE93397

[Mr. Morden]

About the vetting of Rubio:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/article1240770.ece

You must be logged in to read this quote.