The Thurston Mittens the 3rd Veep Megathread

[Grey Fox]

Wikipedia tell us she was born in Jerusalem plus she married a frenchman. I think that's also unconstitutional.

[Phillip V]

Wikipedia tell us she was born in Jerusalem plus she married a frenchman. I think that's also unconstitutional.

She was also a brilliant young scientist and quite multilingual. With her acting abilities, she might be a good political leader.

[stjaba]

Drudge is reporting that Condi Rice is the front-runner for the Veep spot. That would definitely be an interesting choice- a total 180 from Sarah Palin. I imagine the data-driven Romney personally feels more comfortable with an academic/wonk type as opposed to a flashy politico with less depth like Rubio, so the report doesn't surprise me if it's true..


http://www.drudgereport.com/flashcm.htm

ROMNEY NARROWS VP CHOICES; CONDI EMERGES AS FRONTRUNNER
Thu Jul 12 2012 19:30:01 ET

**Exclusive**

Late Thursday evening, Mitt Romney's presidential campaign launched a new fundraising drive, 'Meet The VP' -- just as Romney himself has narrowed the field of candidates to a handful, sources reveal.

And a surprise name is now near the top of the list: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice!

The timing of the announcement is now set for 'coming weeks'.

MORE

It was Condi who received two standing ovations at Romney's Utah retreat a few weeks ago, and everyone left with her name on their lips.

Rice made an extended argument for American leadership in the world.

In recent days, she emailed supporters:

"2012 is perhaps a turning point for the United States."

"The upcoming elections loom as one of the most important in my lifetime," she warned. "I'm very often asked to speak about our current foreign policy and the challenges that lie before us. However, we, as a country, are not going to be able to address any of those international challenges unless we first get our domestic house in order."

Developing...

Rice has never been involved in a political campaign in her life, so I wonder how she would play on the campaign trail, particularly considering that veep candidates are supposed to be attack dog.

Other issues:

-If she's selected, there's no way it's a demographic play-her "home" state is California, and I doubt the Romney campaign is counting on her to attract blacks or women.

-She would be the first non-married person on a presidential ticket in a while.

-She has no electoral executive experience whatsoever. She was a provost at Stanford, which is a leadership position, and the Secretary of State, but that's it. But then again neither Joe Biden and plenty of other veep candidates have lacked executive experience. The most important characteristic of a vice president is that he or she be capable of becoming President. Her lack of executive experience would be a con in this regard, but on the other hand she passes a general gravitas test pretty easily, so I doubt this will be much of an issue.

-She balances Romney out in several aspects- obviously in gender and race, but also in the fact she's an evangelical. One of Romney's big problems is the fact  he's a boring old white guy; she's not that, except that's she somewhat boring as well.

-She brings in foreign policy experience which helps. It won't swing any votes, but it helps Romney rebut the argument that he lacks foreign experience.

-One negative is her ties to the Bush administration. She played a big role in the decisions surrounding the Iraq war .

-A possible negative involves her political views. I googled her and found an article which suggests that she supports abortion rights and civil unions for gays:

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared in a recent interview that she is proudly evangelical but also distanced herself from many of her fellow believers by saying that she tends to support abortion rights and civil unions for gay couples, and she feels evangelicals too often alienate others with in-your-face rhetoric.

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/12/28/condi-rice-pro-choice-libertarian-and-evangelical/

One of the big knocks against Romney in the primary was that he was liberal because he used to be pro-choice and pro gay civil unions. The fact he's picking a pro-choice/pro civil-union running mate might upset the evangelical wing of the Republican party.

Edit: A National Review writer has said that this is bogus, according to his sources:

Top Romney source tells me "no Condi." More: Romney wants someone more comfortable in 'attack dog' mode

I hear a few UT retreat attendees (donors, etc.) are stirring Condi buzz. Per people I trust, it's not Boston-driven

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/07/12/drudge-condi-rice-near-the-top-of-romneys-vp-shortlist/

[Sheilbh]

I'd be gobsmacked if it's Condi.  She's pro-choice and she doesn't want it. 

I imagine the data-driven Romney personally feels more comfortable with an academic/wonk type as opposed to a flashy politico with less depth like Rubio, so the report doesn't surprise me if it's true..

I'm not sure.  Romney's been running for office, mostly unsuccessfully, for the best part of two decades.  I actually think a key part in why he's been such an unsuccessful career politician is that he lacks depth.  He's as shallow as a puddle reflecting the changing clouds.

Rubio at least has some depth, some substance and seems to have some hinterland. 

Also given that his list includes Pawlentey I think he can get a non-flashy politico

[stjaba]

I'm not sure.  Romney's been running for office, mostly unsuccessfully, for the best part of two decades.  I actually think a key part in why he's been such an unsuccessful career politician is that he lacks depth.  He's as shallow as a puddle reflecting the changing clouds.

Rubio at least has some depth, some substance and seems to have some hinterland. 

Also given that his list includes Pawlentey I think he can get a non-flashy politico

Agreed; depth wasn't the right word to use there. Perhaps gravitas or intellectual heft might be more appropriate. Rubio is certainly well rounded: he's charismatic, young, and has some interesting ideas. I wouldn't necessarily call him a wonk though. 

Still, there are two other aspects of Rubio that Romney might not like. First, Rubio has been financially irresponsible in the past- I think he still has outstanding debt from law school, and he's far under water on his mortgage. He paid for ordinary living expenses with a Republican Party of Florida credit card for a while. I'm pretty sure he's a net debtor. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/marco-rubio-vp-gop-candidates-florida-primary_n_1233480.html

Romney is a notorious spendthrift. This is pure conjecture, but it wouldn't shock me if Romney is uncomfortable with Rubio's history of lack of financial discipline. Some people view financial irresponsibility as a moral defect, and Romney strikes me as the kind of person who might feel that way.

Second, Rubio went from being Catholic to Mormon back to Catholic and is now Evangelical/Catholic. As a Mormon, Romney might be uncomfortable with that as well- then again Romney used to be pro-choice and pro gay-rights, so he's pretty comfortable with flip-flopping himself.

[CountDeMoney]

Romney is a notorious spendthrift. This is pure conjecture,

Yeah it is pure conjecture, considering he had no problem running the Olympics over budget and begging the federal government to bail out the overruns.
And let's not forget the cost overruns of the Big Dig.  Yeah, he's a notorious spendthrift, when it's his money.  Got no problem spending tax dollars.

[Razgovory]

I think the Rubio will keep his powder dry for next time.  Besides a Hispanic wouldn't help them much when the anti immigrant lobby is so strong in the GOP.  Condi Rice is an off the wall candidate.  I can't believe anyone is seriously suggesting it.  Jindal might actually try for it, but I'm not sure if it'll help the ticket.  Romney needs to appear as the white protestant choice, an Indian won't help that.  Pawlenty is a solid, and dull choice.

[Phillip V]

Romney is a notorious spendthrift. This is pure conjecture,

Yeah it is pure conjecture, considering he had no problem running the Olympics over budget and begging the federal government to bail out the overruns.
And let's not forget the cost overruns of the Big Dig.  Yeah, he's a notorious spendthrift, when it's his money.  Got no problem spending tax dollars.

Mitt Romney was called in to run the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, not anything government-related. The Games had a $379 million deficit when he took over. He left it with a $40 million surplus. It was hailed as among the most successful Winter Olympiads in history.

[Caliga]

Yeah it is pure conjecture, considering he had no problem running the Olympics over budget and begging the federal government to bail out the overruns.
And let's not forget the cost overruns of the Big Dig.  Yeah, he's a notorious spendthrift, when it's his money.  Got no problem spending tax dollars.

The Big Dig was supposed to be finished before Romney ever became governor and he had no control over the project's funding or pacing... in fact when I lived in Mass. Romney was my governor and I recall him bitching about what a joke the Big Dig had become quite often.

[CountDeMoney]

Mitt Romney was called in to run the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, not anything government-related. The Games had a $379 million deficit when he took over. He left it with a $40 million surplus. It was hailed as among the most successful Winter Olympiads in history.

So he didn't need that $400 million for the Olympics after all.  Good, he can give it back.

[CountDeMoney]

The Big Dig was supposed to be finished before Romney ever became governor and he had no control over the project's funding or pacing... in fact when I lived in Mass. Romney was my governor and I recall him bitching about what a joke the Big Dig had become quite often.

Yeah, yeah, yeah...keep defending Mitten's poor management.

[Caliga]

There are plenty of other things you could poke at Romney about... like things he actually had something to do with, for example.

[sbr]

CdM is the Democrat's heavy machine gunner.  He isn't worried about accuracy, it is all about volume of fire.

[CountDeMoney]

There are plenty of other things you could poke at Romney about... like things he actually had something to do with, for example.

Like SEC filings?  Merely clerical errors.

[CountDeMoney]

CdM is the Democrat's heavy machine gunner.  He isn't worried about accuracy, it is all about volume of fire.

In the name of Her Majesty and the Continental Congress, come here and feed me this belt, boy.