July 13, 2012

Why is the Condi-for-VP rumor being floated?

1. It's a slow week, and everybody's looking for page views.

2. It helps offset the story about Romney getting booed at the NAACP convention, which conveyed the vague message that Romney has nothing to offer black people. What if he had Condi? That puts everything in a different light. Suddenly, he's not — what the hell did Rush Limbaugh call him? — "Snow White with testicles."

3. It's not much fun dragging out the veepstakes over the prospect that it's going to be Rob Portman, but it could be Tim Pawlenty. Quite aside from the white-with-testicles problem, it's just so predictable and dull. We need to be tantalized first, and nobody's more tantalizing than Condoleezza Rice. Except Sarah Palin. But Romney's too white-bread to tantalize us with Sarah. It's "white-bread" to go with the black lady? Yes! She's very solid and serious. She's gravitas personified.

4. Send the Obama campaign into a tizzy. Make them spend time and money preparing to push back Condi. Will they have to worry that she's more authentically black — American black — than Barack Obama? How will that debate about race be framed? Complicated. Here's something Rice said to the Republican National Convention in 2000: "My father joined our party because the Democrats in Jim Crow Alabama of 1952 would not register him to vote. The Republicans did." What will the Obama people do if that sort of thing is thrown in their face? Let them worry about it.

5. Somebody trying to make money on Intrade?

82 comments:

leslyn said...

So that Mittens can have a group of somebody else's make up his mind for him. It's like having a beauty contest- What really matter is the judges.

MadisonMan said...

I vote for 1, with a dash of 2.

I think you vote for 1 as well, so much so that you've started two Condi threads :)

Tim said...

"It helps offset the story about Romney getting booed at the NAACP convention, which conveyed the vague message that Romney has nothing to offer black people.

Huh?

People who care what people who attend the NAACP convention think of Romney won't vote for Romney, ever.

There's no need to help offset stories confirming the biases of people who will never vote for you.

Huge waste of time, energy and resources.

To the degree this is calculated, i.e., she's not really under consideration, option 4 makes the most sense.

To the degree it is serious, some conservatives have some issues with Rice; floating her name now gives Romney a chance to get feedback before making the decision.

But offsetting concerns about being booed at the NAACP confab?

LOL.

Matt Sablan said...

Wait, I thought getting booed at the NAACP was a secret double blind plot by Romney to embolden his base, or something about racists? I can' keep track of all this trickiness! Rove must be involved.

Unknown said...

Choosing a black VP candidate will contrast nicely with GOP efforts to suppress the ethnic minority vote.

trumpetdaddy said...

Romney is proving who owns the news cycle right now and it isn't Obama.

The Obama people have tried valiantly to drive up Romney's negatives this week with all the Bain baloney. Romney's response has been threefold and effective.

1. The campaign pushed back on the substance of the Bain attacks through surrogates, ads, and utilizing media like the WaPo factcheck piece.

2. They very effectively changed the subject to Romney's "boldness" through the NAACP speech, Obama's absence from that forum, and the Rice rumors. Given that the subject of Romney's "boldness" is race relations, they are playing on Obama's turf.

3. All of the above focused attention elsewhere whilst Romney was at Jackson Hole raising another 4 million in a private event with Darth Cheney that was so over-subscribed the event had to be moved to a larger venue.

So, Romney gets another huge fundraising day, appeases hard-core conservatives who are fans of Cheney, doesn't antagonize moderates who hate Cheney by playing up the race stuff this week with the NAACP and Rice, and reduces Obama's people to sputtering about "felonies," which is outright dismissed out of hand as absurd by all serious people.

Not a bad week at all. These people just may know what they are doing, after all.

edutcher said...

6. Bill Kristol mentioned her name on Cavuto and, since he thought Miss Sarah last time, everybody thinks he knows what he's talking about.

Ann Althouse said...

"I think you vote for 1 as well, so much so that you've started two Condi threads :)"

I avoided it yesterday when it started. Today, I put it up because: 1. I felt that readers were waiting to talk about it, so that was more to accommodate you than to grab views (which I don't really think about), and 2. I've been covering the Drudge-in-black-and-white theme this week and this all-black set is an important iteration that needed to be acknowledged.

Matt Sablan said...

"These people just may know what they are doing, after all."

-- Never understood why any one ever thought Romney wouldn't play for keeps. He's a lot like Obama in that regards; everyone thinks he's some darned nice guy. But he is a political bruiser who knows how to hit where it hurts. The debates? They are going to be phenomenal.

Ann Althouse said...

"People who care what people who attend the NAACP convention think of Romney won't vote for Romney, ever."

I'm talking about the story, which was all over the news.

Romney wasn't there to try to convince some of the attendees to vote for him. He was there for the overall optics, and he got what he wanted, and now it's about the spin. Condi lubricates the spin.

God, An Original A-hole said...

Romney has needed boldness. He's come across as sort of wimpy... and therefore seems hesitant to perform the big economic cleansing that he is promising. Condi would provide that-- BOOM!-- because of:

- Her intellectual strength, and public speaking ability.
- Her experience in high national office.
- The fact that she's a black woman.

Unfortunately, I don't think Romney will come through. He'll probably go with the staid white guy instead-- Portman or Pawlenty. This would disastrous for his campaign, and, in the long-shot situation where they actually win, disastrous for the country too.

Condi is the winning choice.

And I think Drudge knows this, and is therefore pushing the message to his large audience in order to help prompt Romney to act. Find your cajones, Mr. Romney!!!

The only downside is the baggage of the Bush years. But if the American people have demonstrated anything lately, it is that they don't care what a politician did or said years ago. The fact that Condi was Secretary of State matters; and she had some other job at W.'s side too, didn't she? What she did, and what she said, in those positions is long forgotten... sadly, no one cares; that's unfortunate, but it is reality.

trumpetdaddy said...

Matthew - I was obviously being sarcastic. There has been a belief amongst some on the Right that Romney was some sort of second coming of McCain. Anybody paying attention to the systematic way he annihilated the field in the Republican primaries should have been disabused of that notion.

The president has been outspending Romney by several orders of magnitude for almost a year now and playing up the Romney Bain stuff for weeks. It hasn't moved the needle. They are tied and Obama is under 50% after they have shot almost all their wad.

Romney's people are only now starting to fight. Each ad that they have released has systematically built upon the previous one in creating the narrative of Obama as incompetent and devious. This gradually enables swing voters to connect their current economic pain to Obama having been foisted upon them through deception by Obama and the media, rather than force them to admit a mistake in voting for him in 2008.

This gives these middle voters "permission" to abandon Obama. Every flailing, desperate thing Obama does from here on out merely reinforces the Romney message.

Chip S. said...

The fact that she's a black woman.

Obviously this is correct, although not exactly inspiring.

It seems inevitable that running-mate pairs will soon be covered by the Law of Local TV News Teams. Or it that already the case?

God, An Original A-hole said...

@trumpetdaddy -

...the systematic way he annihilated the field in the Republican primaries...

Dude, he was the default candidate. There was hardly any positive enthusiasm for him during the primaries. He got the votes, but no hearts.

Nothing like the way W. blitzkreig'd himself to primary victory in 2000.

trumpetdaddy said...

Romney had been "preparing the battlespace" in the R primaries in a systematic way since the day he conceded to McCain in 2008. "Default candidate" or candidate who out-raised, out-planned, out-punched, and out-lasted the field? Tomato, tomahto.

I did not vote for Romney in the Ohio primary. I recognize how he pushed all the right organizational and funding buttons to engineer that state victory, however. Including leveraging the enormous behind-the-scenes power that Rob Portman possesses.

I see that same kind of relentlessness now operating in the general election.

SteveR said...

Joe Biden vs Condi Rice? Joe Biden vs Rob Portman? Joe Biden vs Marco Rubio? Joe Biden vs Tim Pawlenty?

traditionalguy said...

Condi has the known persona and experience level with the public that would not let the media destroy her when they branded a national scene newcomer. That's a plus.

Condi gives cover for independent voters against the first black president's demand that the independent voters that put him in office the first time must go prove themselves to be non-racists again. That's a plus.

It is a link to the good parts of Bush II.That's a plus,

She is a believer in the CO2 controls the climate Hoax. That's a big minus.

I think the New England liberal in Romney will pick her.

kathleen said...

Condi Rice "tantalizing"? only if you're obsessed with race and gender.

Blamegirl said...

It contradicts his "blacks are lazy and want hand outs" and distracts from the fact that he may be a felon. I just did a blog post about this too!

Sorun said...

Hey, the "Obama's going to pay my gas and mortgage" lady showed up. Welcome!

Hagar said...

Yup. I think Althouse is setting up to vote for Obama again.

trumpetdaddy said...

Rice will not be the VP. She is a loyal Republican team player, however, and is perfectly willing to be "used" to help the team. We are seeing her step up to the plate this week.

The Romney Bain narrative is being destroyed as we speak and Condi Rice allowing herself to be the subject of VP speculation is part of that destruction.

Rob Portman will be the VP. Romney effectively won the nomination in Ohio and he will win the presidency in Ohio. And the Ohio primary was won in OH CD2, as will be the presidency. Rob Portman is a demi-god in suburban Cincinnati and will be on the ticket.

When the State of the Union is given next January, Romney will be speaking in front of two men who grew up less than 15 miles apart in Cincinnati, Speaker Boehner and VP Portman.

Some things in life aren't accidents.

Tim said...

"Romney wasn't there to try to convince some of the attendees to vote for him. He was there for the overall optics, and he got what he wanted, and now it's about the spin. Condi lubricates the spin."

Right, but you wrote "helps offset the story..." as if he was floating Rice as part of some damage control.

Which he isn't.

If anything, he's amplifying the story to amplify the contrast between him and Obama regarding NAACP-type Black voters. So your clarification/re-statement that "Condi lubricates the spin" is much better, i.e., much more likely the case than him trying to "offset" the first story, which I seriously doubt they've given a moments thought.

MadisonMan said...

I think Althouse is setting up to vote for Obama again.

I don't get that vibe at all.

Kansas City said...

Great explanation of why Rice would not be a good pick:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/309342/case-against-condi-ramesh-ponnuru#comment-631923

I'm less sure that she would be a bad pick. However, I think it is very unlikely that cautious Romney would pick someone with the baggage of "mildly pro-choice," connected to Bush, no campaign experience and no executive experience.

I like Noonan's point that now is a time for political greatness in a candidate, but that can develop over time (e.g., Reagan, Truman, Lincoln) and Romney may be a great president/leader.

Tim said...

"...and distracts from the fact that he may be a felon."

Garage, is that you?

Hard to tell, with all the changing avatars...sounds like you.

Anyway, we'd know by now if Romney was a felon. He'd have a conviction, and wouldn't be able to run for office. Anyone of the Republican primary challengers, or reporters covering the campaign, would have let know about that.

So you must be making shit up, right?

God, An Original A-hole said...

Who cares about the NAACP?

No, really...

They. Don't. Matter.

Not for Romney.

He came, he spoke, he got booed.

So what?! They're all gonna vote Democrat anyway.

Advice for Romney:

Regard race only when it will help you, as it will if you pick Condi.

After this, I am going to be terribly disappointed if Romney goes for the white guy. Terribly, terribly disappointed.

Cedarford said...

Chip S. said...
The fact that she's a black woman.

Obviously this is correct, although not exactly inspiring.

It seems inevitable that running-mate pairs will soon be covered by the Law of Local TV News Teams. Or it that already the case?

==============
Chip S - That was fucking brilliant!

Law of Local TV news stations.

White or black male with caucasian features as anchor.
Pretty Asian woman listed as co-anchor but handling the Pipi Middleton sort stories while the man does the hard news stuff.
The "senior reporter" - usually some old white reporter long past his prime if he ever even had a prime.

Then the semi-vacuous white weathergirl with nice tits.
The "field correspondents" - usually minorities or women...where you see the rare Hispanic like Jerry Rivera or Rick Sanchez playing their fake hispanic accents for all it is worth to seem more authentic.

Perhaps that was one of McCain's mistakes. Instead of a subordinate female co-anchor, he picked someone better cast in the weathergirl role.

Condi would at least be co-anchor, but one showing up every time on TV wearing a GW Bush ballcap...

Scott said...

The massive amount of pixels devoted to the gender, race, ethnicity, and religion of candidates points to a few things:

1. We're not a "post-racial society." Post-racialism is bullshit. But if we want to be, then we ought to at least pretend to evaluate candidates without even mentioning these things. That goes for all sides.

2. These things, which shouldn't matter in a politician, would be vitally important in a state figurehead. This is what sucks about having a president. How I envy constitutional monarchies, who have a king or queen upon which to focus national identity -- and leave the politics to the grubby little people over in parliament.

Sorun said...

If Romney is a felon, he won't be able to vote for himself on election day. Awkward!

Kansas City said...

Trumpetdaddy makes a good point on Portman, but is the connection to Bush such a downside that Romney will not pick him. You know the democratic reaction would be "back to the Bush days," and the media would run with it to help Obama, making it the storyline that sticks in the minds of swing voters about Portmanm. Unless there is strong evidence that Portman swings votes in Ohiho, the Bush connection probably makes him not a good choice.

Christopher in MA said...

Choosing a black VP candidate will contrast nicely with GOP efforts to suppress the ethnic minority vote.

Whatever Axelrod is paying you, Jake, it's too much. That's pathetic even by Garage Mahal standards.

madAsHell said...

beauty contest

I'm thinking the same thing.

I don't think it used to be this way because it doesn't explain Richard Nixon.

Matt Sablan said...

Being tied to Bush is, honestly, a wash. Any Republican anywhere is going to be tagged as bringing us back to Bush. If Ron Paul had won the nomination, they'd be saying it about him. It is just a thing to be said; no one really believes it too much.

madAsHell said...

Speaking of felons....

What ever happened to the arrest warrant for Gov. Walker??

Yeah...that's what I thought!

trumpetdaddy said...

KC - It will be Portman. No Republican in any elective office longer than the last 2 years doesn't have the potential of being "tied to Bush." Being afraid of that charge is pointless. The Dems will make it no matter who is put up. It will be one of the last things they have to fight with by the end of August.

Romney has been, and is, preparing the battlespace. He is running against the media as much as against Obama. Obama was a media creation in 2008. If Romney's strategy is correct, anything said about Bush will be viewed by swing voters as just as much a lie as the stuff the said to sell us Obama.

That will neutralize any significant downside to picking Portman, re the Bush angle.

Bruce Hayden said...

So that Mittens can have a group of somebody else's make up his mind for him. It's like having a beauty contest- What really matter is the judges.

I think that this shows that you don't follow Romney very closely, nor do you understand what they teach at Harvard Business School, nor, how he made his money. We saw how this training works with Bush (43), the "decider". The difference is that Bush diddled in business, while Romney used that training to make a nice fortune.

The way it works for these guys is that the leader has an open discussion with his people, expecting them to be open and honest. Then, the leader makes the decision based on all the knowledge he has, and everyone is expected to fall in line. If you don't, you aren't a team player, and are out the door.

Now, that is the theory, but the reality is that Romney, just like Obama, probably has a blind spot. For Obama, it is other Blacks and foreigners, esp. Muslim. For Romney, I suspect that it is other Mormons. Mormons have a (IMHO well deserved) reputation for putting their brethren first, when it comes to business arrangements, etc. (I may be a bit sensitive here, having driven through maybe 700 miles of Mormon country a week ago).

Dust Bunny Queen said...

It helps offset the story about Romney getting booed at the NAACP convention, which conveyed the vague message that Romney has nothing to offer black people. What if he had Condi?

What if he had Allen West!!

traditionalguy said...

The Find Your Roots PBS program is online, and watching the Condi Rice segment was interesting.

I really liked her.

Which figures, she was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister in Birmingham, Alabama. They raised her with all of the training in social skills that were incident to a Presbyterian experience and good Calvinist faith filled congregation.

Her parents told her as a girl that she could indeed grow up to be the President of the United states, even if at the time she could not buy a cheeseburger at Woolworths lunch counter in Brimingham.

Her origins by DNA results came back at 51% African, 40& Northern European and 7% Asian.

Hagar said...

Rob who?

leslyn said...

Cedarford,

Perhaps that was one of McCain's mistakes. Instead of a subordinate female co-anchor, he picked someone better cast in the weathergirl role.

Brilliant analogy.

madAsHell said...

Law of Local TV News Teams

Does this mean that Condi will finish Mitt's sentences?
I'm not sure which demographic could find that annoyance appealing!!

FWBuff said...

Condi Rice also brings great foreign policy experience, especially with Russia. She complements Mitt very well in this area.

Cedarford said...

Aside from Dick Cheney as a possible VP, I can't think a signal that Romney wants to replay the whole Bush military and foreign policy better than a Condi Rice VP pick.
A good idea?
No.

3 months of discussions away from the economy onto Iraq again and Obama Foreign Policy vs. Deja Vu Bush II Policy and neocons?
A good idea?
No.

Thinking that Condi will take away more than 1-2 % of the tribal black vote from Obama?
Priceless!!

2nd runner up for priceless that would almost make the disaster of a Condi Rice pick worthwhile....
Pope Frothy Rick raging, with Blessed Baby Bella in tow....about how unacceptable a Republican any woman like Laura Bush, Condi Rice, Barbara Bush is...if they support any sort of abortion or socially destructive and immoral birth contraception...
Santorum announces he will not support Romney..but will be spending the whole election season praying at his shrine to the "murdered" Terri Schiavo instead.
Priceless!

Jim said...

I think this is a pretty weak attempt to get the media off the Bain story, which Romney and his people have completely flubbed consistently for about 2 weeks now.

Besides, Romney promised to pick a VP who is pro-life. Condi is openly pro-choice. How many etch-a-sketch moments are pro-life Conservatives going to stomach from this guy?

Rocketeer said...

I think this is a pretty weak attempt to get the media off the Bain story, which Romney and his people have completely flubbed consistently for about 2 weeks now.

Comepletely flubbed? WTH??? The Bain story hasn't had any effect on Romney, at all. In fact, it's blowing back on Obama at this very moment. Why "distract" from that? Nelson's maxim applies here.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Just the sheer fact that both Bill Kristol and Peggy Noonan think that Condi would be a good idea as VP, convinces me that this is a turd sandwich and a lead balloon.

test said...

#4.

Step one: Nominate serial candidates and watch the left froth at the mounth over each of them

Step two: Laugh

Step Three: Nominate the real VP

Since the criticisms will be those directed at all the other candidates mentioned voters won't pay attention for a second.

Kansas City said...

Trumpetdaddy

I just fear that Portman makes it easy for Obama to take the shot about "return to Bush policies," which I think is an argument that has some impact on swing voters. So I would lean toward a pick with no association with Bush. I think you overrate the ability of Romney and underrate the effectiveness of media bias.

As to Rice, there are many disadvantages, including his very close connection to Rice and no experience on the economy.

BUT, I also believe that politicians make a difference when they do big things or take big chances and, otherwise, they are pretty much fungible parasites. Republican Romeny picking a black woman as VP is a potential big moment in changing the current unhealty situation of the blind allegiance of blacks to democrats (not so much in this election, but in the bigger picture). So while I am a believer in "do no harm" with VP pick, there is some temptation in Rice. Plus, alliteration always helps - Romney-Rice.

Chip S. said...

I just fear that Portman makes it easy for Obama to take the shot about "return to Bush policies,"

I don't have an opinion on Portman, but I'll wager that Obama's going to say that no matter what.

Bush is the only guy he could conceivably beat in this election.

JAL said...

Can Petreaus run the CIA and br VP at the same time?

Jim said...

"The Bain story hasn't had any effect on Romney, at all. In fact, it's blowing back on Obama at this very moment."

Swing state polls taken after Obama's barrage of Bain ads say differently. And, in case you haven't noticed, Obama is up in major polls, especially when it comes to the economy. A month ago, he trailed Romney by a decent margin.

Romney's response to the WaPo story of a couple of weeks ago was to ignore it, then whine about parsing the difference between "outsourcing" and "offshoring." Then they said he couldn't possibly have been in charge during the time in question because he left Bain in 1999. Fine.

Now we have SEC filings and the candidate himself saying under oath that he actually was involved in running his own company after 1999. Romney's response? "It's not accurate."

Sorry, but that's not good enough. They got hit with Bain stuff during the primaries and even back in '07/'08. It's shocking that they couldn't have seen this coming and put together a cogent, factual response. This, combined with the constant tax return gaffes, should have people very worried about Romney's ability to win this election. The man is not only being defined by the opposition, he's giving them an assist.

He won't choose Condi Rice as his VP. She'd be good for the job, but he needs to get the base to buy into his candidacy, and that's not the way to do it.

Michael said...

Jim. The SEC filings clearly indicate he was not running Bain after he left for the Olympics. You are a lap behind. But keep digging. Or, go to SEC.gov and see for yourself. If yo know how.

TomB said...

"How will that debate about race be framed? Complicated."

Come on, professor! Get your Democrat terms right. It won't be "complicated," it will be "nuanced."

JAL said...

Make that Petraeus. Dang, I hate those foreign names.

Actually Rubio ia atill looking good. He doesn't have the white baggage. NRob ot that much experience maybe, but more than the current FT occupant of 1600.

Would like to know more about Portman. He looks interesting.

But c'mon, BHO has BFD Biden.

IIRC Condi said she knew what her gifts were, and being in elected office was not one of them.

Irony is though, she voted for Obama in 2008, if the rumours are right. You know, must have beedn one of those symbolic things. But then since a friend (or two) of Condi's was killed in a racist bombing, her "story" makes better reading than BHO's and any of those surrounding him, including Jeremiah Wright and Michelle's.

garage mahal said...

Maybe Romney should go real bold and pick Ted Nugent. That would shore up the severely conservative or violently conservative base. Best of all, it would really piss off liberals!

JAL said...

@ Jim -- as above, I just read someone taking apart the paperwork he filed ... I think a link off Indy. (Too busy to find it for you.)

The bottom line was the Obama crowd is saying Romney is a felon. In which case they are obligated to prosecute him, or shut up and stop the lying.

Do Dems really think their voters are those they can lie to with impunity and/or manipulate with sob stories?

Is that who they think Americans are?

JAL said...

I am writing on a new netbook and nothing is where it used to be.

Sorry. Excuse the crappy typing above and read between the lines, please.

Chip S. said...

@garage, OK, I laughed.

holdfast said...

I like Condi a lot - maybe she can be SecDef in the Romney Admin.

But I don't think she's a very good politician. She's even admitted that, and said that while she loves public service, she doesn't really like the partisan politics. This is a red herring. Well played Mitt.

JAL said...

BTW Jim, the problem with Obama's ads (like *most* political TV ads) is that they are full of crap.

People who vote based on TV ads (which unfortunately appears to be a given for some people) deserve what they get. But it's certainly not fair to, or representative of, the rest of us.

At least the WaPo istrying, somewhat. MOst of the media is still smiling and nodding at what wonderful people they were to elcet this sterling guy as first "black" POTUS.

(Denzel Washington he ain't.)

marc said...

Marc Delany says:


The REPUBLICANS get to pick, not Media, not Democrats. The Republicans will not run a black woman this race, because this is a race, about race… and she’s the wrong race… The core Romney supporters (Mormon Doctrine also – see any pre 1977 “Book of Mormon) are white racists, overtly or covertly….. Rice is a Negro….

Jim said...

The felon stuff is overreach, to be sure, but nothing you've said has disproven my original point: the Bain attacks are having an effect, especially in the swing states, and Romney has done an awful job putting the topic to bed and moving on.

Rocketeer's contention that Romney's been kicking ass and pwning Obama on the Bain issue is just delusional.

Der Hahn said...

Attempted to read this thread until I got the words 'Condi' and 'lubricate'. Major Distraction..

Christopher in MA said...

Rice is a Negro

Glad to have that cleared up. I thought it was just a really bad spray tan.

Michael said...

Jim. You cannot,unfortunately, put stupid to bed. Go to sec.gov and click on filings in the upper right hand corner. Then click on company filings. Then type in Bain. Choose an entity to investigate and click on it. Then choose a filing and read it. Let us know what you uncover.

trumpetdaddy said...

This is a "return to normalcy" election. Like 1920 and 1980.

The American people will only put up with so much experimentation and weirdness. Part of what appealed about Obama to mushy middle types was that he was "clean, articulate, and good-looking" to quote a Democrat politician.

People expected him to put behind the nation all that nasty race stuff and get the economy moving again after the summer of 2008, plus end the wars.

Well, the wars are still on, the economy is no better, and in some communities, much worse, and he isn't uniting anybody.

Plus, the over reach into socialism with Obamacare really rankles most people, as poll after poll show.

People are tired of the chaos. But they have to be persuaded that the chaos isn't their fault. So Romney has to build the narrative that they were lied to. This narrative has the added benefit of being true, but he still has to allow them to convince themselves of it.

Part of the "return to normalcy" will be a "boring white guy" VP nominee who reinforces the "competency" foundation of the Romney pitch. Someone with a conservative voting record, a long, respected career, and a moderate tone.

Rob Portman.

Ethnic wild-card picks and "dazzle the base" picks are for wasting the media's time for the next 8 weeks to the convention. And for distracting from Team Obama's preferred narratives whenever useful.

Like this week, for instance.

trumpetdaddy said...

This is why you saw the "it doesn't have to be like this" phrase start to be included in Romney's stump speech.

He is planting the notion that the last several years are an anomaly and not a "new normal," which is what Obama has to pitch in order to get re-elected.

Obama has to convince the American people that Bush screwed stuff up so bad that the way things are is how they are going to be for the foreseeable future, and a return to "Bush-like" policies will only make it worse.

All Romney has to do is convince people that the last 3-5 years were a detour from the way things normally are and that to get back to normal, elect him.

That is an easier pitch because it based on people's natural feeling of nostalgia and traditional American optimism. That pitch tells us that it isn't our fault and all we have to do is "toss out the bums."

Obama has to convince that the other guys are worse bums. It can be done but it is a lot harder.

RebeccaH said...

I don't think Condi Rice would accept if she were offered the job. It's nice to think about, but she is surely aware of the meat grinder the Democrats would put her through. It's one thing to go to the mats with an opponent such as Russia. It's something else when your own American people go into a feeding frenzy, and you're the chum.

John said...

The Dems and the media will try to do to Rice as VP what they did to Palin. But they will not succeed this time for a few reasons. First, the media used a lot of credibility destroying Palin. Most people, even the hacks, know she was treated unfairly. And the next time the media does it there won't be quite the appetite to do the same thing to another women. Second, unlike Palin who was virtually unknown outside of Alaska before she became the VP nominee, everyone knows Rice. So the media's ability to paint her as evil or incompetent or whatever will be greatly limited. Sure they can pull the whole "she is a war criminal" card. But as you rightly point out, Obama embraced and expanded on every single Bush policy the left claimed to be criminal. So that dog wouldn't hunt either. Third, she is pro choice and she is black and the former provost of Standford. So liberals won't be able to use the snob factor that they were able to use with Palin. Palin was easy for women to hate because she had everything most women want, good looks, a good husband, and a loving family. Rice has none of that. So feminists won't be able to appeal to women's worst instincts.

I think Rice is the only choice for VP primarily because of the black vote. I don't think people realize how soft Obama's support in the black community is. Blacks have been hurt by the recession worse than any other group. And they feel legitimately betrayed by Obama's embrace of same sex marriage. Not that Rice would get black to vote Republican. But she would suppress black turnout. Obama got half of his winning margin in 2008 from the historically high black turnout. With Rice on the ticket blacks would feel that since a black person will win no matter what, there would be a lot less reason to come out and vote for Obama, someone they really don't like that much anyway.

jeff said...

"It contradicts his "blacks are lazy and want hand outs" and distracts from the fact that he may be a felon. I just did a blog post about this too! "

I like the quote marks. Can you direct me to the link for the black are lazy quote? Also, I see you are confused about the meaning of the word "fact". Was your blog post also pulled out of your ass?

jeff said...

"Was your blog post also pulled out of your ass?"

I read it. It was.

Unknown said...

Petraeus, for criminy's sake! Hands down the best foreign policy knowledge (at least of the kind we need right now), brilliant, successful, not particularly partisan. If Romney chooses him, I will sign up to volunteer for his campaign that same day.

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Marshal said...
"John said...I think Rice is the only choice for VP primarily because of the black vote. I don't think people realize how soft Obama's support in the black community is."

His support may be soft, but if you think that translates to votes for Romney based on a Republican Vice Presidential candidate you're delusional. Obama may lose a percent or two of the black vote, and the turnout is likely to be lower. But those changes will be driven by economics, not the VP candidate.

John said...

"His support may be soft, but if you think that translates to votes for Romney based on a Republican Vice Presidential candidate you're delusiona"

I am not dellusional Marshal. But you apparently are illiterate. Let me type this again and maybe you can get someone to read it to you.

"Not that Rice would get black to vote Republican. But she would suppress black turnout. Obama got half of his winning margin in 2008 from the historically high black turnout. With Rice on the ticket blacks would feel that since a black person will win no matter what, there would be a lot less reason to come out and vote for Obama, someone they really don't like that much anyway."


I never said it translated into votes for Romney, just lower black turnout. Try to at least read the posts before commenting next time.

PikeBishop said...

As for #4? Let me try............ "Ooooh oooh Mr. Kotter....pick me...pick me....they are all Republicans now and uh..........um.....George Bush!"

Calypso Facto said...

I read it. It was.

Thank you for your service, Jeff. I figured anyone who couldn't get out her first sentence with fewer than two lies wasn't worth the follow-up.

Alex said...

Nope. The rest of the campaign will be Iraq/Torture/Iraq/Torture. Drip, drip, drip. Obama wins.

Methadras said...

Did anyone watch Romney's speech to the NAACP? I did. Did anyone see that half the audience gave him a standing ovation too at the end?

Cedarford said...

I think Rice is the only choice for VP primarily because of the black vote. I don't think people realize how soft Obama's support in the black community is....
========
Delusional. Black support is 96% for their race in the election, and I don't mean Condi Rice. Her pick on the ticket would have no impact on black voter turnout one way or the other...and few if any blacks will betray The Black Man in charge for a black woman 2nd fiddle.

However....it would be a serious blow to Republican prolife groups. Mike Huckabee said that in addressing prolife groups in the Primary period he made specific promises that he would appoint Justices in the vein of Alito, Scalia, and Roberts AND pick a VP candidate with a long, established pro life position.

He said that Romney would have huge problems if he went breaking his specific promises to the Religious Right, Catholic groups...loss of funds and "it would kill turnout".

Huckabee also mentioned that Rice is well-know for not involving herself in political campaigns on behalf of fellow Republicans -on her reason that she is just not someone that wants to be involved in political campaigning. Not her thing.

John said...

Cederford,

Since you are a liberal, it is safe to assume you don't actually know any black people or the few you do know are hipsters. But if you knew actual black people you would know blacks are very offended by the same sex marriage decisions. They are not going to turn out in near the numbers they did in 2008