Romney Picks Ryan: Another Sarah Palin Moment?

You’ll forgive me if Saturday morning I was more concerned with the Olympics and the raccoon we captured in the attic than Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate.

Some have asked the question rather hopefully: Is Paul Ryan as bad a pick as Sarah Palin was for John McCain four years ago. Brace yourselves, I’m about to give a very confused answer…

Paul Ryan has more experience than Sarah Palin having served in Congress for six terms. So give experience to Mr. Ryan.

Mr. Ryan can also articulate his position on any number of issues, which should prevent a replay of the Palin-Biden debate where she kept cycling back to energy policy, which turned off a Republican friend of mine.

On these two scores, Paul Ryan is no Sarah Palin.

But Ryan does have one potentially ominous thing in common with Sarah Palin. He has inspired a great amount of excitement and energy among the conservative base. Romney perhaps needed to shore up his support among conservatives, so mission accomplished.

Trouble is, there’s really no in-between with the Ryan budget plan, your either madly in love with it, or it stirs feelings of contempt within your soul. Much like Sarah Palin.

Base picks are great for the base, not so great when they create a fury among 30-40% of the population. It will be interesting to see how the Romney campaign deals with the Paul Ryan effect.

 

The Romney VP pick: Putting States in Play

Come back tomorrow for discussion of Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan, This was written before the selection was made.

There has been some discussion that Mitt Romney would pick a Rob Portman, Marco Rubio, or Paul Ryan in order to put the states of Ohio, Florida, and Wisconsin into play.

While all three figures enjoy great popularity within their home states, Romney has to be that he doesn’t make a pick that puts a state out of play. He doesn’t have far to go for a blue print on how to accomplish that feat…SEE PALIN, SARAH 2008.

I’d be particularly worried about picking Paul Ryan because of the coverage he’s gotten for his budget plans.

There aren’t a ton of states in play. Making a safe pick like Rob Portman may be the better way to go instead of a firebrand like Paul Ryan because he could provide a boost in the state of Ohio and has unquestioned experience as a law-maker.

He may not be as exciting as a Rubio or Ryan, but excitement isn’t necessarily what Romney needs.Romney needs to coherently explain how his policy is different from President Obama. Who the VP is should be the least of Romney’s problems.

The Marco Rubio Question

Well Mitt Romney may or may not be vetting Marco Rubio as a potential running mate, depending on who you believe.

Senator Rubio seemed more interested in hawking his recently released memoir on this Sunday’s Meet the Press than engaging in speculation about the Vice Presidential nomination.

In politics, there is no such thing as a perfect candidate.

Picking Senator Rubio has many advantages.

 First, he’s a popular senator from a battleground state (Florida.)

Secondly, because of his Hispanic heritage, he may be able to help Romney make inroads among the Hispanic voters that will play a key role in determining who the president is in January of 2013.

Rubio also comes with a fair number of risks.

 Going with a fresh name doesn’t always pay dividends. John Mccain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, and although she pleased the base, she inspired a fury among Democrats and Moderates.

 Your VP selection should not alienate potential voters.

 Secondly, Marco Rubio hasn’t even served a full term in the Senate yet.

President Obama had similar experience when vaulting to the presidency and  many Republicans chide him for creating the worst presidency since Jimmy Carter.

Yet some Republicans want to put a man of comparable experience one seat from the presidency? I haven’t seen Rubio do enough for me to put my faith in his ability to be president.

The Perils of Picking A Vice President

Sometimes when picking a running mate, safe is sexy.

 While “sexy” picks like Marco Rubio or New Jersey Governor Chris Christie grab headlines, they run the risk of overshadowing the dubiously popular Mitt Romney.

 Trust me, it is not a good thing to have the Vice President overshadow the President.

Unfortunately, a presidential run may also be cursed, if one doesn’t pick the “sexy” candidate there could be a letdown among supporters because your chosen candidate fails to rally the base.

 Oh the perils of picking a vice president!