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August 21, 2008
Exclusive: Musing about Mitt – Is Romney the Answer for McCain?
The McCain campaign is reaching a point where if it does not pick Mitt Romney to be John McCain’s vice presidential nominee, it is taking an unnecessary gamble. Last month, I forwarded the idea that McCain should select a “game-changer” to join him on the ticket; someone universally respected, like Colin Powell, or someone who can win over Democrats, like Joe Lieberman. This strategy, coupled with McCain doing something unconventional - like announcing intentions not to seek reelection should he be elected - would make McCain’s candidacy more interesting, and unarguably more appealing.
It seems McCain will not go this route, and for good reason. The nature of his candidacy (and of his ticket) will likely settle on the safe conventional wisdom. That is to say, McCain will select someone from the GOP base to please conservatives; someone who is seen as a potential “heir” nominee should McCain lose this year; someone who could assume the presidency should something happen to McCain if he were to win.
If the McCain camp has resigned itself to this strategy, the answer as to who McCain should select for VP is becoming increasingly clear: Gov. Mitt Romney.
In the past, I’ve had my own misgivings about Romney. Contrasted with his past gubernatorial assurances to liberal Massachusetts that he wasn’t part of the Reagan revolution, his contemporary attempts to fancy himself as the “mold” conservative alternative to the Republican moderates (McCain and Giuliani) reeked of primary pandering.
The moment Sen. Obama began taking off against Clinton on a “change” platform, Romney immediately retooled his message to an unconvincing “Washington is broken” populist slogan. Everything about it seemed unprincipled - and not to mention his anti-everybody-else campaign ads were sometimes downright cruel.
For a New Jersey/New York guy familiar and comfortable with tough, street-corner representatives like Giuliani, Romney’s sudden rolled up sleeves and blue-collarism was more laughable than genuine. Part of me felt bad for Romney, because it was clear he was at least trying. But here he was, telling the country he was one of us (just overlook the mansions and picture-perfect endlessly-hugging family).
He would have been better off had he embraced his role, had he not caricatured himself as the person he thought we didn’t want him to be. He is, as a friend of mine joked, the prototype politician: son of a successful public servant, tall, good looking, sharp-jawed, articulate, perfectly tanned, and with perfect hair. In other words, Ward Cleaver. If some future evolved species ever has museums studying humans, a stuffed-up Mitt Romney mannequin will be erected behind the glass, featured with an Americanus Politicanus label.
With that said, to not pick Romney this late in the game would be an error. Somehow, some way, John McCain is running neck-and-neck with Barack Obama. The national polls are tied. According to RealClearPolitics polling - which combines and averages the Quinnipiac, Rasmussen, and Gallup polls - McCain is leading in Florida, and unexpectedly leading in Ohio, Colorado, Missouri, Virginia, and Nevada. With the exception of Florida, these were swing-states McCain had been trailing in for quite a while. So clearly, some shifts are happening within the electorate’s mood.
A one-term pledge, coupled with a bipartisan “unity” ticket with Joe Lieberman, would seem like a bold move worth taking if McCain were currently trailing by 10-15 points in the polls (which is what I thought would be the case at this time). But much to his benefit, that is not the case.
He is ahead in important swing-states and is numerically within striking distance in traditionally Democrat states like Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. Jeopardizing such positive trends by picking a pro-choice VP like Tom Ridge, or alienating Republicans by selecting ex-Democrat Lieberman, is not a risk worth taking considering his current advantageous position.
Even though I personally would be fine with Ridge or Lieberman, a good portion of people planning to vote for McCain would feel undercut. The uproar that would ensue should he pick Ridge or Lieberman is simply not worth it anymore. This is late August, not June. It is too late to do something controversial which would require time to calm people down.
The selection of his running mate should strictly adhere to Rule No. 1 when selecting a VP: First, do no harm. With the exception of some fringe voters who won’t vote for a Mormon, Romney does no harm. In fact, he does a lot of good.
For starters, he has no known skeletons in his closet (however much I would prefer Giuliani, he’s made way too many enemies throughout his career). Romney, on the other hand, is clean-cut. He wouldn’t make serious gaffes. He has almost a Terminator-like ability to stay on message.
He is coherent and fluent, thus making him the perfect “attack dog” against Obama (allowing McCain to stay above the fray). Say what you want about Republicans, but since Reagan - with Bush Sr., Quayle, Dole, Bush Jr., Cheney, and now McCain - this has not exactly been the party of convincing rhetorical case-makers. Romney would change that.
He would also hold his own in the VP debates, whoever he should face (a Biden-Romney debate would be tremendously entertaining). He is a fundraising money machine. His successful business past, and his knowledge of the market, would allay concerns about the economy.
And to top it all off, polls indicate his presence on McCain’s ticket would have an enormous impact in swing-states like Michigan (where Romney has deep roots) and Colorado. That Romney might bring at least one of these states to McCain’s column - and therefore the election - is enough reason alone to select him over Tim Pawlenty.
At this point in time, for McCain, the choice is a no-brainer.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Nicholas Guariglia is a polemic and essayist who writes on Islam and Middle Eastern geopolitics. He can be reached at nickguar@comcast.net.
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