VP Watch

Not a great day for burnishing Mitt Romney's credentials to be John McCain's running mate, at least according to the prognosticators who rolled out some of his downsides.

Say John McCain taps former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as his running mate and then, during the campaign, goes hammer-and-tong after Barack Obama over Obama's health care plan. One small problem, notes the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Obama modeled his health plan on the one Romney signed into law in Massachusetts. In both plans, private health insurers offer bids and the best ones are accepted by government and, in addition, the government subsidizes low-income families so they can afford policies. The Journal quotes one expert as saying, "The Obama health plan is a virtual clone of the Massachusetts health law."

The Washington Times says top evangelical leaders have declared that their flocks will desert the Republican ticket if Romney is on it. They say they don't trust Romney on issues like same-sex marriage, abortion and also because he is a Mormon. The Times quoted the Rev. Rob McCoy as saying, "It will alienate the entire evangelical community - 62 million self-professing evangelicals in this country, half of them registered to vote."