Would a Mitt Help McCain's Game?

By Jonathan Allen | July 23, 2008 6:00 AM | | Comments (1)

Many tea-leaf readers foresee former rival Mitt Romney landing a spot on John McCain's ticket.

Here's my analysis of what Romney could bring to McCain's ticket, not necessarily in order of importance:
  1. Domestic Policy Portfolio -- McCain has been a dealmaker on high-profile domestic issues in the Senate, but he is known for his ability to strike a bargain not his depth of detail. He is running almost entirely on foreign policy and national security issues and has conceded, in many moments of ill-advised candor, that he is not an expert on the economy. Enter Romney, who boasts of a successful career as a venture capitalist, engineering the turnaround of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and a tenure as governor that produced a form of universal health care for Massachusetts. In a bad economy -- and with spiraling debt -- Romney's experience as a business executive could recommend him to voters as McCain's economic steward.


  2. Money, Money, Money -- McCain needs more of it, and Romney has it to give away.
  3. The 'Washington Outsider' Label -- South Dakota Sen. John Thune recently told VP Watch that there are plenty of GOP candidates who "don't have the taint of Washington hanging over them." Though McCain has spent much of his two-dozen years in Congress throwing rocks at Washington power centers, he won't be considered an outsider. All of Romney's credits, however, are off-Beltway. Which brings me to the fourth point ...
  4. Favorite Son -- Like Obama (Hawaii, Kansas and Illinois), Romney can claim to be from several different states -- Massachusetts, Utah and, most important, Michigan, where he grew up and where his father was governor. Michigan is on the short list of states that went Democratic in 2004 that McCain has a shot of converting into the Republican column in 2008. Its 17 electoral votes would insulate McCain against losses elsewhere on the map. It's impossible to tell what effect a vice presidential pick has in a given state -- probably not much -- but if McCain thinks Romney can deliver Michigan, that is an immeasurably big plus for Romney.
  5. Tires Kicked -- Any number of corporate executives have been bandied about as potential McCain running mates -- most often Carly Fiorina -- but none have as much exposure to the grind of politics or as much public vetting as Romney. Any surprises would be honest-to-goodness surprises.
  6. The Dull Factor -- Romney may have been too wooden to win the presidency this year, but Al Gore proved no one is too wooden for the vice presidency. Not to pick on Gore. Try find a firecracker in this bunch: Dick Cheney, Dan Quayle, George H.W. Bush, Walter Mondale, Spiro Agnew. You get the picture. A little stilted can go a long way toward avoiding major gaffes.
And here's why this Mitt might not fit McCain:
  1. Religion -- Obama has been courting evangelical Christians by talking about religion, government funding for faith-based programs, environmental issues and zionism. McCain has had a rocky relationship with that set of voters -- remember the "agents of intolerance" comment -- and Romney's Mormon faith could be an additional stumbling block for some voters who typically vote Republican.
  2. Personality Clash -- During the GOP primary, McCain and Romney clashed frequently and it appeared to be personal. Can McCain bury the hatchet? A main theme of his campaign has been that he can work with his adversaries.
  3. Vice Flip-Flopper -- Romney got branded a flip-flopper early in the primary campaign, and it stuck. Democrats won't have to look far to find videotape of Romney taking positions at odds with McCain's and with his own current stands. A 1994 campaign against Ted Kennedy and his governorship of a heavily Democratic state will provide plenty of fodder.
  4. The Dull Factor -- It's a double-edged sword. Dull can be good, but McCain may want to pump up his campaign with a pick who carries more potential risk and more potential reward.

    Comments

  1. I think you've missed Romney's biggest downside for McCain: Democrats will flog him as a "job-killer."

    Democrats have not yet had a reason to go after Romney. They will if McCain chooses him as his running-mate. If that happens, watch for Democrats to hammer home the point that Romney made his considerable personal fortune at Bain Capital by taking over struggling companies and laying off large numbers of workers to get these firms back on their feet.

    Here's what McCain himself said on the subject in January: "As head of his ‘investment’ company [Romney] presided over the acquisition of companies that laid off thousands of workers."

    Given that, how will Romney play in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and even Michigan?

    Posted by: LESD Author Profile Page | July 23, 2008 2:46 PM

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