Vote '08

No, Republicans, we haven’t forgotten you, & we’re sorry if you’ve felt “ignored” as of late here — it’s just that all the spotlights continue to be on the Democratic race — trust me, the longer they soak those spotlights up, the better-positioned your candidate will be.

But there are developments happening on the Republican side of the race to the White House. Take Mitt Romney, for example. He’s in the news again!

After the jump, you’ll see a clip of his first interview since he first ’suspended’ his campaign, where he talks about how he’d love for John McCain to put him on the ticket.

& speculates on whether Romney would add lift or drag to John McCain’s trajectory.

First, the first part of an interview with one of his biggest — albeit johnny-come-too-lately — fans, Sean Hannity on Fox News:

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then there’s this clip where Hannity directly asks him the veep question:

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First off: Boy, he looks rested, doesn’t he? Here, folks, is what you look like after taking a month off from a presidential campaign.

Secondly: note how he’s not bitter at all about the tactics used against him during the primary. All’s fair in love, war, & politics.

Would Mitt say yes? Of course he would.

Would McCain ask him in the first place? Not as clear.

On the “up” side of a McCain-Romney ticket..

• Romney would defuse a lot of Republican rancor they still feel deep down about McCain that he’s “not one of their own.”
• His age provides needed ballast to McCain’s
• He’s demonstrated he’s a hard working campaigner, & would no doubt add some much-needed energy & charisma to the ticket

But on the other hand…

• It’s a safe assumption that the two still hate each other, which was mentioned often on- & off- the record on the campaign trail. McCain is the type of person to hold grudges, & would likely choose someone with out such a history of crossing him. McCain would also appear to be caving to the interests of some of those on the right, which would tarnish his independent image.
• Despite becoming the supposed GOP “standard-bearer” once the rest of McCain’s competition dropped out, Romney would still have “ideology issues.” Earlier in the campaign, he was derided for flip-flopping, & his campaign strategy changed its core ‘message’ several times, depending on both the state he was campaigning in at the time & on what was perceived to be the major issues of voters (for example, co-opting & morphing Obama’s “Change We Can Believe In” into the slogan “Change Starts with Us”). He gave off a constant whiff of “campaigning by consultants.”
• It’s a good bet that McCain would see the greater benefits of naming a more southern (& more independently-minded) governor to the ticket.

So what do you think? Should Romney be on the ticket? Time for you to weigh in! Post a comment!

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