General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSo, do you think Romney will pick Condi Rice for running mate? And if so, what would be the effect?
Reading politicalwire.com, it looks possible Romney would pick Rice as his running mate.
From a purely political point of view, imho, this might help Romney make inroads in the female vote, and the African American vote, as well as create great excitement among the repub base.
Setting personal feelings about Ms. Mushroom Clouds over American Cities aside, and looking at the potential pick from a political standpoint only, do you think he might pick her, and if so, do you see that pick being a plus, minus or net zero for Romney and the repubs in November?
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)marybourg
(12,540 posts)the vote now.
Booster
(10,021 posts)briefing she & Dubya got before 9/11.
Skip Intro
(19,768 posts)9*11 cannot be spoken of in those terms to the general population. Hell, DU can't even handle such talk out in the open.
DJ13
(23,671 posts)Condoleezza Rice says "no way" to VP for Romney
June 26, 2012
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505267_162-57460324/condoleezza-rice-says-no-way-to-vp-for-romney/
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)arthritisR_US
(7,269 posts)pick her and watch the foreign policy ads fly.
Segami
(14,923 posts)Here's why:
Back in May, Politico gave us an incredibly boring white guy as an anonymously sourced description of what Mitt Romney was looking for in a running mate. Here it is July, and Bill Kristol is still finding that prospect incredibly boring, so he reads a reported but speculative RealClearPolitics article with a short list of Tim Pawlenty, Rob Portman, Paul Ryan and Bobby Jindal and comes up with a column about Condoleezza Rice, who isnt even mentioned in the piece.
Why? Because Ann Romney said so. Or rather, she said an incredibly vague thing when she was asked about whether Mitt would nominate a woman: Weve been looking at that, and I love that option as well. This is a very thin strand on which to hang anything. The alternative would have been for Ann Romney to say that no women were being considered at all, which is, at the moment, considered poor form.
Kristol briefly considers that this could (plausibly) mean that New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte or (less plausibly) New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez are being at least considered, but thats boring. But instead he zeroes in on a Park City campaign event in which Rice seemed to impress Mitt Romney, who was standing beside her, and argues that she would complement Romney in terms of area of expertise, gender (obviously!), and life experience. (Obviously! He doesnt mention race.)
As Kristol columns go, this is particularly lacking in anything resembling convincing facts. Rice denied the speculation over a week ago in terms far more convincing than the usual coyness: There is no way that I will do this because its really not me. I know my strengths and weaknesses. Once again, Rice has never run for office and doesnt have domestic experience, not to mention the fact that shes nebulously pro-choice a no-go for Romney in trying to reassure the social conservative base. But dont worry, Kristol doesnt really mean it: Let me be clear: Im not advocating the selection of Rice. Im just reading the tea leaves, and the biggest tea leaf out there right now is Ann Romneys comment. It makes sense to take Ann Romney seriously. Cherchez la femme!
Ill give Kristol this: It does make sense to take Ann Romney seriously if you take seriously her husbands campaign trail assumption that shes his pipeline to the hearts and minds of women everywhere. (On the other hand, Ann Romney also said of Mitt, Theres a wild and crazy man inside there.)
The problem with all this besides incredibly bored people struggling to entertain themselves in July with rank speculation is that because John McCain once made a pandering, ill-thought-out decision, all Republican women are tarred with the same brush. Or, as the Week put it in its roundup, Some worry that Mitt could repeat the mistakes John McCain made in 2008. To be clear, Mitt Romney choosing a woman over the handful of men he clearly favors would be pandering, but it wouldnt be a mistake if she happened to be the best person for the (mostly non-substantive) job.
This is the same essentialism that says that Ann Romney, who has no relevant background besides being born female, is a fast-track to the female vote. And its the same inability to see women as human beings on their own terms, a self-fulfilling prophecy that says that even the most qualified Republican woman will be nothing but Palin redux. Talk about one step forward, two steps back.
http://www.salon.com/2012/07/06/no_condi_wont_be_mitts_palin/
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Rowdyboy
(22,057 posts)Probably the best move he could make and much more likely than most folks think. Abortion/etc would be a problem but they hate Obama and I think it would be overlooked. Guess we'll see.
lovemydog
(11,833 posts)would be that he loses.
Politicalboi
(15,189 posts)She is too smart to run with Rmoney.
LadyHawkAZ
(6,199 posts)many people would be needed to clean all that vomit off the sidewalks.
Sorry. It's flat impossible to set aside my personal feelings.