Our best choice for Vice President: Bob McDonnell

While I have said since Iowa that the Republican presidential nomination fight was over, yesterday’s events have made it clear in the minds of most Americans that Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee. Whether it was his sweep of Wisconsin, Maryland and DC or President Obama’s first  real campaign speech where he targeted Romney directly, the narrative today shifts from choosing a candidate to choosing a Vice Presidential nominee.

Given the roster of potential running mates, the man who best compliments Romney in every important way is Bob McDonnell. He is the most logical and, in my opinion, most likely choice. He should be our Vice Presidential nominee.

A number of individuals have been discussed as potential Vice Presidents. Of the list, the top names being floated include Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Rep. Paul Ryan from Wisconsin, Governor Susana Martinez of New Mexico, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey and Senator Rob Portman of Ohio.

It’s important to look at this list and juxtapose Mitt Romney with each of these candidates. A Vice President should compliment the Presidential nominee, fill the gaps in his experience and biography, help politically, contrast the Democratic ticket, and – most important – be viewed as a credible potential President. McDonnell fills each of those gaps in a way that no other potential candidate does.

Rubio is probably the most talked about name, given his popularity with the Tea Party, being from a swing state and his Hispanic background. But other than those three positives, he provides little else to the ticket. As a first term Senator with barely two years on the job, he is in the exact position the President was in when he decided to run in 2007. That’s a poor contrast to the Democrats. He’s also in the Senate, has never run a state or a large business, and thus he isn’t a good contrast to Joe Biden, who has him beat in the experience department. Romney will want to run an anti-Washington campaign theme, and he can’t do that with a guy who has been in Washington (even if only for two years) on the ticket. And given his lack of tenure, the Democrats can raise a serious question about whether he’s ready to be President.

Portman shares the swing state benefit with Rubio, but he also shares many of the same problems. In addition, he’s got the larger problem of his major ties to the Bush Administration. Having served as Trade Rep and OMB Director in the Bush Administration, he would provide a ripe target for the President’s rhetoric about Republicans “wanting to return to the failed policies that got us into the current economic mess” that are a feature of every speech the President’s given since he got elected. He’s been in Washington for long time, both as a Congressman, Cabinet appointtee, and now Senator. He, too, undermines Romney’s attacks on Washington.

Ryan has the benefit of being a rock star in Republican circles now, he’s young and energetic, and has the experience to do the job. But his budget plan has been vilified and is right now the center of Democratic attacks at every level. If I had a buck for every time I’ve heard “ends medicare as we know it” in an attack ad, I could retire. He also has the weight of history against him – the last time a member of the House was chosen as Republican Vice Presidential nominee (Ford doesn’t count) was William Miller – who ran with Barry Goldwater in 1964. Remember him? Me neither. Ryan also doesn’t have the ability to carry Wisconsin, which will likely go blue regardless of whether he’s on the ticket. He just doesn’t bring enough to the table.

I’m firmly convinced that for Romney to maintain his current narrative, he’s got to choose a sitting Governor to compliment him. That leaves McDonnell, Christie and Martinez.

Christie has made it clear he’s not interested in running for President, so I find it hard to believe he’d be willing to play second fiddle to Romney. As another moderate northeasterner, Christie doesn’t provide the kind of compliment to Romney that he needs to convince Republican skeptics that he’s going to be conservative if he’s elected.

Martinez is, in my opinion, a non-starter. While she’s a fresh face and a rising star in Republican circles, she has many of the same problems Sarah Palin has. Namely, she’s got very little experience in office. Before being elected Governor of New Mexico, she was an elected prosecutor. She’s been on the job for a little over a year, which raises questions as to whether she’s ready to be President. She also has a vetting problem on illegal immigration, given the questions raised about her grandparents immigration status that plagued her during her campaign. You can rest assured that the Romney campaign is going to want to steer away from choosing a candidate that brings any potential negatives like that to the campaign, and especially given the Palin experience in 2008. Finally, she’s said in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t accept the job if offered to her, so that takes her out of the running.

That leaves Bob McDonnell. As the very popular governor of a swing, southern state, he balances out a Romney ticket very well. Virginia is a must win state in November, and adding him helps Romney here. As a southern Governor, he isn’t tainted by Washington and he plays into Romney’s anti-Washington theme. As a Catholic who graduated from Regent, he can appeal to both evangelicals and Catholic voters who may be concerned about Romney’s religion. Virginia’s record of job creation and business climate plays into Romney’s theme of relying on the private sector, rather than government, to push the economy. He’s smart, he’s articulate, and he can do the job. As Governor of one of the largest and most prosperous states in the union, no one can argue that he isn’t ready to be President. He’s also a veteran, with a daughter who served in Iraq. He’s the safe, thoughtful, smart choice. He is the perfect compliment to Romney’s biography.

I, for one, am looking forward to a Romney/McDonnell ticket. It represents out best chance of beating the President. We don’t need gimmicks or identity politics to make this decision. We need competence and integrity, and that’s Bob McDonnell.

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