Christie for VP

I got this email today from *someone* I'd say knows politics pretty well. No insider, but he knows more than most armchair quarterbacks. 

I've made my VP pick. 
Chris Christie.  I did some reading on him.  The main thing the VP candidate has to do is be the big attack dog.  And who better than Christie?  Absolutely no one!  He might overshadow Mitt in the excitement department, but that does not hurt the ticket's chances.  Romney and Obama each already have the people who are paying attention, and that is not likely to change in the next 80 or 90 days.  It is the poor (I'll not say, not real politically bright, and therefore swayable) undecideds who need to hear something interesting they have not already heard before. The press will cover every cool anti-Obama thing Christie has to say.  Christie WAY overshadows Barry Soetero or Billy Joe Biden.  Go Christie!


Interesting reasoning. I can't find a flaw in it.  I've never been completely in favor of him, but I actually have nothing against him either. I do like his Jersey style as a compliment to Romney's New England style. 

(My spidey sense says the announcement either comes today or on Monday. The news cycle is still full, so I say Monday, maybe Tuesday.)

Romney and the VP

If you had a major announcement to make that no matter what else happened in the world that week would still be a headline story, does the timing really matter?
I guess it might a little bit, just so you don't have to share the headlines, and you can get the most mileage out of it. But if you were going to do that, you would have to be 100% confident in your announcement. Because if you weren't confident in it, you might choose to do something like announce it on a Friday afternoon, during a busy news week, and as a result, getting little traction.
Which is why I predict Romney will make his VP announcement next Wednesday. Maybe Tuesday or Thursday. But Wednesday gives you two full days of headlines, plus the weekend talk shows.
The Olympics will be less exciting by then (but still underway), and the Aurora shooting stories will have quieted. Without any other obvious competition, that seems like a good time to announce. Assuming he's made his decision that is.
Not to mention, the campaign has planned out a big swing state tour in the upcoming weeks. Sure maybe it is just another stump speech tour. But you'd have to be a complete neophyte to believe that he would go on a big tour 2 weeks before the convention, without a VP at his side. 
The big tour begins August 10, and is rumored to go through Virginia, North Carolina, and into Florida. He's also supposed to be showing up in Indiana, Ohio, and Colorado. 95 electoral votes between them.
Who might the VP be? Someone completely groomed and well-vetted? (Bob McDonnell, Rob Portman, Chris Christie, Tim Pawlenty) Or someone who brings a key swing state (Rob Portman, Tim Pawlenty, Marco Rubio)? Or someone who jazzes up the ticket? (Bobby Jindal, Nikki Haley, Marco Rubio)
I have my personal choice, but I want to hear other people's preferences. Who do you want it to be? Who do you think it will be?

Senator Marco Rubio Speaks at Faith and Freedom Coalition

All Politics are Local- the VA Governor Race and the Race for the White House Collide

Gov Mitt Romney and Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia (linked to source: Deseret News)

Meet Governor Bob McDonnell. He's on the imaginary short list for Gov. Romney's vice presidential sidekick.
He is a former state attorney general, head of the Republican Governors Association, and all around well-liked governor of a Swing State.  His record includes a budget surplus, a drop in unemployment, and conservative support for signing a bill that requires women to have an ultrasound before an abortion.
A recent CNN/ORC International poll showed 1% of registered voters would pick McDonnell for the position, a figure largely based on name recognition. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice nabbed the top spot, followed by former presidential candidate Rick Santorum, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.

VA Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (picture courtesy Atty Gen website)

Meet Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Republican candidate for governor of Virginia. He won't endorse Mitt Romney.
Endorsements run both ways. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. You endorse the top dog, you often get to have your picture taken with the top dog to run in your campaign materials. So why won't he endorse the top dog?

Lt Governor of Virginia Bill Bolling (picture courtesy of Lt Gov official website)

Meet Lt. Governor Bill Bolling of VA. A man who wanted to run for governor last time around, but instead, politely stepped aside to allow his friend McDonnell to take that place. He politely settled for second-in-command. Within the party it has long been known that it is Bolling's turn to ascend to the governor's mansion. And all looked promising for that to happen, until Cuccinelli stepped in.
So what does this have to do with Cuccinelli not endorsing Romney?
Virginia does third year elections. The governor's spot isn't up for grabs until 2013. If McDonnell were to get tapped for the VP spot, and Romney/McDonnell were to win, Bolling would assume the governorship for one full year before the 2013 elections. And assuming people liked him, (and people probably would, since they like him quite well already), he would have an easy "re-"election ahead of him. And Cuccinelli would not have party support to run against him. (VA is a term limits state. McDonnell will not seek  re-election.)
Even if McDonnell does not get tapped for VP, considering his standing within the party, and the work he has put into Romney's race, he is likely on a short-list for a large number of appointments. In other words, Cuccinelli does not want to see Romney win because it could potentially hurt his chances to become the next governor.
In two weeks, on May 14, the VA State Legislature will meet in a special session to review Governor McDonnell's budget, and elect some judges. And when that happens, the second and third most influential conservative legislators in the state will be in a quiet, (yet very polite- too polite really) war with each other.
Bolling, by the way, is the chair of Romney's Virginia campaign.
In other words, all politics are local.