The baseline criteria for becoming a major party presidential nominee is that you have to be the kind of person a major party would nominate for president. Lots of other people participate in debates, do well in occasional polls, and even might win some votes in primaries. But to be the nominee, you have to be like a nominee. And Pence certainly fits the bill governor of a state is about the most common nominee out there, and his past congressional experience means he's known to DC players. In his congressional days, he made regular media appearances and (unlike, say, Sarah Palin) is prepared to talk about a range of policy issues and field questions from the national press.
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Cheap slur.
41 posted on 09/30/2014 3:26:04 PM PDT by trisham
(Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)