What’s wrong with a Catholic VP?
Portman is fine, BUT, he’s got the Bush stain on him.
For a Protestant president? Not a thing—it would actually be preferable, particularly given the strong Catholic bench the GOP has all of a sudden (Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Susana Martinez, Bob McDonnell, Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, Kelly Ayotte, Steve King, Newt Gingrich, Jeb Bush, and probably a few more that I can’t think of right now).
Romney is a Mormon, though, and will have a hard time getting a high turnout among Evangelical Protestants. He needs a Protestant VP, preferably one with which Evangelical voters will feel comfortable. Rob Portman, a Methodist, fits the bill. Plus, he’s a smart, experienced social and economic conservative from the vital state of Ohio, appeals to blue-collar voters, and is fluent in Spanish. Ever since Portman endorsed Romney, I thought that he’d be the perfect runningmate for Romney if (God forbid) he won the nomination; after Portman almost singlehandedly put Romney across the finish line against Santorum in OH (much to my chagrin), I thought that Romney would pick him.