Romney belongs with McCain
Diane Francis, Financial Post
Published: Saturday, February 09, 2008
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=dd40b0a9-36fc-4c25-bc80-03960813ef60&k=24902
John McCain’s best running mate would be Mitt Romney, and a closer analysis of the primary results shows why.
Romney, not Mike Huckabee, shores up McCain’s two vulnerabilities: his admitted lack of knowledge about economics and business, as well as his agea concern to many.
On Thursday, Romney nobly stepped aside and established Iraq as the centrepiece issue for the fall presidential election. To further this, he asked anti-McCain Republicans and conservatives to join him in unity behind front-runner McCain.
It was a non-endorsement endorsement, because McCain’s name was not invoked. Then President Bush did the exact same thing and called yesterday for unity to preserve “peace and prosperity.”
This is very smart, especially in the face of what is developing as a nasty, non-uniting scrap between Obama and the Clintonites.
(Hillary’s biggest mistake before Super Tuesday was to try and raise the “swiftboat” issue and that Obama would not be able to stand the Republicans’ withering attacks should he become the candidate. This merely raised the issue that there is more dirt against the Clintons to come witness Obama’s call yesterday for them to release their tax returns and a statement of their income sources.)
Slick Willy has been freelancing all over the place since leaving the presidency, both socially and financially. So stay tuned. The Republicans will have a feeding frenzy if the Clintons are on the ticket, even as vice-president.
Meanwhile, Romney’s withdrawal accomplished four objectives:
-Romney finessed his fierce combativeness and attacks against McCain in the past few months by talking about the greater good of fighting “evil” terrorists. Candidates have supporters who develop very strong dislikes for opponents, and by saying that the cause trumps their dislike for McCain he helps keep his people on his side for future purposes.
-He saved face by presenting himself as a “sacrifice.”
-He has begun the uniting efforts for the party behind McCain.
-He trumps Huckabee as a potential running mate.
Yesterday, McCain hinted at this, saying he was “looking forward to meeting with Governor Romney.”
Romney may not have personal appeal, but he would strengthen a ticket because he is a hugely successful businessman who understands the nuances of the economy and business.
He also looks and acts the part and is young enough to put to rest concerns about McCain’s age. At 71, with some health concerns in the past, McCain may be a one-termer, which makes the vice-presidential position more enticing than usual.
An analysis of results also shows Romney’s value, or a Romney-endorsed running mate, for McCain: Romney beat McCain in Michigan, Colorado, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Alaska, Utah and Massachusetts. Republicans need help in Michigan, Minnesota and Massachusetts, which voted Democrat in the past two contests.
Meanwhile, Huckabee won Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia and West Virginia, but these always vote Republican and except for Arkansas (Huckabee’s state) the combined McCain-Romney vote added up to more than Huckabee’s percentages.
See Diane’s take on The Clinton Factor on her blog: financialpost.com/ dianefrancis
16 posted on 02/09/2008 2:47:16 PM EST by Matchett-PI (Romney or Jindal will get the VP nod if I have anything to do with it.)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1967729/posts?page=16#16
I don’t think McCain will pick Romney, because Romney is not from the south and he didn’t win any southern states.