"This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters... many of you right here in this room... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country," Romney said.
Does this mean no VP spot for Huckabee?
I also wonder if part of Romney's thinking is that, if he gets out now, he can forestall a deal between McCain and Huckabee to put the latter on the ticket? If so, he is doing an immense favor to the Republican party and conservative movement. I would find it hard enough to vote for McCain. I'd find it impossible to vote for McCain-Huckabee. And I suspect that there are a lot of other people who would feel the same way. I think that McCain's only real hope of shoring up the base at this point is to balance the ticket ideologically (and to make the appropriate conciliatory gestures at CPAC today). I think that a Fred Thompson in the number two spot would be very appealing to a lot of people, and he'd tear up whoever the Dems have as veep candidate in a debate.
Elsewhere, Arnold Kling summarizes my view of elections:
I continue to view elections as an opportunity for voters to provide a check against politicians. Instead, if you view it as an opportunity to elect a great leader, you are falling into the trap of what Daniel Klein calls "the people's romance." Incidentally, Klein is interviewed this week on econtalk, and the interview includes some discussion of the people's romance concept.
As I've written recently, democracy is important and voting matters -- not so much because it gets the right people into power, but because it gets the wrong people out.
8 comments:
yup the wrong people...like Mitt Romney.
Also, I think McCain will pick someone sorta young for VP...Maybe Pawlenty (governor of Minnesota).
Name one stance Fred Thompson has.
Huckabee is the only one bible thumping conservatives like, McCain needs someone like that on the ticket to beat Obama in SC, AL, MS etc.
The notion that McCain and Huckabee would strike a deal to help eliminate Romney is absurd. It's based on the notion that if Huckabee was not in the race, Huckabee voters would go for Romney. This is simply false. Exit polls ask voters who they would vote for if their first choice was not in the race. A majority of Huckabee voters would vote for McCain, not Romney.
I don't know if I've ever thumped a Bible, but I do read and rely on mine often. However, Mike Huckabee's former position as a Baptist minister is not why I support him as a presidential candidate. He is a true conservative without being a cookie-cutter candidate. The issues that are most important to me are: the sanctity of human life, the environment, the war in Iraq, and the economy. I think that Huckabee has the proper knowledge, experience and integrity to execute sound judgment when making decisions based on those issues.I don't agree with Huckabee on every single point, but I do think he would make a fine president.
I think that a McCain/Huckabee ticket would actually be a strong ticket...although let's be honest...the vice presidential pick does not have all that much influence.
Also, McCain may not be my top choice, but he is a conservative. A more moderate conservative...yes, but compare his voting record with Obama's or Sen. Clinton's and you would see a big difference.
As to the theory that Romney left the race in hopes of getting the veep nod....I find that unlikely.
I just read my husband's comments and I agree. McCain has been my second choice over Romney as well even though I thought McCain's performance in the CA debate was horrid. Also, I don't have anything against Fred Thompson, but the man ran for president and fizzled. I fail to see why he'd be such a stellar VP candidate. He just doesn't resonate with voters.
I don't think anybody is claiming McCain and Huckabee would strike a deal to eliminate Romney. I think the commentary was saying that one effect of Romney pulling out is to make a McCain-Huckabee ticket much less likely than if Romney stayed in. McCain has virtually shored up the Republican nomination, giving him wider latitude in choosing his running mate. From a strategic standpoint, a more moderate choice makes sense.
I think some Republican political strategists fear a McCain-Huckabee ticket because it would shift the party unnecessarily too far to the right, increasing their likelihood of a Republican loss in the general election. I think candidates like Thompson are more palatable to swing voters than Huckabee is likely to be.
But Thompson is more conservative than Huckabee...but if you mean a candidate less open (or less asked about)about his faith than perhaps that is correct. But like I said, it is fun to speculate, but the only time a vice presidential candidate really made a difference in an election was JFK/Lyndon B. Johnson. I've heard some people blame Geraldine Ferraro for costing Mondale the election against Ronald Reagan but I don't think that had more to do with Reagan, plus Ferraro was probably more qualified than Mondale anyway.
oops, the don't in my last sentence should be omitted.
Post a Comment