No, it’s why they won’t love him. 
Bush may or may not be a phony, but he is by many accounts likeable guy who is good with people on a socially, and if he is a phony, he convinced enough people that he was genuine. There’s always room in politics for an effective phony. Romney has not done that, and in fact, McCain really seemed to want to punch him in the face during the primaries. He gives off a quality of thinking that, if he says the right things, people will automatically believe him, and we saw how that worked out. My outside view is that people see Romney as the adult version of the kid who sucked up to all the teachers in school. Yes, he’s president of the local Chamber of Commerce now, he’s a big wheel in the business community and has money, but unless he can do you a favor, who likes that guy? Figuratively speaking.
And yet somehow he managed to get elected as governor, and in Massachusetts, of all places. And come closer than most to unseating Teddy. (Cite.)
I know the SDMB hates him with a passion, but that is not the same as saying that “people” in general hate him, either in mainstream America or even in so liberal a state as Massachusetts.
He has one of the strengths of Pawlenty, which is that he can be elected in blue states, to go with his executive experience (to contrast with Biden and the Chosen One), hugely successful experience in business (also in contrast with Humpty and Dumpty), and the goodwill and street cred of his turnaround of the Olympics.
Sure, the Dems are gonna run shit from the primaries. You think the Republicans won’t do the same with Hilary’s meltdowns? They are already, with the Democratic delegate who switched to McCain.
On a related note, I read that McCain has made his choice, and will announce Friday. I’m hoping either Romney or Lieberman. Therefore, Pawlenty is a lock.
You read it here first.
Regards,
Shodan
The name that’s floating around now is Kay Bailey Hutchison.
I’m thinking the version of Romney who ran last year and this year is probably a lot less popular than the one who served as governor. Regardless, looking at Romney’s primary results I think there is some legitimacy to what I’m saying.
And the guy he’s running with.
CNN reports this morning that sources say McCain will announce his selection Friday at a rally in Ohio. They don’t seem 100% certain, though, as they’re also reporting other sources saying he won’t.
There’s some talk about K.B. Hutchinson, but she’s pro-choice so I doubt it will happen.
Looking at the reported McCain shortlist, everybody has drawbacks. Romney is too phony and too Mormon, but he’s got heft in the party and he’s got money.
Lieberman, Ridge, Rice and Hutchinson are all pro-choice (and that’s the least of Rice’s negatives).
Pawlenty is mayonnaise on Wonder Bread. Completely safe on his political positions but utterly unexciting and will not deliver Minnesota, no matter what he may think.
Bobby “Van Helsing” Jindal has the exorcist thing going on, and don’t think that won’t be used against him. Plus, he’s from a safe red state, so he really brings nothing with him except for the novelty of seeing an East Indian guy talk with a redneck accent.
I’m intrigued by the talk of Congressman Eric Cantor from Texas, and if it’s not Romney, I think he might be a dark horse. If I have to bet, I’ll bet Romney, though.
But Cantor will get you better odds!
Why would Romney’s money matter? Did McCain say he’s not going to accept public financing and I missed it?
Virginia.
I agree with much of the commentary here saying Romney would not be a good pick for McCain in general (here in MO I personally know 3 die-hard Republicans that will not vote for Romney). He will hurt in the South (many Baptists don’t trust Mormons) and Northeast (NH is probably off the table). However, and this is a big one, he has the potential to help in three states that are essential to McCain - Michigan, Colorado, and Nevada. The latter two have not-insignificant Mormon populations and the first has a legacy with the Romney name. I think the calculation is that if McCain loses VA, for example, he’s screwed no matter what, so it’s best to shore up the “firewall”. According to fivethirtyeight.com CO is now the top “tipping point” state, followed by MI. In fact, those three states are three of the 11 that Romney won in the primary.
McC supposedly hates Hutchinson personally. No cite, sorry–heard it on MSNBC in the last day or so, and it seemed like an accepted fact.
I don’t mean just personal wealth, but fund raising ability. McCain has a ceiling, but the party doesn’t, and they’ve got an uphill battle in the Congressional races. There’s a chance the Dems could end up with a filibuster proof majority in the Senate this year. I think they want Romney for his ability to fill RNC coffers, not McCain coffers.
Yes, VA. Thank you. I don’t know why I said Texas. I think I was thinking of Hutchinson.
Shodan:
By repute, none of the other Republican candidates for President could personally stand Romney when they were out on the primary trail together.
This really doesn’t fly for me. George Romney was governor of Michigan 40 years ago and I don’t see the logic in saying Michigan will support a campaign in which his son is Vice President. It’s like the people who argued Sebelius was a good pick for Obama because her father was governor of Ohio. I mean, yes, it’s true, but how many people are going to be swayed by something like that? Maybe it helped Romney in the primary, but that’s when he was saying he could bring auto industry jobs back to Michigan - which Presidential candidate McCain said was never going to happen.
I tend to agree - I don’t think Romney will help all that much in Michigan. In fact, I think it’s highly unlikely Michigan goes to McCain at all. I’m merely pointing out the potential logic for a Romney pick - he did well (relative to McCain) in states that McCain really needs to be competitive in if he wants to win. You could also add Minnesota to that list if you want (Romney won there as well).
As an Obama supporter I can’t decide who I think he should pick, but I think Romney is the easiest to attack - for the flip-flopping, the McCain bashing, the transparent phoniness. But the western state thing does give me pause - I consider CO/NV/NM (two of the three) to be the firewall if Obama loses in OH. I guess that just makes VA more of a firewall. Pawlenty doesn’t bring much to the table, but at least he doesn’t take things off it like Romney does.
Wouldn’t the mormon vote go overwhelmingly to McCain anyway?
I wonder if he wouldn’t cost McCain more votes than he would bring in.
I think McCains choice can only hurt him, not help. McCain himself is not the favorite among the Republican base. So why would he completely do himself in and completely alienate that base by choosing someone who is pro abortion, pro gun control, a Mormon, a Jew, a flip-flopper, a tax & spender, a minority, a woman, etc…?
This is not the year for Republicans to flirt with diversity. McCain needs to pick someone who is as bland and uncontroversial as possible. I find that to be Pawlenty. Not perfect by a long shot.
And McCain is still going to lose.
Going by the average of the bid/ask prices, Intrade has Romney at 64.6, Pawlenty at 22, Ridge at 8.75, Whitman at 8.0, Lieberman at 4.65, Hutchinson at 5.35, Palin at 4.5, Huckabee at 3.95, Cantor at 2.75, and everyone below 3.0.
Word is that McCain has a rally scheduled with his VP nominee in PA on Saturday. If true, that would rule out Lieberman, since he doesn’t roll on Shabbos.