Mark Halperin is predicting Romney to annouce his VP in the next 2 days

[RogueBeaver]

Better to have some lakeside fun than sit in a small hotel like Obama did when he conducted his Biden interview.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

Tim Pawlenty is still the perfect pick for him. he is like the GOPs Joe Biden. And he's been fully vetted by the McCain campaign and the public. They get along great, he reinforces Romney's executive image, from a Midwestern state, connects with the middle class like joe biden, is a social conservative and evangelical, and most importantly, he DOES NO HARM!

[Comrade Funk]

Please be Paul Ryan.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

WON'T BE RYAN. Romney knows he has to put a Tea Partier approved individual on the ticket.

(Rubio, Rand Paul, DeMint, Haley, Ayotte)

Won't be Portman either

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I highly doubt he's making the announcement.

[RogueBeaver]

I highly doubt he's making the announcement.

Depends. If these are interviews then he'll announce it in a couple of weeks. If an interview then it'll be by Friday IMO.

[WhyteRain]

Yes, McCain wrote the book on how not to make a VP pick.

He also wrote the book on who not to pick for VP.

Palin gave McCain the only chance he ever had.  His only lead in the polls were in the three weeks between picking her and then his screwing up the financial crisis.

Remember by the end of the campaign McCain was forced to join his VP candidate -- just so he could see what a huge crowd looked like?  And Palin was getting crowds the same size as Obama's (and gets much, much larger ones nowadays).

And, LOL!, if Palin was soooo bad for McCain, why did he have to have her pull him through his own Senate primary against a more conservative opponent in 2010?

Palin -- the most totally vetted politician in U.S. history and the woman whose endorsement every Republican would give his left arm to get.

John McCain and Barack Obama -- the men who almost no politician in a close race wants to be seen with.

Palin Derangement Syndrome sure does make Bush and Obama Derangement Syndromes look like a mild sugar high.

[Phony Moderate]

Ferraro actually Mondale a bump in the polls for a few weeks, ftr.

[Comrade Funk]

Yes, McCain wrote the book on how not to make a VP pick.

He also wrote the book on who not to pick for VP.

Palin gave McCain the only chance he ever had.  His only lead in the polls were in the three weeks between picking her and then his screwing up the financial crisis.

Remember by the end of the campaign McCain was forced to join his VP candidate -- just so he could see what a huge crowd looked like?  And Palin was getting crowds the same size as Obama's (and gets much, much larger ones nowadays).

And, LOL!, if Palin was soooo bad for McCain, why did he have to have her pull him through his own Senate primary against a more conservative opponent in 2010?

Palin -- the most totally vetted politician in U.S. history and the woman whose endorsement every Republican would give his left arm to get.

John McCain and Barack Obama -- the men who almost no politician in a close race wants to be seen with.

Palin Derangement Syndrome sure does make Bush and Obama Derangement Syndromes look like a mild sugar high.

Palin turned off independents, moderates, and sane people.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I doubt that there will be a running mate announced this week.  However, a Thursday or Friday news conference to announce a definitive short list is possible and if that is the case then buzz from that may be what Halperin has picked up on.

Next week will be dominated by the GOP House quixotically tilting at the windmill of Obamacare.

Two weeks from now seems like the optimal time for a pre-convention announcement.

[milhouse24]

Yes, McCain wrote the book on how not to make a VP pick.

He also wrote the book on who not to pick for VP.

Palin gave McCain the only chance he ever had.  His only lead in the polls were in the three weeks between picking her and then his screwing up the financial crisis.

Remember by the end of the campaign McCain was forced to join his VP candidate -- just so he could see what a huge crowd looked like?  And Palin was getting crowds the same size as Obama's (and gets much, much larger ones nowadays).

And, LOL!, if Palin was soooo bad for McCain, why did he have to have her pull him through his own Senate primary against a more conservative opponent in 2010?

Palin -- the most totally vetted politician in U.S. history and the woman whose endorsement every Republican would give his left arm to get.

John McCain and Barack Obama -- the men who almost no politician in a close race wants to be seen with.

Palin Derangement Syndrome sure does make Bush and Obama Derangement Syndromes look like a mild sugar high.

I actually agree that in some ways Palin was a boost for the ticket.  Especially in terms of fundraising and popularity.  She was the "new" attractive young Republican woman.  But her popularity as the "next hot young thing" was similar to the popularity of Obama as "the next young Black politician." 

Neither Palin or Obama had really proved themselves capable of handling the difficult questions facing the country.  They are "movie stars" that know how to sell tickets to a rock concert, but can't answer basic questions about how to run the country.  There are very few "young politicians" who can become successful Presidents. 

Obama certainly grew up fast during the grueling debates and primary of 2008. 

Unfortunately for Palin, she had 1 week to think about why she wanted to run the country. 

As far as the 2008 election, if Palin had avoided all questions and debates, and just smiled, she might have been able to fool everyone.  The financial crisis certainly proved to everyone that Palin didn't have the experience or intelligence to handle the responsibilities of the presidency. 

But the over all failure of McCain was his old age.  As a 72 year old cancer survivor, no sane American would risk choosing someone who might not live past the first term.  McCain never had a chance.  Palin never had a chance.  It wasn't because of anti-Bush sentiment, it was because of Old Age.

[milhouse24]

Portman is campaigning with Romney in New Hampshire this week. 

I don't know where Tpaw is but I don't care either. 

[President von Cat]

Hey can you guys do me a favor and stop quoting WhyteRain? It is making this ignore button much less effective.

[WhyteRain]

Yes, McCain wrote the book on how not to make a VP pick.

He also wrote the book on who not to pick for VP.

Palin gave McCain the only chance he ever had.  His only lead in the polls were in the three weeks between picking her and then his screwing up the financial crisis.

Remember by the end of the campaign McCain was forced to join his VP candidate -- just so he could see what a huge crowd looked like?  And Palin was getting crowds the same size as Obama's (and gets much, much larger ones nowadays).

And, LOL!, if Palin was soooo bad for McCain, why did he have to have her pull him through his own Senate primary against a more conservative opponent in 2010?

Palin -- the most totally vetted politician in U.S. history and the woman whose endorsement every Republican would give his left arm to get.

John McCain and Barack Obama -- the men who almost no politician in a close race wants to be seen with.

Palin Derangement Syndrome sure does make Bush and Obama Derangement Syndromes look like a mild sugar high.

Palin turned off independents, moderates, and sane people.

The MSM made weak-minded people think Palin was a fraud and a fool.  It was really the greatest hit job I've ever seen in my decades of watching U.S. politics.

This is NOT to say there are not sane, rational reasons for not wanting to see Palin as president.  But the best one is that nasally, Northern, Marge-in-"Fargo" accent she had.  I've noticed that she's almost gotten rid of it now.

[You kip if you want to...]

It won't be Tim "ObamneyCare" Pawlenty.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

WON'T BE RYAN. Romney knows he has to put a Tea Partier approved individual on the ticket.

(Rubio, Rand Paul, DeMint, Haley, Ayotte)

Won't be Portman either

Ryan isn't Tea Party approved now?

[WhyteRain]

WON'T BE RYAN. Romney knows he has to put a Tea Partier approved individual on the ticket.

(Rubio, Rand Paul, DeMint, Haley, Ayotte)

Won't be Portman either

Ryan isn't Tea Party approved now?

The "Ryan Budget" projects a balance in 26 years.  The Rand Paul budget balances in five years.  Guess which one is acceptable to us Tea Partyers.

If a few years, after it's far too late, the Democrats will accept and promote the Ryan budget and then whine about how conservatives won't give them credit for adopting "a Republican idea".  The Democrats are already decades behind -- it's why it's impossible for them to draft any budgets of their own.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Except the Paul budget is ONLY acceptable to tea partiers. At least the Ryan budget is a little bit more reasonable to those other folks you need to convince (not much, though... which is why I don't think Ryan would be the best pick).

[BlueDog Bimble]

WON'T BE RYAN. Romney knows he has to put a Tea Partier approved individual on the ticket.

(Rubio, Rand Paul, DeMint, Haley, Ayotte)

Won't be Portman either

Ryan isn't Tea Party approved now?

The "Ryan Budget" projects a balance in 26 years.  The Rand Paul budget balances in five years.  Guess which one is acceptable to us Tea Partyers.

If a few years, after it's far too late, the Democrats will accept and promote the Ryan budget and then whine about how conservatives won't give them credit for adopting "a Republican idea".  The Democrats are already decades behind -- it's why it's impossible for them to draft any budgets of their own.

Its impossible because the Republicans will never compromise.

[WhyteRain]

WON'T BE RYAN. Romney knows he has to put a Tea Partier approved individual on the ticket.

(Rubio, Rand Paul, DeMint, Haley, Ayotte)

Won't be Portman either

Ryan isn't Tea Party approved now?

The "Ryan Budget" projects a balance in 26 years.  The Rand Paul budget balances in five years.  Guess which one is acceptable to us Tea Partyers.

If a few years, after it's far too late, the Democrats will accept and promote the Ryan budget and then whine about how conservatives won't give them credit for adopting "a Republican idea".  The Democrats are already decades behind -- it's why it's impossible for them to draft any budgets of their own.

Its impossible because the Republicans will never compromise.

With lines like that, you could guest host on MSNBC. 

But let's talk intelligently for a moment.  There's no Democratic plan for Republicans to look at and then possibly compromise with.  Why?  Because the Democrats can't write one.  Why?  Because it will look like the kind of budget that have made Detroit and California the kinds of desireable places to live they are now. 

The Democrats would have to say, "We want to spend $50 million on cowboy poetry" and "We want the mortgage system to continue to be a tool to 'close the racial gap in home ownership'".  They know they can't say things like that, so they don't.

Real life example:  Last year's debt ceiling fight.  Do you know why Republicans won that everywhere except in the MSM news rooms?  Because of four undeniable facts:

1.  The Republicans had a long-term budget plan (called "Cut, Cap, and Balance").
2.  The Republicans said they were ready to negotiate a short-term plan.
3.  The Democrats had no long-term budget plan.
4.  The Democrats said they were unwilling to negotiate a short-term plan.

Thus, anyone with a lick of sense (still slightly more than half the U.S. electorate) could see that the Republicans were the only adults in the room.

[Phony Moderate]

The "Ryan Budget" projects a balance in 26 years.  The Rand Paul budget balances in five years.  Guess which one is acceptable to us Tea Partyers.

Plans such as those are stupid anyway. Statistically speaking, the U.S. is quite likely to enter another war within that time. Not to mention the fact that Republicans usually act like socialists when they have control of the White House.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

1.  The Republicans had a long-term budget plan (called "Cut, Cap, and Balance").

Cut, Cap, and Balance was not a plan any sane person could endorse, unless you think Congressional paralysis is a desirable goal and enshrining one party's political goals as a Constitutional mandate is statesmanship.

[RogueBeaver]

Looks like it was interviews rather than an interview. Unless Romney's surprising us all and unveiling the pick tomorrow, which I doubt.

[Mr. Morden]

OK, yeah, nothing is happening here.  Romney isn't announcing his running mate this week, or we would have heard something more definitive about it by now.  Locking this thread, and further discussion on this should go in the official VP thread:

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=154106.0

Whereas the discussion on whether the Paul or Ryan budget is better can go in US General or something.