Pick a Running Mate for these Republican Candidates

[Yelnoc]

Romney
Palin
Thune
Pawlenty
Huckabee
J. Bush
Gingrich
Christie
Daniels
Barbour
Rubio
Paul
Johnson
Cain

[California8429]

Romney-Gingrich/McDonnell
Palin- Hayley (not sure if anyone would say yes)
Thune- Daniels/Christie/McDonnell
Pawlenty- Rubio/McDonnell
Huckabee- Daniels
J. Bush- Pataki
Gingrich- Pataki/Thune/Christie
Christie- Thune/Daniels/McDonnell
Daniels- Thune/Rubio/McDonnell
Barbour- Christie/McDonnell
Rubio- Christie/McDonnell
Paul- Nobody reasonable to balance the ticket would say yes
Johnson- See "Paul"
Cain- Any VP would weigh him down (aka: people would want the ticket flipped)

[Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey]

Romney- Bobby Jindal
Palin- Mitt Romney
Thune- Bobby Jindal
Pawlenty- Bobby Jindal
Huckabee- Chris Christie
J. Bush- Mitt Romney
Gingrich- Bobby Jindal
Christie- Bobby Jindal
Daniels- Bobby Jindal
Barbour- Mitt Romney
Rubio- Mitt Romney
Paul- Gary Johnson
Johnson- Bobby Jindal
Cain-

What can I say? Bobby Jindal works well as a VEEP for a lot of candidates.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

Romney/Hayley
Palin/Daniels, Paul or Pence
Thune/Santorum
Pawlenty/Daniels
Huckabee/Brownback
J. Bush/Pence
Gingrich/Boehner
Christie/Rubio
Daniels/Palin or Paul
Barbour/Romney
Rubio/Thune or Brown
Paul/Pence, Rubio, Thune, Daniels
Johnson/Rubio, Thune, Bachman
Cain: who is Cain
Pence/Paul, Jeb, Rubio, Ryan

[Mr. Morden]

Too many options there for me to go through them one by one.  But I would speculate that Thune, Rubio, Portman, Kasich, Christie, and Jindal will be on anyone's shortlist.  (Well, Jindal might not be on Romney's shortlist, as Romney might be concerned that a Mormon / South Asian ticket would not fly in certain parts of the country.)

Judd Gregg is a darkhorse possibility if you have a young presidential nominee without much Washington experience, who wants an elder statesman type as running mate.  Not a great choice on that score, but there aren't many other options to choose from.

Pawlenty might be considered as VP, but it depends on how he does with his presidential campaign.

Cantor would have been on most people's shortlists if the GOP had stayed in the minority in the House, but as House Majority Leader, it'll be too easy to tar him with people's complaints about unpopular things being done in Congress.  And Congress is always unpopular.  It's a law of nature.

Romney, Palin, Barbour, Gingrich, and Pataki are not going to be on anyone's shortlist.

[Poundingtherock]

Do you mean Rand Paul or Ron Paul?

The former is underrated while the latter is crazy.

[California8429]

Also honorable mentions on shortlists

Portman, Cantor, Jindal, Ayotte, Martinez, Kasich (maybe).

I'm saying Gingrich/Pataki will be on shortlists if they preform well. I mean if its nothing, then nobody will want them. But I do expect a fight to the finish between Gingrich/Romney

[RIP Robert H Bork]

None of the first-time-elected 2010 candidates is going to be running mate. It won't be Portman, Kasich, Ayotte, Haley or anyone else from the 2010 freshmen.

I mean, Palin was elected Governor in 2006, and we know how well she worked out. Why would anyone want to repeat McCain's mistake?

[Mr. Morden]

It won't be Portman, Kasich, Ayotte, Haley or anyone else from the 2010 freshmen.

Kasich and Portman both have many years of Washington experience prior to their new jobs.  Heck, they were both mentioned in veep speculation for McCain in 2008.

EDIT: In fact, I suspect that part of Portman's motivation for running for senate in the first place was to set himself up for veep in 2012.

[Lincoln Republican]

Romney/Daniels, if not Daniels, Thune

Daniels/Thune

[California8429]

It won't be Portman, Kasich, Ayotte, Haley or anyone else from the 2010 freshmen.

Kasich and Portman both have many years of Washington experience prior to their new jobs.  Heck, they were both mentioned in veep speculation for McCain in 2008.

EDIT: In fact, I suspect that part of Portman's motivation for running for senate in the first place was to set himself up for veep in 2012.

Plus, these guys were in the spotlight and tested. Palin was not

[Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey]

Romney/Daniels, if not Daniels, Thune

Daniels/Thune

If Romney wins the GOP nomination, he'll need to choose somebody who can solidify economic and social conservatives dissatisfied with Romney. Also, Romney needs to choose a VEEP candidate who can appeal to tea partiers. Daniels, who called for a truce on social issues and called for a possible VAT, would not qualify (though I like Daniels). Thune, who voted for TARP, would not qualify as an economic conservative in the minds of tea partiers. IIRC, John Thune refused to strip Lisa Murkowski of her seniority on the energy committee, which pissed off a lot of tea partiers.

Bobby Jindal IMO would be a great VEEP candidate for Romney. He is a solid economic and social conservative, who can reach out to economic and social conservatives also squeamish about Romney.

If Romney wins the GOP nod, I think Romney/Jindal would be a really strong ticket (though Romney isn't my first choice for the GOP nod).

[Mr. Morden]

Bobby Jindal IMO would be a great VEEP candidate for Romney. He is a solid economic and social conservative, who can reach out to economic and social conservatives also squeamish about Romney.

If Romney wins the GOP nod, I think Romney/Jindal would be a really strong ticket (though Romney isn't my first choice for the GOP nod).

Like I said upthread, I don't think we're going to see a Mormon / South Asian Catholic GOP ticket.  Too electorally risky, from Romney's perspective.  Of course race and religion *shouldn't* matter, but I'm afraid they still do.

[tpfkaw]

I'm just about certain the veep choice will be from this cycle.

Romney/Rubio
Palin/Christie
Thune/Susana Martinez
Pawlenty/Martinez
Huckabee/Ayotte
J. Bush/Christie
Gingrich/Christie
Christie/Rubio
Daniels/Rubio
Barbour/Haley
Rubio/Christie
Paul/Haley
Johnson/Haley
Cain/Scott Brown

[California8429]

Bobby Jindal IMO would be a great VEEP candidate for Romney. He is a solid economic and social conservative, who can reach out to economic and social conservatives also squeamish about Romney.

If Romney wins the GOP nod, I think Romney/Jindal would be a really strong ticket (though Romney isn't my first choice for the GOP nod).

Like I said upthread, I don't think we're going to see a Mormon / South Asian Catholic GOP ticket.  Too electorally risky, from Romney's perspective.  Of course race and religion *shouldn't* matter, but I'm afraid they still do.

I think America no longer cares about religion in politics anymore. A decade ago, this would still be weird...but America has grown out of religion. And the media makes a bigger deal on the race of the candidate than the American public.

[Mr. Morden]

Bobby Jindal IMO would be a great VEEP candidate for Romney. He is a solid economic and social conservative, who can reach out to economic and social conservatives also squeamish about Romney.

If Romney wins the GOP nod, I think Romney/Jindal would be a really strong ticket (though Romney isn't my first choice for the GOP nod).

Like I said upthread, I don't think we're going to see a Mormon / South Asian Catholic GOP ticket.  Too electorally risky, from Romney's perspective.  Of course race and religion *shouldn't* matter, but I'm afraid they still do.

I think America no longer cares about religion in politics anymore. A decade ago, this would still be weird...but America has grown out of religion. And the media makes a bigger deal on the race of the candidate than the American public.

I wish you were right, but I'm skeptical.  Why did Romney do so poorly in 2008 primaries in states like Alabama and South Carolina?  Just because he's from the Northeast?  I doubt it.

[Penelope]

Romney-Gingrich/McDonnell
Palin- Hayley (not sure if anyone would say yes)
Thune- Daniels/Christie/McDonnell
Pawlenty- Rubio/McDonnell
Huckabee- Daniels
J. Bush- Pataki
Gingrich- Pataki/Thune/Christie
Christie- Thune/Daniels/McDonnell
Daniels- Thune/Rubio/McDonnell
Barbour- Christie/McDonnell
Rubio- Christie/McDonnell
Paul- Nobody reasonable to balance the ticket would say yes
Johnson- See "Paul"
Cain- Any VP would weigh him down (aka: people would want the ticket flipped)

McDonnell won't be doing anything until 2014.

[California8429]

Bobby Jindal IMO would be a great VEEP candidate for Romney. He is a solid economic and social conservative, who can reach out to economic and social conservatives also squeamish about Romney.

If Romney wins the GOP nod, I think Romney/Jindal would be a really strong ticket (though Romney isn't my first choice for the GOP nod).

Like I said upthread, I don't think we're going to see a Mormon / South Asian Catholic GOP ticket.  Too electorally risky, from Romney's perspective.  Of course race and religion *shouldn't* matter, but I'm afraid they still do.

I think America no longer cares about religion in politics anymore. A decade ago, this would still be weird...but America has grown out of religion. And the media makes a bigger deal on the race of the candidate than the American public.

I wish you were right, but I'm skeptical.  Why did Romney do so poorly in 2008 primaries in states like Alabama and South Carolina?  Just because he's from the Northeast?  I doubt it.

He was by far the most liberal, and he still preformed well. Look how close he was in Georgia and Missouri.

[Mr. Morden]

He was by far the most liberal....

Uh, what?  He did nothing but attack McCain from the right.

[Yelnoc]

Do you mean Rand Paul or Ron Paul?

The former is underrated while the latter is crazy.

Ron Paul.

[California8429]

He was by far the most liberal....

Uh, what?  He did nothing but attack McCain from the right.

But McCain played the maverick card, and he didn't win/try in the South anyways. Romney was from MA, had RomneyCare, did little as a conservative, flip flopped on abortion and Huckabee attack him. And the south is skeptical of the media remember

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Judd Gregg is a darkhorse possibility if you have a young presidential nominee without much Washington experience, who wants an elder statesman type as running mate.  Not a great choice on that score, but there aren't many other options to choose from.

I've actually thought about Gregg. I've been wondering why he never ran for President or anything like that. He might've been a good choice for Bush in 2000.

[Ben Romney]

Romney-Palin
Palin-Christie
Thune-Rubio
Pawlenty-Ayotte
Huck-Snowe
Bush-Thune
Gingrich-McDonnel
Christie-Palin
Daniels-Rubio
Barbour-Scott Brown
Rubio-Daniels
Paul-Johnson
Johnson-Jindall
Cain-Karger

[Psychic Octopus]

Romney - Jindal, McDonnell.
Palin - no GOP candidate with any wish of having a political future will accept this, but I'd say she chooses Jim DeMint or some obscure Republican senator.
Thune - somebody popular from a swing/blue state.
Pawlenty - Jindal, although the latter would upstage the former big time. If not, Thune.
Huckabee - no clue; probably a conservative westerner/northeasterner. McDonnell?
J. Bush - Sandoval; perhaps someone else. Jeb Bush has strong roots with the hispanic community, which would probably point to someone else who could boost him in that area. He also has a favorable opinion of Jindal, who wouldn't help him there, but still is a possibility. Thune?
Gingrich - Rubio or Jindal; probably the latter because the former would decline the invitation. Newt would choose someone he thinks would serve as the best figure for conservative interests in the future, "the next Reagan."
Christie - no clue.
Daniels - charismatic reformer who doesn't upstage him.
Barbour - midwesterner, notheasterner. Who knows?
Rubio - not running.
Paul - Johnson is the obvious choice.
Johnson - Rand Paul, since the latter would be too old to accept a vice presidential candidacy.

[Yelnoc]

Here is my take.

Romney/Thune
Palin/DeMint
Thune/Rubio
Pawlenty/
Huckabee/Pence
J. Bush/Jindal
Gingrich/Jindal
Christie/Thune
Daniels/Rubio
Barbour/Perry
Rubio/Pence
Paul/Johnson
Johnson/Paul
Cain/Pence