The Vice-Squad!

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Did you ever meet someone and pretty much didn't like them right away; you know there was just something about them that turned you off? And then, after getting to know them you found out that, well maybe you were wrong. You might have actually found out that you really like them! That's what John McCain and Mitt Romney are making believe is happening to them right now. Mitt is in mid-faux-swoon and McCain is enjoying the attention of "the jerk".

While they were campaigning against each other earlier this year, the lack of chemistry between these two was pretty pronounced. And their individual campaign organizations loathed each other. But time marches on and needs change and Mitt has let it be known that he'd accept the Vice Presidential nod if offered and is doing everything in his power to turn himself into McCain's new best friend. According to this AP report, while out on the campaign trail with McCain in Salt Lake City and Denver yesterday Mitt said of McCain,

"He is a man who is proven and tested" and without question the
right man to be president."

And Senator McCain, also feeling magnanimous said this of Romney's primary win in Utah (He won by 90%):

"Look, that wasn't the only state I lost to Governor Romney in — it
was just the largest loss."

The love now flows like water. The fact is Romney wouldn't be a bad choice as VP for McCain at all. Despite his rather rocky path to being a true-blue conservative, Mitt seems to have arrived and would probably be acceptable to most conservatives, helping McCain prop up the base, which is a continuing problem for him. Mitt would also help in the Northeast, an always difficult area for Republicans. He's smart, handsome and usually quick on his feet. Oh yeah and he looks like a President.

Another often mentioned possible VP pick is Florida Governor , Charlie Crist; helpful in Florida but he doesn't excite conservatives much. One of the lamer names I've heard floated is South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham or as Rush Limbaugh calls him, Senator Gramnesty. John McCain can be awfully dumb when it comes to appealing to conservatives. A Graham pick would prove him to be deaf and blind, too.

If McCain looks at the VP pick as a strategic matter he'll see that what he needs is a strong conservative with appeal in places that Republicans often have little. This brings us back to the coquettish Governor Romney. McCain could (and knowing him, probably will) do worse.

Oh, and as sort of an afterthought: I'd say that the chances of an Obama/Clinton ticket are looking less likely with every passing "He sucks and besides, he's a Negro" from Hillary and Bill. I attended a National Review function a few months ago in which Jonah Goldberg, Mark Steyn and Rob Long spoke. Jonah threw out the possibility of Virginia Senator Jim Webb as a running mate for Obama: war hero, former Republican, southerner. Could be formidable.

Cross-linked at Liberty Pundit