For Mitt Romney’s would-be running mates, a public-private balancing act begins
With Mitt Romney emerging as the presumptive presidential nominee, the new parlor game surrounds who he will pick as his running mate.
The Globe has put together a gallery of some possibilities, ranging from the likely (Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, and Condoleezza Rice) to the more improbable (see: Allen West).
Romney’s search will be led by a trusted aide, Beth Myers, who will start by studying past vice presidential searches and drawing the best lessons from them.
She also has the advantage of seeing how Romney was vetted in 2008 by John McCain (Romney filled out a 70-odd-item questionnaire and also provided over 20 years of tax returns). And she has the example of how a last-minute selection, in the form of eventual nominee Sarah Palin, can backfire.
The trick for any would-be candidate is to go through the process but act like they are not.
That is, provide all the necessary information or signal a willingness to be vetted, but do so with extreme discretion.
It is a quadrennial balancing act between ambition and humility.
Romney did it himself four years ago, submitting to a vetting but aiming to not appear overly invested in the outcome.
That said, he and his team kept close track of the final announcement, which included such reports as then-Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty leaving his home in a motorcade for a supposed meeting with McCain and Palin being spirited away to Arizona from Alaska in a private Gulfstream jet.
In 2000, Senator John Kerry also underwent a vetting by Al Gore, while four years later, the Massachusetts senator met secretly with John Edwards around the corner from his home in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood at the house owned by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Keeping in mind that more publicity is not necessarily a good thing, HighBeam Research has combed through its media database to determine which prospect got the most media attention during the period from March 16-April 16th.
US Representative Paul Ryan came out on top, with almost 27 percent of all the media attention. That is understandable, though, given that his homestate Wisconsin primary was during that span and Ryan was a constant companion of Romney’s on the stump.
That invariably prompted mentions or full-blown stories about Ryan as a potential running mate.
Rubio, the freshman senator from Florida, was second, with 23 percent. Two governors were virtually tied for third – Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie both captured around 11 percent.
The full rankings:
Paul Ryan, 26.74 percent
Marco Rubio, 23.53 percent
Bob McDonnell, 11.23 percent
Chris Christie, 10.70 percent
US Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, 8.02 percent
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, 6.95 percent
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, 6.42 percent
New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, 5.88 percent
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, 0.53 percent
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