Is Romney Running For Vice President?

Former Bitter Rival Now One Of John McCain's Biggest Boosters

(AP)  Republican Mitt Romney is still running — perhaps for vice president this fall or the White House in 2012 or 2016.

Two months after bowing out of the race, the former Massachusetts governor has become one of Sen. John McCain's biggest boosters, pledging to raise $15 million for his former rival and making the case for the likely nominee on talk shows and the campaign trail.

Romney even traveled to Lancaster, Pa., on Thursday to campaign for McCain, who has wrapped up the nomination and faces no serious threat in the state's April 22 primary.

In his first keynote speech to a GOP group on McCain's behalf, Romney touched on issues ranging from health care to gay marriage and the threat from "radical violent jihad." He got some of his strongest applause when he defended President Bush.

"He has kept us safe these last years," Romney said, and told the group that McCain would do the same.

Once bitter rivals, Romney now says any Republican would be honored to be McCain's running mate, and he included himself.

Would he be a good vice presidential candidate? Romney sidestepped the question Thursday. "Right now, I am focusing on getting Senator McCain the support he needs to win this election" he said. "He's got a lot of great people he can consider for the second spot."

Is Romney being scrutinized by McCain's campaign? "You'll have to direct that somewhere else," he said.

Romney made millions as a venture capitalist and clearly can count. McCain is 71 and, if he wins, would be the oldest president elected. As vice president, Romney would be in an ideal spot if McCain decides against a second term. If McCain goes the distance, the preternaturally youthful Romney would be 69 in 2016.

And if a Democrat wins in November, Romney appears certain to challenge the incumbent in four years.

Since quitting the GOP race Feb. 7, Romney has tried to preserve his political base, maintaining contact with his supporters and financial backers. He is looking at creating a political action committee so he can travel and make donations to like-minded Republican candidates. And Romney has given strong consideration to a foundation that would promote conservative ideals.

"We've talked about the creation of a new entity that would allow the governor to remain politically active past this election year," said Eric Fehrnstrom, who served as Romney's press secretary and is one of a handful of aides still on his payroll.

Questioned about another bid, Fehrnstrom said, "It's too early to predict what the future will hold."

In his first run for national office, Romney emerged as a tough challenger to McCain, raising more than the senator while spending $47 million of his own money. He garnered 294 delegates in a sometimes bitter campaign. McCain often railed against Romney's thin foreign policy credentials while Romney made an issue of McCain's admission that economics was not his strong suit.

At an event Thursday challenging McCain and his record, Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean offered a backhanded compliment of Romney.

"You know, frankly, Mitt Romney was the candidate I feared the most" in the general election as the Republican nominee, Dean said. "Because he's got money, he's wealthy. He's very articulate and willing to say practically anything."

New Jersey state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, who served as Romney's New Jersey campaign chairman, said he has received four thank-you phone messages from Romney, which is more telling than the buttoned-down persona of the campaign.

"I think people thought they knew John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, but they didn't have a full sense of who was Mitt Romney. I'm not sure why; I just know from my point of view the translation wasn't made. But that's ultimately to his benefit, because that is still to come," Kyrillos said.

Romney endorsed McCain a week after dropping out of the race. Last month, they jointly attended fundraisers in Utah and Colorado, two Mountain West states the GOP is counting on this fall.

Romney's support for McCain has been most evident in fundraising. One of his national finance co-chairs, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, is now serving the same role for McCain. Another former Romney finance co-chair, L.E. Simmons, is arranging a major fundraiser for McCain in Houston on May 10.

Yet a day earlier, Romney will take advantage of the McCain event to meet with former backers in Houston. The Beach Boys will provide musical entertainment.

Eric Tanenblatt, Romney's Georgia state and national finance co-chairman, said some attendees at a recent fundraiser he helped arrange for McCain approached him and raised the prospect of the two former rivals uniting on a ticket.

"They'd love to see that," Tanenblatt said. "In the South, Republicans are conservatives, and he's a conservative that a lot of people rallied around."

Not all conservatives.

The specter of Romney joining a McCain ticket prompted some to launch an anti-Romney petition at www.NoMittVP.com, as well as to place full-page ads in newspapers where McCain is campaigning. The ads question Romney's commitment to conservative ideals and have been supported by Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation, who had endorsed Romney.

"If Governor Romney is on your ticket, many social conservative voters will consider their values repudiated by the Republican Party and will either stay away from the polls this November or only vote down ticket," the ad tells McCain.

Instead, they talk about former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the Iowa caucuses before his campaign faded, or a pair of governors: Jon Huntsman Jr. of Utah or Mark Sanford of South Carolina. Other potential running mates include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rob Portman, a former Ohio congressman who headed the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Romney and his aides brush off the conservative criticism. Instead, they press on, which included a guest slot for Romney providing news and comment on Paul Harvey's nationally syndicated radio show.

[rowdytexan2]

Mr. McCain, do yourself a favor...anybody but Romney! Sheesh!

[mudrose-2009]

Obama on small-town PA: Clinging religion, guns, xenophobia
Drudge Report

Mayhill Fowler has more from Obama''''s remarks at a San Francisco fundraiser Sunday, and they include an attempt to explain the resentment in small-town Pennsylvania that won''''t be appreciated by some of the people whose votes Obama''''s seeking:


You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing''''s replaced them...And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

And it''''s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren''''t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
That''''s a pretty broad list of things to explain with job loss.

By Ben Smith 03:25 PM

This S.O.B. needs to be censored by the Congress for his blantant Racist, Bigoted Commentaries. There is obviously a lot more cream in this Soros "Oreo".

[luvwknd69]

It doesn''t really matter anyway as McSame will NEVER sit in the oval office anyway and (baseball Mitt) won''t have a chance to be VP, boo hoo!
Friggen Repuklican loosers!

[nirak2-2009]

Without all his money, Romney is a Empty Suit and if he can''t win the Presidency, he can buy it.
Old Geezer McShame wouldn''t get to the end of the first term, never mind the second.
But no worry, McCain will not be elected. I can''t imagine Americans being stupid for the 3rd time.

[dorlockt]

That would assure a Democratic victory

Posted by Dare270 at 12:53 PM : Apr 11, 2008

There''s nothing in this world that will give the Libs victory. This beating is going to be worse than Kerry.

No Hussein Terrorist ''08!

[dopelgangera]

With the outcome of the Republican presidential nomination now a virtual certainty (John McCain), it may only be natural that the focus of attention on the Republican side will increasingly be on the question of WHO will McCain choose for a running mate. (Mitt Romney? Joseph Lieberman? Somebody else?)

[dare270]

Romney as VP? That would assure a Democratic victory

[dorlockt]

Republican dream team.

Posted by trapbreak at 09:48 AM : Apr 11, 2008

No, that would have been Romney/Thompson. McCain is the jello''s dream candidate.

[minnick8-2009]

Where is it written in the theology of Romney''s church that the aim is to "destroy the white enemy . . .?" There are more non white members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in South America than there are members of the church in the United States.

[lochlan-2009]

Romney isnt running for vice presidnet
he is buying vice president

Posted by ainttaken

He isn''t buying the vice presidency, he'' still buying the presidency. If anyone out there believes that if McCain is elected he will not be stepping down because of health issues, they havn''t been paying attention. Romney has been kissing up to all the current cronies under Bush. Giuliani is my next guess because of his connections with the mob. Then you have Huckabee who is on the sidelines for the Whacked out religious folk. But Romney is without a doubt the biggest buyer for the seat.

[abbe91]

The best VP running mate for McSame is somebody who will attract the hispanic vote and be old enough to make him look younger ...
I can only see one name.

Fidel Castro.

[pensacola88]

While Mitt Rommey bids for VP, John McCain wouldn''t chose him for some good reasons: Rommey''s views on immiration are extreme, radical and oppose McCains. Rommey is a Lou Dobbs clone, who wants to build walls along our southern border with Mexico. Mitt Rommey clearly is a racist, who hates Latins, and John McCain knows that America knows this. If John McCain chose Mit Rommey for his VP, his hopes for winning in November would be sunk.

Clinton and Obama supporters actually would like to see John McCain chose Rommey for his VP, because it would offset recent gains that McCain acquired in his visit to Iraq last week, and make things easier for the Democrats in November.

Rommey''s answer about immigration in one of the debates is what sunk him and drove undecided voters to go flock over to the Democratic side.

[abbe91]

The best VP running mate for McSame is somebody who will attract the hispanic vote and be old enough to make hime look younger ...
I can only see one name.

[jack3213]

At an event Thursday challenging McCain and his record, Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean offered a backhanded compliment of Romney.

"You know, frankly, Mitt Romney was the candidate I feared the most" in the general election as the Republican nominee, Dean said. "Because he''s got money, he''s wealthy. He''s very articulate and willing to say practically anything."
OH, POOR DEAN - HE JUST DOESN''T SEE THAT HIS PARTY- THE DEMOCRATS- ARE THE ONES WHO WILL SAY AND DO ANYTHING- EVEN IF IT IS FALSE AND IRRATIONAL. ROMNEY WOULD MAKE A FINE VP- AND THEN HE WILL BECOME THE NEXT PRESIDENT -AFTER MCCAIN''S TERM IS UP. BEAUTIFUL SCENERIO, INDEED :-)THAT IS REAL CHANGE. MCCAIN 2008.

[prinzowhales]

While Obama will certainly lose more of the white vote...even the stupidest of this block tend to have second thoughts about voting for a man who holds high position in a church based in large part on a theology whose aim is to ''destroy the white enemy''... McCain is a thoroughly unappealing candidate to the faux-anti-war swing vote who could be enticed to the Obama camp with sweet nothings whispered from behind a podium. They have nowhere to go save to the third parties unless Hillary shows a little anti-war leg (God Save Us!)

Romney, however, is not McCain...and that is just about the only difference in their positions. The Republicans would cinch the race if McCain were to withdraw for some health-related reason in late summer and Romney took top spot...particularly if he mellowed on the war. He exudes the kind of plastic personna that really makes a hit in suburbia...where everyone loves vanilla! If he found a ''se.xy'' running mate it would be all over but the running.

[sbcarlosm]

At least all of Mitt Romney''s wives love America! As soon as they finish 8th grade in June, they''ll be hitting the campaign trail with him.

[bud28dy]

Yeah McCain and Romney would be a dream ticket -- a Democratic Dream. Just what an old man who plans on staying 100 years in Iraq needs -- a shiftless worm who stands for nothing and is overwhelmingly disliked by the American people (not to mention the Republicans who deserted himo in droves). The only better ticket for Democrats would be McCain and Condi.

[j-whitman]

I can see what ever conservatives are left abandon ship

[nottellin1]

Whoo Hoo, Go Romney!!!!! I am going to feel a lot more comfortable about Mc Cain with Romney as his running mate.

[j-whitman]

ccfsdca,,,, McBush would enjoy that