Keller @ Large: VP Nominee Speculation Is Silly
BOSTON (CBS) - There are some rituals of summer that are kind of silly, but fun.
The hot dog-eating contest at Coney Island on the Fourth of July... belly-flopping at the local pool… the Red Sox salary drive, currently underway.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
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But there's one silly summer ritual which happens every four years that has lost its charm. It's the overwrought, overemphasized, almost-always-meaningless search for a vice-presidential nominee.
It was double the fun four years ago with no incumbent, when we had two VP storylines to follow, and for us feral animals in the press corps, Sarah Palin made it quadruple the fun.
This year, we're down to one, since the predictable talk about the president possibly dumping Joe Biden has apparently petered out.
But never fear!
It's "the biggest decision of Mitt Romney's career," hadn't you heard?
As if, should he choose a competent person, they won't almost immediately fade into campaign obscurity.
Come to think of it, even if they win in November, he or she is headed for some of America's most high-profile anonymity.
As Sen. Daniel Webster put it in 1848 when he turned down a chance to be Zachary Taylor's second banana: "I do not propose to be buried until I am really dead."
Anyway, my advice is, don't put too much stock in the last-minute speculation frenzy we're going through.
The Romney braintrust isn't sharing with me, and you can call me on it if I'm wrong, but I seriously doubt we'll see Gen. David Petraeus get the nod.
He fails the test of making the top of the ticket look better by comparison.
Kelly Ayotte seems bright, but is our nation really ready for a Massachusetts-New Hampshire ticket?
If Condi Rice was asked, it seems she's already said no, which speaks to how brilliant she is.
No, I'd bet on Portman, or Rubio.
Ohio and Florida, get it?
But just thinking about it, I'm losing IQ points.
And trust me, I can't afford to.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
