2012 GOP Veepstakes Finals: Rubio vs. Portman… 'Exciting' vs 'Safe'

Senator Portman would serve to reinforce Romney’s economic message and make nearly the entire focus of the 2012 election campaign about the economy.

The Choice

The 2012 election has been waged for nearly three years now, as potential candidates spent months raising money, raising their profiles, debating each other, and then ultimately competing in Primaries. There have been two constants through this entire process: One, Mitt Romney and how he methodically was able to capture the GOP nomination with very limited mistakes. Two, the Economy continuing to be the most important issue on the minds of voters… on all sides. Mr. Romney has succeeded because he has been able to convince enough voters (and donors) that he is the candidate who has the ability, experience, and competence to run an aggressive campaign against President Obama, and one that would have the best chance to win.

No matter what you may think of Mr. Romney in terms of his views, his political skills and that of his campaign have been extremely impressive thus far. Though some mistakes have been made, they have pounced at nearly every opportunity when it has come to taking on President Obama on his major weakness, the state of economy. Mr. Romney has also been an adept fundraiser and ensured that the coordination between his campaign and the institutional counterpart (the RNC) will be close, match, or excel in terms of money raised against President Obama. Finally, the campaign has been very disciplined to stay focused on the most important issue in this election, which is the overall state of the US Economy and President Obama’s leadership as it relates to the it and the decisions he has made in his first term. This despite the attempts by the Obama Administration and their allies to try and change the subject and shift the focus to choose your issue of the week (gay marriage, immigration, war on women, contraception, Bain Capital, Osama Bin Laden, etc.).

In the final analysis, it would be almost shocking to think that Mr. Romney would do anything to change the focus of this election, and that goes not only for issues… but also for individuals. In 2008 Senator McCain needed to change the dynamic so that then-Senator Obama wasn’t the sole focus of media and voters in the final months of that campaign, and on that battle the Senator succeeded with his selection of Gov. Palin. Fast-forward to 2012 and this election… Mr. Romney wants, and really needs the focus to be on President Obama as a referendum on his first term. A pick that runs the risk of possibly overshadowing the President may be exactly what the Obama campaign wants.

Based on experience, preparedness, electoral strategy, risk factor, and messaging… Mr. Romney will, and should choose Senator Rob Portman of Ohio to be his Vice Presidential running mate on the 2012 GOP ticket.