Romney to Endorse McCain

[Dos Equis]

He must want to be VP.  http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/14/romney.mccain/index.html

[Mad Nickels]

I'd rather spend an hour with HIV than Mitt Romney.

He proved to be very unlikable.  People simply didn't like his phoniness.

Toss in the fact he outright CHEATED in the MSNBC debate by getting verbal cues in his ear (clearly against the rules of the debate)...

I don't think he'll be the VP pick.  I think it'll be Huck or Rick perry of TX.

[calmus]

He must want to be VP.  http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/14/romney.mccain/index.html

Exactly what I thought when I saw the headline.

[Dos Equis]

Toss in the fact he outright CHEATED in the MSNBC debate by getting verbal cues in his ear (clearly against the rules of the debate)...

What rules are you referring to?  I tried to Google them after the debate, but only saw rules from the presidential debates, which didn't say anything about this. 

[240 is Back]

romney would be a great decision maker in the cabinet.

he's a yes-man and a panderer, but a safe decision maker and successful.

yeah, he exploited ppl as a businessman, but he did turn a profit on his own.
Presidents need to be able to exploit other nations and turn a profit for the shareholder, the USA.

He's sneaky and weird and phony too.  He would have been beaten badly by an obama.  The mccain/obama contrast can help sell mccain- the alter ego of obama.  His age = wisdom in the eyes of many.  

[Dos Equis]

Exactly what I thought when I saw the headline.

I doubt he gets it though.  Seems like Huckabee would be a better choice.

Maybe there is a dark horse candidate like Pataki out there too.   

[calmus]

I doubt he gets it though.  Seems like Huckabee would be a better choice.

Maybe there is a dark horse candidate like Pataki out there too.   

It's the timing.  Huckabee says he'll go down to the wire, so Romney's seizing his chance to cozy up to McCain.....maybe even campaign for him.  Also, can't he assign his delegates to McCain?  That would allow the "general" campaign to begin sooner, and leave Huckabee on the outside.

Billary better quit soon. 

[Tre]

Romney should back the Christians instead of simply trying to get on the winning team right now.

Despite being a Mormon, he's going to be praying for the Christian vote the next time he runs. 

[Historian Yates]

I think the reason he backed McCain is simple. He's not trying to back the "winning team" or be the VP, he wants his delegates to go to McCain as a final stake through the heart of Huckabee's campaign because, without Huckabee in this, Romney is probably the nominee right now.

If ole Huck doesn't rally religious nuts, Romney wins Iowa easily, and then takes the momentum to win New Hampshire, and it probably would have been all but over. Instead, Romney takes two "silvers" and his campaign nose dives. Even after that he probably feels without the Preacher man he would have had a good showing on Super Tuesday, and maybe turned it around. So I think it was all a big fuck you to Huckabee more than a desire to back McCain.

McCain didn't cost Romney the nomination, Huckabee did, so what better way to get even than to end all illusion of a campaign by throwing his delegates (the one's he can, anyway) to McCain?

[Straw Man]

it's nothing if not entertaining

[Hugo Chavez]

I'd rather spend an hour with HIV than Mitt Romney.

ahahahAHHAHAHA... 

[Colossus_500]

I doubt he gets it though.  Seems like Huckabee would be a better choice.

Maybe there is a dark horse candidate like Pataki out there too.   

November is a long ways away.  It just might happen.  What if Newt threw his name in the hat?  Even with all of his personal history, Newt Gingrich is the one person that could bring the Republican party together, and is best equipped to unite the country. 

[240 is Back]

I think the reason he backed McCain is simple. He's not trying to back the "winning team" or be the VP, he wants his delegates to go to McCain as a final stake through the heart of Huckabee's campaign because, without Huckabee in this, Romney is probably the nominee right now.

Wait...

you're saying revenge against Huck comes first, BEFORE winning the VP job?
#2 most powerful man on earth, with a Prez primed to retire after one term?

Come on....

[Historian Yates]

The VP is not the "#2 most powerful man on earth," Cheney is probably the only one you can possibly say that about. The Speaker of the House, Chairs of Congressional Committee's, cabinet heads, Fed Charinmen, Fortune 500 CEO's, and foreign heads of state all carry more authority than the VP. The only power the VP carries is automatic frontrunner status for the nomination, assuming he's running behind a popular president.

Romney is not going to be running mate, and he knows it. There are plenty of conservatives running mates McCain can choose that he doesn't despise...The only thing that his backing McCain and pledging his delegates did was mathematically end Huckabee's longshot campaign.

[Dos Equis]

November is a long ways away.  It just might happen.  What if Newt threw his name in the hat?  Even with all of his personal history, Newt Gingrich is the one person that could bring the Republican party together, and is best equipped to unite the country. 

I think Newt could help unite the Republican party if he were on the ticket, but he probably would also have the Hillary effect of energizing the Democrat base.   

[240 is Back]

The VP is not the "#2 most powerful man on eath," Cheney is probably the only one you can possibly say that about. The Speaker of the House, Chairs of Congressional Committee's, cabinet heads, Fed Charinmen, Fortune 500 CEO's, and foreign heads of state all carry more authority than the VP. The only power the VP carries is automatic frontrunner status for the nomination, assuming he's running behind a popular president.

Romney is not going to be running mate, and he knows it. There are plenty of conservatives running mates McCain can choose that he doesn't despise...The only thing that his backing McCain and pledging his delegates did was end Huckabee's longshot campaign.

I agree, Romney probably won't be the nominee.  

But for the last 7 years, the Pres position has been a cheerleader for policy dictated by the VP.  Will this trend continue?  McCain has showed he's not a maverick, but rather a puppet - flipflopping on the bush war cuts and quotes at key times (100 years in Iraq, there will be more wars" to appease his power war base.

They'll influence his presidency just the same.  The VP will likely be someone chosen to pipe the orders in.  In case you didn't notice, Lieberman/Cheney were selected for this purpose, and the 08 nominee for VP will be no different.

[Historian Yates]

They have major influenece, no doubt, but I still think Cheney, with his vast level of influence, is the exception, and Dan Quayle and Walter Mondale more the rule.

I guess we'll see going foward just how much the Cheney administration has changed the role of the VP.

[Tre]

McCain didn't cost Romney the nomination, Huckabee did...

Wrong - Joseph Smith did. 

[Historian Yates]

Being a Mormon definitely hurt, but if the Baptist Preacher doesn't rally fundies in Iowa, I don't see another candidate who would have. Without that hit, I don't think McCain rallies to win New Hampshire. And Huck continued to rally Christian Conservative votes through super Tuesday. More of those voters would have held their nose and voted for Romney over McCain.

It's all speculation, but you have to believe that Romney feels that way.

[calmus]

It's all speculation, but you have to believe that Romney feels that way.

Actually........we don't.

[240 is Back]

I don't think the mormon isue mattered much.  I disliked Romney for lots of reasons, but I could care less what his religion is.  It's a non-issue to me.    I think Reagan had the best approach- he just didn't talk about religion, if I recall correctly?  He wasn't a particularly religious guy, and just didn't "go there" so no one else did.

Romney lost because he was perceived to be a phony and a liar.

A phony because he changed his core positions on MAJOR issues.
A phony because he refused to take a position on the war until he ran.

A liar because he "saw his dad marching with MLK", then later told a reporter to look up "saw" in the dictionary, because "saw" includes visions one has of events that never took place.



He tried to manage his way into the White house.  Doesn't work.

[Historian Yates]

Romney is not harboring delusions of being the VP candidate...that ticket would be shredded by the Deomcrats just replaying their attacks against each other.

[Historian Yates]

Romney lost because he was perceived to be a phony and a liar.

A phony because he changed his core positions on MAJOR issues.
A phony because he refused to take a position on the war until he ran.

Maybe I'm seeing something you guys aren't, or vice versa, but I don't think your giving enough credit to how close he came to winning Iowa and New Hampshire. He was the leader up until Hukcabee's surge.

I don't think most voters get into breaking down all inconsistencies that early in the process. Where I think he would have been nailed for all that is in the general election, just like another nominee from Massachusetts...

[240 is Back]

i agree with you there.  i was scared it'd be him or rudy.  seemed inevitable.

[Cap]

I too was worried with Romney possibly getting the nod.  I look at him and don't trust him whatsoever.  I like Huck on his stances but I just don't seem as a strong enough leader to be Pres.  McCain pisses me off with his immigration stance and his war talk (since the operators I know tell me the WAR in Iraq is won and Afghanistan is just about wrapped up but the politicians dick around).  I can deal with McCain but he is the least of all evils IMO. Bring on Newt in 2012.