As nominee Mitt Romney shakes up his etch-a-sketch and picks a running mate the whole nation will be looking over his shoulder.
What image will appear? Male or female? Young or seasoned? Moderate or conservative? Activist or team-player?
His choice will speak volumes.
Conventional wisdom will tell him that his base has nowhere else to go, so he should target women, independents and moderates in both parties.
One of the more interesting polls taken in the past few weeks showed President Obama 18 points ahead of Romney with women voters. Will he try to narrow that gap by tapping a woman for the vice-presidential spot?
Younger voters still favor Obama. Perhaps Beth Myers, who is leading Romney’s pick-a-VP team, will be told, “nobody over 45.”
And then there are the House Republicans. They have already let it be known that even if Mitt Romney becomes President Romney, they expect to set the Republican agenda. Maybe that agenda also includes veto power over the other half of the ticket. Perhaps they will insist on a True Believer, such as Paul Ryan.
MITT ROMNEY, his career shows, is a determined pragmatist. Our guess is that he will choose a running mate who can best help him do well in November. He knows he cannot win without attracting strong support from independents and winning back at least some of the support from women that his primary campaign lost for him.
Guided by these realities, he will be looking for a pragmatic moderate skillful enough to keep the Republican base from revolting while winning support from those voters in the middle that the primary campaigns have totally ignored.
Is there such a critter? It’s Ms. Myers’ task to find one.
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
