The 8 best 'I won't be Romney's running mate' lines
Whether or not they want the job, Republicans on the short list to be named Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate have to say no — again and again
Pity the poor Republicans deemed to be on Mitt Romney's short list for vice presidential running mate: If they want the job, tradition and politics dictate that they have to say they don't, or won't get picked, or are too busy in their current job to give the veepstakes much thought. For candidates who really don't want to be on the list, it's worse: They are still going to be asked about the No. 2 slot on the ticket in every interview, and how many ways are there to say no, without offending Romney and other powerful figures in the GOP? Here are some of the more creative ways short-listed Republicans have said (believably or not) "thanks, but no thanks" to VP speculation:
1. Mike Huckabee: His talents are best used elsewhere
Why he's in the veepstakes: Huckabee is already a household name, thanks to his 2008 run for president and subsequent Fox News show, and he's popular with social conservatives and right-leaning economic populists. He's also an ordained Baptist minister with a sunny public disposition.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Why he won't be chosen: "I think there's a greater likelihood that I'll be asked by Madonna to go on tour as her bass player than I'll be picked to be on the ticket," Huckabee told ABC News on June 10.
2. Jeb Bush: Not interested in toeing the party line
Why he's in the veepstakes: The former Florida governor, and younger scion of the Bush clan, is a Republican's Republican, a uniting figure who can bring together different factions of the GOP — and could help Romney win Florida.
Why he won't be chosen: Being Romney's running mate is "not in the cards for me," Bush told ABC News on June 1. "I don't know how many times I have to repeat this. I have been repeating it for the last two years. I've been pretty consistent.... I am not a candidate. I'm not going to be asked.... This will prove I'm not running for anything: If you could bring to me a majority of people to say that we are going to have $10 of spending cuts for $1 of revenue enhancement, put me in, coach."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
3. Marco Rubio: The Freudian slip
Why he's in the veepstakes: The freshman senator from Florida is Latino, photogenic, and popular with the Tea Party, and he is popular at home, in the biggest of the swing states.
Why he won't be chosen: "I don't want to be the vice president," Rubio told National Journal in April. "But you know he's not going to ask. That doesn't work. He's watching this interview right now.... Three, four, five, six, seven years from now, if I do a good job as vice president — I'm sorry, if I do a good job as a senator instead of a vice president, I'll have a chance to do all sorts of things, including commissioner of the NFL, which is where the real power is."
4. Chris Christie: Too big to make the cut
Why he's in the veepstakes: The tough-talking New Jersey governor has been campaigning for Romney since last fall, and he's endeared himself to the Republican base by taking on public service unions as policy and politics — Christie's short videos of himself verbally smacking down critics at town hall events have gone viral on YouTube.
Why he won't be chosen: "Do I look like somebody's vice president?" the famously portly Christie said at a December 2011 Romney rally in Iowa. "If you were a betting woman, I wouldn't bet on Romney-Christie. I wouldn't lay any money on that."
5. Condoleezza Rice: Doesn't like politics, or Washington
Why she's in the veepstakes: As former secretary of state and national security adviser, Rice's foreign policy experience would fill a gap in Romney's ticket, and in a CNN poll in April, 26 percent of Republican voters named her their VP pick, putting her at the top of the poll. As a black woman, Rice would also bring some diversity to the ticket.
Why she won't be chosen: Being Romney's No. 2 is "not going to happen," Rice told an audience at the Executives' Club of Chicago on May 17. "I love policy, I don't really love politics.... One can do a lot with policy not in Washington."
6. Mitch Daniels: Won't even answer Romney's call
Why he's in the veepstakes: Serious-minded Republicans tried exhaustively, and failed, to recruit the Indiana governor for a presidential run, and they still want him on the ticket. Wonky, fiscally conservative GOP types like Daniels because of his experience and acumen with budgetary matters — a plus for a candidate running on a pledge to narrow the budget deficit.
Why he won't be chosen: "It's not an office I want to hold, expect to hold, have any plans to hold," Daniels told Fox News on May 21. "If I thought that [Romney VP vetting] call was coming, I would disconnect the phone."
7. Rob Portman: Too boring to qualify
Why he's in the veepstakes: The Ohio senator has a long, impressive résumé that includes 12 years in the House and stints as George W. Bush's trade representative and budget director. Some commentators say Portman's lack of apparent charisma makes him appealing to Romney, because he wouldn't upstage the top of the ticket.
Why he won't be chosen: "My sense is... [lengthy pause], given all the various... [lengthier pause] ... candidates he's looking at, that it's unlikely that question will ever be posed. He's got some great candidates," Portman told a group of reporters in late May. "I told my staff that I'm so boring that I didn't even know I was boring."
8. Bobby Jindal: A picture's worth 1,000 words
Why he's in the veepstakes: The popular second-term Louisiana governor's anti-tax stance makes him the top pick of, among others, powerful anti-tax lobbyist Grover Norquist. Jindal is also considered a reliable social conservative, and his up-by-the-bootstraps success story as a second-generation Indian-American could humanize Romney's elite background.
Why he won't be chosen: In a May 23 appearance on MSNBC, Jindal ran through a series of talking points about why Romney won't pick him, before host Chuck Todd stopped him: "Governor, that's not a denial. You know that, right?" Jindal smiled silently, says Christian Heinze at The Hill, "making this the most uncomfortable pause since Jim Irsay asked Peyton Manning if he wanted to be Andrew Luck's backup."
Sources: ABC News (2) (3) (4), Des Moines Register, The Hill, NBC, Washington Post
Read more political coverage at The Week's 2012 Election Center.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Baltimore bridge disaster: Who is going to pay and how?
Today's Big Question Politicians, legal experts, and the insurance industry are all grappling with the financial fallout of America's worst infrastructure tragedy in years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Stick guitar
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published