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The Spectacle Blog
In his 3½ years in the White House, President Obama has been blaming “the previous administration” of George W. Bush at every turn. The fact that Obama pulls out the Bush card every chance he gets demonstrates two things - 1) Obama hasn’t much to brag about. 2) Yet at the same time many Americans still don’t exactly have fond memories of his predecessor.
Mitt Romney has little, if any connection to George W. Bush or the Bush family. Whatever enduring distaste Americans might have towards W., it looks rather silly for Obama to accuse Romney of “going back to the previous eight years” when Romney has given no indication he would do so. But picking former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would throw all that out the proverbial window. If Romney picks Rice then Obama could legitimately campaign against Bush in 2012 in the way he did in 2008. Sure Obama has a less than stellar track record but it’s not clear if Americans dislike his less than stellar track record more than they dislike Bush’s less than stellar track record. If that’s the case then picking Rice would be a gamble for Romney unlikely to yield a winfall.
Of course, Rob Portman’s name has been bandied about as a possible running mate for Romney for some time. Before his election to the Senate in the 2010 mid-terms, Portman served in the Bush Administration first as U.S. Trade Representative and later as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Picking Portman could certainly make Romney vulnerable to being tied to the Bush Administration especially concerning fiscal policy. Yes, I know, Obama isn’t in a position to lecture anyone about fiscal policy but he does anyway. In fact, just today while speaking in Virginia, Obama said that Romney is “not serious” about reducing the deficit. Nevertheless, it’s not clear that Americans are any fonder of Bush’s fiscal policy than they are of Obama’s. Yet with that said, unless you a) live in Ohio or b) are a big policy wonk then chances are you have no idea who the hell Rob Portman is. So Romney picking Portman wouldn’t hurt him in the way picking Rice would.
Earlier today, Quin put forward some extensive thoughts on why Romney would not be wise to pick the former Secretary of State to be his number two. Amongst other things, Quin highlighted some of her foreign policy shortcomings with respect to Iraq, North Korea and her support of the Kyoto Protocol. I would add that Rice has long been sympathetic towards the Palestinians. Indeed, as Jonathan S. Tobin of Commentary points out, Rice “was a persistent critic of Israel even once falsely comparing the plight of Palestinians to that of African-Americans prior to the Civil Rights era.” Considering that Romney will be going to Israel at the end of the month to host a fundraiser, the idea of putting Rice on the ticket is bound to dampen the enthusiasm of pro-Israel donors.
Now frankly I think this Condi Rice VP business is nothing more than a trial balloon which will, take your pick, never get off the ground, let out a lot of air or just plain burst.
View all comments (7) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/07/13/some-rice-thoughts
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CJW| 7.13.12 @ 6:30PM
The VP is usually the attack dog in the campaign. Rice is a diplomat, and speaks in long professorial sentences that are inoffensive. Need someone mean and nasty to attack Obama.
Occam's Tool| 7.13.12 @ 7:20PM
Rice was useless. Completely worthless. Her area of expertise was the Soviets.
Bob Grant| 7.13.12 @ 8:10PM
He could select Dan Rice for all I care. Just don't let this drag out and "become a circus" like 4 years ago.
I'll "jump on the bandwagon" to whomever he chooses.
:-)
apnep| 7.14.12 @ 12:40PM
Does anyone really give a crap? The only campaign speech Romney needs to make is, "High unemployment. High gas prices. Extremely high debt. Extremely high health care costs and extremely poor quality of health care. Extremely poor reputation around the world. I'm NOT Obama. Thank you and have a good day."
ebonystone| 7.14.12 @ 3:02PM
If one thinks Dr. Rice is a good choice as a running-mate, then here's a better one: the soon-to-be former Senator from Indiana, Richard Lugar. If one wants foreign-policy experience, he's got decades of it from serving on the Foreign
Affairs committee. Although he remains remarkably ignorant about our enemies and the problems they present, that's beside the point -- he's "got experience". He has numerous election victories under his belt, in a not insignificant swing state. How many elections has Dr. Rice won? What state is connected to her? He's got good connections with Congress. And he's at the heart of the Republican establishment -- virtually Mr. RINO.
From a conservative standpoint, he's certainly not a good choice, but he's better on all counts than Dr. Rice.
doramin| 7.16.12 @ 11:41AM
Times like these I really wish I had one of those steel-trap minds that could remember every detail, chapter and verse.
Bush's sins? I know what pops up there immediately; his perverse pride in refusing to defend himself and his administration against scurrilous charges from the dem/lib hit machine, amplified by the media. I so well remember El Rushbo's lament that he was so sick and tired of having to defend Dubya when Dubya wouldn't do it himself. I also remember GWBs more recent interview with Greta where he confirmed his pride at his noblesse oblige. The years of manufactured scandals allowed to burn wore down the public and the fact that he had so visibly checked out during his last year in office did not help.
Rice struck me as the stereotypical example of an academic adrift in the real world. Politics is not complicated and it is anything but refined and intellectual. It is the dynamics of the schoolyard and international politics is even more brutish ("war is politics by other means"). I don't know the inside details of her work as National Security Advisor and then Sec'y of State but I do well recall the penultimate Rice moment. It was during the 2006 July War in Lebanon when she was counseling Israel to observe "restraint" as the rockets were falling. That did it for me.