United Liberty
Comparing Sarah Palin and Marco Rubio
Mon, 04/09/2012 - 2:12pm | posted by Ron Davis
Late last week on CBS This Morning, John McCain was asked about the eventual GOP Vice Presidential nominee. He said, jokingly, “I think it should be Sarah Palin.”
After that comment he followed up with a line about how we have great talent in the GOP and that he’s sure Romney will make the right decision in the end. In the video of the interview, it’s clear that McCain was joking, but how much of a joke was it?
When McCain selected Palin as his running mate, she was a mostly (nationally) inexperienced politician whose presence on the ticket was to excite the Republican base and to pander to a demographic group (women) that the GOP needed to appease in order to win the election.
After the joke about Palin, McCain was quick to mention Florida Senator Marco Rubio as a qualified candidate who is in the top tier of potential running mates for Mitt Romney, but what kind of a choice would that be? At first glance, it could look pretty good, but compare the similarities between Rubio and Palin.
Rubio would be a nationally inexperienced politician whose presence on the ticket would be to excite the Republican base (Tea Party) and to pander to a demographic group (Hispanic voters) that the GOP needs to appease in order to win the election.
Rubio getting the VP slot on the ballot wouldn’t shock many people, and I’d speculate that it could even be a safe bet. Still, when you consider the reasons for picking Rubio to the reasons for picking Palin in 2008, you can’t help but wonder if the Republican Party has learned anything in the last four years.
The similarities between Palin and Rubio are striking enough to make me think that either the GOP needs to not let John McCain pick the VP nominee or that maybe the nominee should be picked for reasons other than motivating the base and pandering to specific groups of voters. Or maybe both.
I’ve got to respectfully disagree to some extent. Rubio’s resume is far beefier than Palin’s ever was. City Councilman to State Legislator to Speaker of the Florida House to Senator, all in the course of about 15 years. And even when I disagree with him, it’s self-evident that he has a far greater grasp on issues of national concern than Palin either has or will.
That said, I get your point about experience on the national stage, but who out there really does have that experience?
More broadly, I don’t think Rubio will be on the ticket and I think it would be a mistake for him to accept the job if offered. A losing VP run is usually a ticket to political oblivion and there’s no need for him to risk his political career for Mitt Romney
Yeah, his qualifications are better than hers ever were, but on the national stage, he’s still a newcomer. Still, his selection as VP candidate would be for many of the same reasons McCain chose Palin.
I totally agree about him not risking his political career for Romney…hadn’t really thought of it in those words before.
Then I guess my question would be which one of the oft-mentioned Veep possibilities has been tested on the national stage? Rob Portman gets mentioned alot but he’s a Freshman Senator like Rubio, before that he spent time in the West Wing during the Bush Administration but he wasn’t really a visible face. Bob McDonnell has been Governor since 2009, and served two terms as Atty General after being in the State legislature, but his “national stage” experience mostly consists of appearing on cable news shows and shows like Meet the Press.
Of recent VP nominees, I’d say only GHWB and Cheney had been “tested” on the national stage before being named. And only one of those turned out to be a decent Vice-President.
On your last point, something to remember. Only one losing VP nominee has ever become President. That was FDR, who was James Cox’s running mate in 1920 and elected POTUS in 1932.
DeMint maybe? He’s got the national exposure, plus the track record of pushing for conservative candidates in the Senate. He’ll also be good for exciting the Tea Party base. Plus, he isn’t running for reelection next time around. And though he’s not always right, he’s not the worst Republican in Washington.
And, seriously, who among us wouldn’t enjoy watching DeMint debate Biden?
Another key disTinction: Marco is smart and very articulate. palin is neither.
A fl democrat
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