Romney needs Ohio - and Sen. Rob Portman

Four years ago, Rob Portman was considerate enough to call me at home from the 2008 Grand Old Party National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

By accident, our home telephone recorded the conversation, as I was slow to pick up the receiver before the fourth ring.

Then, as now, the No. 1 question was whether RP would be the Republican vice presidential candidate.

In spite of all the media reports about a possible McCain/Portman ticket in '08, Rob assured me that Sen. McCain had not extended such an offer.

"What if he did? I asked.

"You're the first person to ask that question," the former Second District congressman said.

He went on to explain that he supported the McCain campaign and had plans to run for the U.S. Senate after Sen. George Voinovich retired.

It was my personal opinion at that time that Rob Portman did not want to be tied to a losing campaign. For most political observers, the McCain 2008 ticket was as doomed as the Bob Dole ticket in 1996. (With or without Sarah Palin.) McCain had had his opportunity in 2000; by 2008, voters were even less enthused about a McCain presidency.

Fast-forward four years and Sen. Portman is once again on the political radar as a possible vice president of these United States.

Earlier this week, I told a campaign official for Gov. Mitt Romney that many of us in Ohio would be pleased to see Rob Portman's name on the GOP ticket. Rob Portman is, for lack of a better description, a true statesman.

Highland County Commission President Shane Wilkin had the opportunity to introduce Sen. Portman not long ago during a campaign stop in Hillsboro for Second District congressional candidate Brad Wenstrup.

Wilkin said it simply and honestly: "Rob Portman is a good man."

Yes, he is.

Now, there's a Boston newspaper columnist this week who claims that Rob Portman is "too boring" to be on the Romney ticket.

The columnist writes: "The case against Rob Portman in a nutshell: He’s boring. And right now, Romney may be realizing that’s the last thing he needs."

Today, Time magazine offered the same old song and dance, referencing "his boringness."

Maybe that's the safe tack for those who fear that a Romney-Portman ticket can win Ohio – and ultimately, the presidency.

If the worst thing the liberals can say about Rob Portman is that he's "boring," then they're fishing with limited bait. (And they've apparently not witnessed the senator's impersonation of a chicken laying an egg. That's anything but boring!)

Time's headline asks: How Can Rob Portman Win Ohio for Romney If Its Voters Don’t Know Who He Is?

Maybe the magazine might want to revisit the 2010 senatorial race where Portman defeated the sitting Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher in a statewide campaign. In fact, it wasn't even a close race. So much for Ohio not knowing Rob Portman.

(Of course, Time magazine ceased being relevant more than a generation ago.)

There are roughly half a dozen popular names being considered for Romney's VP. They include several capable souls: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, Sen. Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal, Condoleezza Rice and Gen. David Petraeus. A popular website has "scooped" the news media by first insisting that Rice would be VP, then announcing this week it would be Gen. Petraeus.

No doubt, any one of these potential candidates would be a fine choice.

Sen. Portman would be a better choice.

He has the private-sector experience, congressional leadership experience in both the House and Senate, and Cabinet experience on a global level.

In fact, President Clinton's former drug czar General Barry McCafferty said he would like to see a Portman presidency. So would a lot of us in Ohio.

In his recent Weekly Republican Address, Sen. Portman took a no-nonsense approach to our national dilemma.

"We need to face facts: we’re going broke. Washington is racking up debts that are being passed on to our kids and our grandkids," Sen. Portman said. "If we continue at this pace, we’ll be the first generation of Americans to leave the next generation worse off than us. That’s wrong. It’s unfair. And it has to change."

The senator offers a number of reasonable solutions – most of which are lost on the current administration. Still, ever the optimist, Sen. Portman closes his address on a positive note:

"For all our current troubles, Americans are still the hardest working, most innovative people on the face of the earth. By trusting the American people, instead of government, we’ll continue to surprise and inspire the world.

"The government-knows-best approach of the past few years has given us the weakest economic recovery since the Great Depression. It’s time to turn things around. We know we can restore America’s greatness by harnessing the power of free people and free enterprise."

Sen. Portman will be in Colorado today on behalf of the Romney campaign. Next week, the senator will be with Romney during his three-city bus tour in Ohio, adding to the speculation of a possible Romney-Portman ticket.

A local campaign stop will be at the Ross County Courthouse at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14. For free tickets, visit the the Highland County Republican headquarters at 200 West Main Street in Hillsboro on Friday, Aug. 10 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. or Saturday, Aug. 11 from 8:30 a.m.-noon.

Many of those attending are hopeful the Chillicothe event will have some historic political significance for the state of Ohio.

One thing is certain: For Mitt Romney to have some historic political significance, he needs Ohio's 18 electoral votes. Rob Portman is his best chance to secure those votes.

According to an Aug. 8 CNN report, Sen. Portman may not be interested in being VP – which doesn't surprise me.

"I just got elected two years ago," the senator told CNN. "I think that's where I'm going to end up staying," he said when asked about possibly leaving the Senate and becoming vice president.

Daniel Halper reports this morning (Aug. 9) at www.weeklystandard.com, that The Weekly Standard's VP bracket has Paul Ryan and Chris Christie in one semifinal, and Rob Portman and Tim Pawlenty in the other.

"We're betting Romney will go bold," Halper writes. "But what they haven’t told me yet is whether it will be Ryan or Christie."

Romney-Portman has a real chance on Nov. 6. Romney and anyone else may not. So goes Ohio, so goes the presidency...

Rory Ryan is publisher of The Highland County Press.