Weak GOP field could've used Bob McDonnell
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
While watching a (televised) town hall meeting from South Carolina's Atlantic Coast this week, it occurred to me that Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Palmetto State Congressman Tim Scott would form an interesting and impressive presidential/VP ticket.
It also occurred to me that it's warmer in Myrtle Beach, S.C. than it is in Fairfax, Ohio. (Quick: How many newspaper columnists in Charleston, S.C. are wearing a hooded sweatshirt right now?)
Gov. McDonnell and Rep. Scott, of course, are not POTUS (President of the United States) candidates. Yet.
McDonnell has been rumored to have interest as a possible VP selection for the inevitable GOP candidate, Mitt Romney. Most GOP insiders think Romney will need to venture a little farther west than Virginia for his VP. That's too bad. Of course, others – and I'm likely in this corner – figure that Romney doesn't want a vice president who's more knowledgable, intelligent and charismatic than he is. That's two strikes against the Virginia governor. But he's still got one pitch left in this political at bat.
And here's a fastball right down Broadway:
• Gov. McDonnell is young enough (mid-50s);
• He's bright enough (University of Notre Dame);
• He played high school football (scoring a touchdown and a two-point conversion against the 1971 T.C. Williams Titans of “Remember the Titans” fame);
• He served in the U.S. Army (21 years, both active duty and reserves, retiring as a Lt. Colonel in 1997);
• He worked for a good newspaper (The Virginian-Pilot);
• He was a prosecutor in the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office;
• He represented Virginia's 84th District in the House of Delegates;
• He served as Attorney General of Virginia; and,
• He's been married for 35 years to a former Washington Redskins cheerleader (Maureen), and they have five children, including a daughter in the U.S. Army.
Maybe he doesn't get on the ticket in 2012, but another leap year is only 48 months away.
Gov. McDonnell, after being introduced by Congressman Scott in South Carolina, touched on the infamous "1-percenters" propaganda – an argument which defies all logical arithmetic, by the way.
"The president is a nice guy, a good family man," Gov. McDonnell said. "But his policies are flat wrong. He's attacking people who are successful, creating this class warfare argument that somehow if you've been successful, if you've taken risks and seen a return, that somehow you're stomping on other people's rights — we should condemn that. It's wrong. That's not the American formula for success...
"When I see the failures in leadership and direction of this administration, I think the skill set best suited to fix that is what governors have to do every day," the governor said. "You have to balance budgets every year. You have to take direct responsibility for how competitive you are making your state."
Of course, instead of someone like the commonwealth governor, we're left with a community organizer in chief.
Throughout the 2012 presidential primary debates, I've been left searching for a candidate. Not just "someone who could beat Obama," as the GOP mantra goes. (I was hoping Jon Huntsman would stick around for the long haul.)
The GOP used a similar mantra in 1996 (ABC – Anybody But Clinton). We all know that President Clinton was re-elected when the Republican establishment offered Kansas Sen. Bob Dole. Sixteen years ago, when I asked state and national party "leaders," Why Dole?, they all responded that it was his turn. Obviously it was Sen. John McCain's "turn" four years ago.
The Republicans lost both elections. And didn't learn a damned thing.
Well, I think I've found my candidate in Gov. Bob McDonnell. But unless Romney surprises me and places the Virginian on the ticket, I'll have to wait at least four more years for a candidate who brings sufficient enthusiasm to this old conservative.
“We need a leader that wants to put in place results-oriented conservatism,” Gov. McDonnell said at the Myrtle Beach town hall meeting. “That is: Stick to your conservative guns, but quit making excuses. Just get things done.”
As the famous comedian says, "Git-er done." Indeed.
The nation's Republican leaders could do worse than bringing Gov. McDonnell to the forefront. And they probably have.
Rory Ryan is publisher of Highland County's only locally owned newspaper, The Highland County Press, and he'd really like to meet Harvey Bubbletrouser some day.
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It also occurred to me that it's warmer in Myrtle Beach, S.C. than it is in Fairfax, Ohio. (Quick: How many newspaper columnists in Charleston, S.C. are wearing a hooded sweatshirt right now?)
Gov. McDonnell and Rep. Scott, of course, are not POTUS (President of the United States) candidates. Yet.
McDonnell has been rumored to have interest as a possible VP selection for the inevitable GOP candidate, Mitt Romney. Most GOP insiders think Romney will need to venture a little farther west than Virginia for his VP. That's too bad. Of course, others – and I'm likely in this corner – figure that Romney doesn't want a vice president who's more knowledgable, intelligent and charismatic than he is. That's two strikes against the Virginia governor. But he's still got one pitch left in this political at bat.
And here's a fastball right down Broadway:
• Gov. McDonnell is young enough (mid-50s);
• He's bright enough (University of Notre Dame);
• He played high school football (scoring a touchdown and a two-point conversion against the 1971 T.C. Williams Titans of “Remember the Titans” fame);
• He served in the U.S. Army (21 years, both active duty and reserves, retiring as a Lt. Colonel in 1997);
• He worked for a good newspaper (The Virginian-Pilot);
• He was a prosecutor in the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office;
• He represented Virginia's 84th District in the House of Delegates;
• He served as Attorney General of Virginia; and,
• He's been married for 35 years to a former Washington Redskins cheerleader (Maureen), and they have five children, including a daughter in the U.S. Army.
Maybe he doesn't get on the ticket in 2012, but another leap year is only 48 months away.
Gov. McDonnell, after being introduced by Congressman Scott in South Carolina, touched on the infamous "1-percenters" propaganda – an argument which defies all logical arithmetic, by the way.
"The president is a nice guy, a good family man," Gov. McDonnell said. "But his policies are flat wrong. He's attacking people who are successful, creating this class warfare argument that somehow if you've been successful, if you've taken risks and seen a return, that somehow you're stomping on other people's rights — we should condemn that. It's wrong. That's not the American formula for success...
"When I see the failures in leadership and direction of this administration, I think the skill set best suited to fix that is what governors have to do every day," the governor said. "You have to balance budgets every year. You have to take direct responsibility for how competitive you are making your state."
Of course, instead of someone like the commonwealth governor, we're left with a community organizer in chief.
Throughout the 2012 presidential primary debates, I've been left searching for a candidate. Not just "someone who could beat Obama," as the GOP mantra goes. (I was hoping Jon Huntsman would stick around for the long haul.)
The GOP used a similar mantra in 1996 (ABC – Anybody But Clinton). We all know that President Clinton was re-elected when the Republican establishment offered Kansas Sen. Bob Dole. Sixteen years ago, when I asked state and national party "leaders," Why Dole?, they all responded that it was his turn. Obviously it was Sen. John McCain's "turn" four years ago.
The Republicans lost both elections. And didn't learn a damned thing.
Well, I think I've found my candidate in Gov. Bob McDonnell. But unless Romney surprises me and places the Virginian on the ticket, I'll have to wait at least four more years for a candidate who brings sufficient enthusiasm to this old conservative.
“We need a leader that wants to put in place results-oriented conservatism,” Gov. McDonnell said at the Myrtle Beach town hall meeting. “That is: Stick to your conservative guns, but quit making excuses. Just get things done.”
As the famous comedian says, "Git-er done." Indeed.
The nation's Republican leaders could do worse than bringing Gov. McDonnell to the forefront. And they probably have.
Rory Ryan is publisher of Highland County's only locally owned newspaper, The Highland County Press, and he'd really like to meet Harvey Bubbletrouser some day.
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