McCain doesn’t need to unveil his running mate until after Obama does (and he would be foolish to jump the gun indeed) but two sources are now saying that it’s going to be Mitt Romney. Could this really be true? I can hardly imagine a better choice … for Obama. (Well, in truth, Obama would likely have cheered even louder if it had been Rudy G.) I understand that Romney was near-and-dear to the hearts of many hard-core conservative Republicans during the primary and was the anointed chosen one by Right wing radio talking heads Rush Limbaugh and Hugh Hewitt, among others. But the results of the actual primary votes should have provided a cautionary tale about the always-evolving Mass. Governor.
Look, I don’t like being the guy who keeps thinking that there are still a lot of Americans aren’t going to wind up actually casting their votes for Barack Obama because he’s black. But that fact is, I am that guy and I still believe it’s true. (To blatantly-abuse that oft-quoted Woody Allen line, “What’s a two-syllable word beginning with ‘R’ describing somebody who thinks that? Answer: Realist.”) The sad fact is that we still have a not-insignificant number of people in some parts of this country who just won’t vote for a black guy. If the Republican primaries taught us anything, it’s that there are also a depressing number of folks out there from all walks of life who will not vote for a Mormon.
Some polls released during the recent raids on a polygamist compound showed that many Americans have a hard time distinguishing between mainstream Mormons and the more “traditional” guys with fifteen wives (some of whom may be children) holed up in remote camps out west. While this most certainly may not be any more fair than comparing every black American to a stereotypical gang-banger in South Central, one of the most reliable rules in politics is still in play here: perception can and often does trump reality. If McCain wants to depress his turnout and risk a share of the independent vote, not to mention rescuing Obama from his slumping poll numbers, he couldn’t do much better than selecting Mitt Romney.
He still has more than a week (possibly two) to decide, so stay tuned. We shall see what we shall see.