Could it actually be possible that Mitt Romney is considering selecting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his running mate? Most Americans have never even heard of her, but there are now indications that she has made the short list of VP contenders. Over the weekend she traveled up to New Hampshire to campaign for Romney, and Republican activists all over the country are buzzing about the fact that her name is seemingly being “floated” at a stage when it seemed like the list of VP hopefuls was being narrowed down. So what do we know about Bondi? Well, she is 46 years old, she is very accomplished, she is both articulate and attractive, and she was the lead attorney general in a national lawsuit against Obamacare. But would Romney actually risk selecting a woman as his running mate just four years after there was so much criticism of Sarah Palin? Everyone has just sort of assumed that there was very little chance that a woman would be selected, but the truth is that the selection of a woman is much more of a possibility than most Americans might think.
So far, most Republicans have been urging Romney to make a “safe” pick like Ohio Senator Rob Portman, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, South Dakota Senator John Thune or Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell.
But all of them have a major problem.
Mitt Romney is already looked at as an old, boring white guy and all four of those guys are considered to be even more boring than Mitt Romney is.
If Romney had a comfortable lead in the polls, then a safe pick might be the way for him to go.
But the truth is that this election is going to be exceedingly tight, and Romney really needs to make an impact with this VP pick if he hopes to win.
Other names that have been floated as possible VP picks include Bobby Jindal, Paul Ryan and Chris Christie, but none of those guys really has the “sizzle factor” going for them either.
Marco Rubio would definitely help Romney with the Hispanic community, but the Romney campaign has only seemed mildly interested in him and there are serious questions about whether or not he is truly eligible to be president.
So what about a woman?
Well, the Romney campaign has really tried to find a woman who could potentially be a suitable fit for Romney, but the choices on the national level are less than inspiring.
Both New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte and U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers have had their names floated, but both of them deeply suffer from the “yawn factor”. Neither of them would really be an asset on the ticket.
Condoleeza Rice had her name floated a while back, but the suggestion that she could be VP drew a strongly negative reaction from the conservative community and there is concern that she would cause Americans to link Romney very strongly with the Bush administration.
So that brings us to Pam Bondi.
Pam Bondi is definitely not an old, boring white guy. She would definitely bring some “sizzle” to a campaign that is seriously lacking it at this point.
The truth is that emotion plays a significant role in national elections, and even though Barack Obama’s star has badly faded, Obama still generates much more enthusiasm among Democrats than Mitt Romney does among Republicans.
At the moment, most Republicans are much more excited about voting against Barack Obama than they are about voting for Mitt Romney.
Romney desperately, desperately needs to get some positive emotion flowing for his campaign if he wants to win. Negative emotion about the other candidate can only take you so far.
So will Mitt Romney actually pick Pam Bondi to be his running mate? The following are 8 reasons why it might actually happen….
#1 Pam Bondi is a woman
Most people greatly underestimate the role that Ann Romney plays in the campaign. She is not someone that just fades into the background. The truth is that she was very instrumental in getting Mitt to run again, and she also appears to be quite enamored with the idea of having a female running mate for Mitt.
For example, the following is from a recent Huffington Post article….
Mitt Romney’s wife has confirmed a tidbit about the vice presidential search process her husband largely has been keeping secret: He’s considering choosing a woman.
“We’ve been looking at that, and I love that option as well,” Ann Romney told CBS News in a joint interview with her husband that was broadcast Thursday.
#2 Pam Bondi is young
Mitt Romney is not doing well with women and he is not doing well with young people.
And Mitt Romney is especially not doing well with young women.
In fact, some polls have had Obama leading among young women by a 2 to 1 margin.
Pam Bondi is one of the few VP choices that could change that.
#3 Pam Bondi is from Florida
Mitt Romney is simply not going to win the election without Florida, and Pam Bondi would definitely help Romney in that key swing state.
#4 Pam Bondi and Obamacare
Pam Bondi was the lead attorney general in a national lawsuit against Obamacare. This could help deflect criticism that Romneycare was the basis for Obamacare and that Mitt Romney is not really that serious about overturning Obamacare.
#5 Pam Bondi is attractive
Perhaps such things should not matter, but we all know that they do.
In this day and age, any candidate for national office better look good and better sound good in front of the camera – especially if you are a woman.
#6 Pam Bondi is articulate
Pam Bondi has made regular appearances on Fox News, and she reportedly kept an audience at the Broward County Republican Lincoln Dinner “spellbound” during a recent 30 minute speech.
If Mitt Romney did decide to select Pam Bondi it would set off a media firestorm, and she appears to be the kind of a woman that could handle that kind of an onslaught.
#7 The Romney campaign needs an emotional boost
Do you remember Michael Dukakis?
Or Bob Dole?
Or John Kerry?
Those guys were all considered to be “electable”, but they failed to generate the enthusiasm needed to win.
Mitt Romney is going to be the next John Kerry unless he does something to add some “sizzle” to his campaign.
#8 Pam Bondi would bring much needed publicity to the Romney campaign
Right now, watching news coverage about the Romney campaign is about as exciting as watching paint dry.
Pretty much the same thing was true about the McCain campaign four years ago until Sarah Palin came along.
If you will remember, Sarah Palin gave John McCain a huge boost in the polls initially. Later on some of her weaknesses were exposed, but at first the selection of Palin looked like a stroke of genius.
So could Pam Bondi provide a similar boost to the Romney campaign without the weaknesses of Sarah Palin?
That is a very good question.
We do know that there are a few problems with Bondi.
For one, she has quite a bit of personal baggage.
According to Business Insider, she has already been divorced twice and cancelled a third wedding at the last minute….
But Bondi also comes with some political baggage, not least of which is her complicated marital past. Bondi is twice married and divorced, and earlier this year postponed her wedding to her current fiancé under strange circumstances. According to the Miami Herald, Bondi had planned a destination wedding in the Cayman Islands this May, but unexpectedly cancelled the nuptials at the very last minute.
Secondly, and most importantly, there is the question of whether or not a woman who has never held an executive position or a national office would be capable of being president of the United States.
Many Republicans are strongly urging Romney to select someone “experienced”, and the selection of someone like Pam Bondi may be deeply disappointing to those that were hoping for a more “responsible” pick.
In any event, it is kind of fun to hear a new name introduced into the rumor mill. If you want to find out more about Pam Bondi, you can find her Facebook page right here.
It probably won’t happen, but there is a chance that Mitt Romney could pick a “wildcard” like Bondi to shake up the race.
If he did make such a move, it would definitely be interesting.
And I want to make it clear that I am not endorsing any candidate in this article.
I believe that Barack Obama is the worst president in the history of the United States, and I believe that Mitt Romney would be a terrible president as well.
In this article I am just analyzing the political landscape and evaluating how a Pam Bondi pick would impact the race.
So please do not criticize me for promoting a particular candidate. Obama is not right for America and neither is Romney.
America is faced with a horribly depressing choice in November. Either candidate would continue to take America down the wrong path, and at this point we cannot afford that.
