Asserts the moderate Democrat and former Virginia governor, on the GOP presidential race: "It looks increasingly likely that Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee. Seeing how he’s evolved ideologically during his political career, Romney must be careful when choosing his VP. The GOP base will see it as a signal of which Romney will lead the party during the general election."
He continues his commentary: "Frankly, Romney needs a Southerner. It is the modern GOP’s base — and that base has yet to develop any real connection with Romney. He will need his candidate to bridge that gap, and Romney has little to no choice on this. The most obvious running mates are Florida freshman Sen. Marco Rubio and the governor of my own commonwealth, Bob McDonnell. First, Romney should take Rubio at his word that he doesn’t want to be on the ticket. Rubio’s instincts are right. It is too soon for him. McDonnell, though, has the profile that conventional wisdom would say Romney needs. McDonnell is Southern, conservative, politically savvy, popular and suburban friendly in a must-win state. No one could blame Romney for making this sound electoral choice — which addresses every political calculus important this November."
More: "Yet, I’m not sure this is a time that calls for the conventional. What if Romney did in 2012 what Sen. John McCain tried to do in 2008? McCain, frankly, failed to reshape the mold. Romney, though, can succeed. The answer to Romney’s search may well be sitting in Palo Alto, Calif., at Stanford University. His success could come in the form of a petite, whip-smart, iron-willed woman who knows the world and America’s place in it better than most: Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state. As political maneuvering goes, [former President Lyndon B.] Johnson would let out a belly laugh at the political skill of a Romney-Rice pairing. Rice was a darling of the Bush administration, one of the few who suffered minimal public scars and escaped minus the political revulsion some of her former colleagues still evoke. She knows foreign policy, which Romney does not. She understands the workings of Washington, also not Romney’s forte."
He ain't done yet: "Rice, though, is not a Beltway captive, having spent most of her life outside the nation’s capital. She is of the West, having lived many years in California. Yet she also is a woman of the South, having come of age in Birmingham, Ala. — the daughter of a teacher and minister — during a time of segregation when that city earned the terrible nickname, Bombingham. She survived a tumultuous time in this nation’s history, facing violence and the loss of friends with grace and hope. Rice is an American example. She would break barriers. She would also bring national and international gravitas to the 2012 political discussion, which is desperately needed."
Doug Wilder: "For Mitt Romney, Condi Rice Is The Ticket"
