Mitt Romney hasn’t yet chosen a running mate for the 2012 presidential election, but the public has sounded off on who they want to see on the ticket. The polls are in, and American Repubs want Condoleezza Rice .
According to a Fox News poll, three in 10 Republicans want Mitt Romney to select the former U.S. Secretary of State as his running mate in November. This gives Rice a huge majority on the right over other Republican figures likely to get the nod, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (who got 19 percent), New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (8 percent) and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan (8 percent).
Though speculation is rampant, only a handful of people know just how far Romney is from picking a VP. According to NY Daily , the VP short-list is known only to search team chief Beth Myers, Romney’s wife, and Romney himself. “I’ll wait and see, too, what Mitt is going to decide,” Ann Romney said Thursday. “We’re not quite there yet.”
Though Rice indeed seems like a no-brainer to help energize Romney’s campaign, her selection could lead to some trouble from his base. According to Intermountain Jewish News, Condi’s track record on Israel is not so good – during the days of the Bush administration, she backed PA President Mahmoud Abbas, whom she described as a true partner for peace. There’s also pressure on Romney to select a true Conservative running mate, particularly on social issues like abortion (which Condi is flexible on).
Though the Right wants to pull Romney further right, they have to realize that right-leaning folk will vote for anyone but Obama. His best bet is a more moderate VP like Rice to grab as many votes out of the unpredictable and ever-elusive Independent base as possible.
