Condi for Vice President

Reading this news piece last week made my stomach do somersaults.  The bad kind.  Condoleezza Rice says flat out she won't consider being Mitt Romney's running mate.

Well then.  Action time.

The Romney campaign needs to do two things right now: (1) come to the logical conclusion that there is not any way whatsoever they can win without Condoleezza Rice on the ticket; and (2) meet with Dr. Rice in a comfortable room, pipe some Brahms through the stereo; quietly appeal to her patriotism and sense of duty to her country - and secure her agreement to run.

...and did I mention this needs to happen now?

All you Republican head-nodders who subscribe to the conventional wisdom being floated at the moment that Gov. Romney must have a running mate who will "do no harm" are drinking some very dangerous Kool-Aid down at the country club.  Look up from your toddy for two seconds, Pipper, and pay attention:

---Obamacare is now going to be a huge driver when the election season - the real election season, in October - rolls around.  Now that the individual mandate has been found to be a constitutional extension of Congress' taxing powers, the Obama campaign will use its Populist Rhetoric Machine to assure their nanny-state loving constituents that Romney and his evil Republican storm troopers will take away all the free stuff they've been promised and the country will be handed over to Bad Rich People forever.  Romney isn't going to be able to battle that image, and none of the other proposed running mates being mentioned (save, perhaps, Marco Rubio - and keep reading for more on that) are going to help him do that.

---Romney, as I've said all along, is a stiff.  He's as believable as a car salesman.  A Lexus salesman, to be sure, but a car salesman nonetheless.  And when Obama gets serious and doubles down on the class warfare gobbledyspeak - especially when standing side-by-side with Romney in the debates - Obama's going to start looking and sounding a hell of a lot more like an "average" American than Romney...and WHOA! - sit down and shut up for five seconds there, Scooter - of course Mister I've-Never-Held-a-Real-Job-and-Have-No-Idea-How-the-Private-Sector-Functions isn't anything remotely resembling the average American.  But in the late stages of a national presidential campaign, image is reality to those lst few swing voters.  And Obama has charisma, in large bunches.  Romney only has good arguments, and good arguments aren't going to sway voters who decide at the last minute, no matter what Michelle Malkin tells us.

And then there's the giant Mothra in the Room that no Republican strategist wants to deal with:

---Hillary Clinton is going to be Obama'srunning mate this year.  Bank on it.  It will be the "surprise" move of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte this September.  Remember - the Democrats have the second of this year's conventions, so they have the opportunity for the biggest momentum push into the campaign.  They're not going to blow it.  Obama is going to dump Joe Biden - a Veep who just about everyone of every political persuasion agrees is a low-grade joke - in favor of someone who has demonstrated skills not only as a legislator but, as Secretary of State, a mover and shaker on the world stage.  Oh, yes, and she can pull in those pesky Blue Collar voters who are always just this shy of fleeing the Democratic Party.  Moreover, an Obama/Clinton ticket would address the biggest advantage Romney currently has over the incumbent: The perception of competence.  And while Hillary could never have accepted the No. 2 slot in 2008 (especially after the relentless and ruthless beating she took at the hands of the '08 Obama campaign), signing on as running mate in 2012 is a no-brainer, giving Clinton a straight shot toward the Democratic nomination for president in 2016, win or lose this year.  She's going to be on this year's ticket.  Get over it.

Romney cannot afford another white male glad-hander on his ticket.  He must - must - demonstrate that he is bold and that his party is as bold as he is.  To use a phrase all Republicans have come to loathe - without apology, I'll just say it: Romney needs a game changer as his running mate.

And so...who are some of the front runners?

Marco Rubio?  A great man who will be president someday.  But he is dynamic, top-tier material; someone who will overshadow Romney and make him appear ineffectual.

Chris Christie? See Marco Rubio.

Tim Pawlenty?  The guy who couldn't get out of Iowa?  The man with the charisma of a lukewarm can of Diet Sprite?  Are you nuts?

Mitch Daniels?  All the charisma of Tim Pawlenty with the scintillating countenance of the bank officer who just turned down your car loan?  Please.

And then there's Condi.

Unimpeachable credentials internationally and in the arena of national security.  Brilliant and engaging.  Tough.  Everything about her screams confidence.  There is not a single person alive who would be able to credibly claim that she wouldn't be able to step into the Office of the President of the United States if suddenly called upon and immediately establish confidence and credibility at home and around the world.

And- yes - Rice's inclusion on the ticket would wipe away liberals' claims of institutional Republican racism and sexism like Lysol wipes away germs, removing a key weapon in Progressives' already intellectually vapid arsenal of anti-conservative talking points.

Then there's the Vice Presidential debate.  Can anyone deny that a debate between Secretary Clinton and Secretary Rice (!!!) would qualify as an event bigger than even the three presidential debates...combined?

Personally speaking, I think Condoleezza Rice is exactly the person we need as president this year.  Instead we're going to have to be saddled with another self-serving politician.  If that's the reality, we should at the very least be offered someone substantive as Vice President to project strength, smarts and toughness.  And, most importantly, to win.  The Romney brain trust should start working on changing Dr. Rice's mind about running.  Right now.

A version of this post appeared on Mark's blog, Smoggy Don's Loudmoouth Soup.