Barack Obama’s selection of Joseph Biden for vice president (predicted in this space before — admittedly just minutes before — it became the conventional wisdom in Washington) makes it all but inevitable that John McCain will choose Mitt Romney as his running mate. I have been picking Romney all along, but now I’m willing to bet on it.
Why does Biden’s presence on the Democratic ticket seal the deal for Romney? One word (or is it two?): Counter-programming.
1. Obama, McCain, Biden — they’re all sitting senators. None has ever been a governor, which has been the prime talent pool for presidents for more than 30 years because governors get to make the politically appealing argument that they’ve been too busy solving problems as chief executives of their states to get caught up in the “mess in Washington.’ Romney was a governor.
2. Obama chose Biden because he’s strong where Obama is weak: foreign policy. McCain will choose Romney to buttress his own weakness in economic policy.
3. The vice presidential candidates will square off in debate on October 2. Obama chose an articulate, skilled debater who is willing to take the fight to the other party. while he resumes life on the high road. So will McCain.
