Why Romney Will Pick Portman

Predicting a presidential candidate’s choice of running mate is a risky business. It is one of the few campaign decisions that is made solely by the candidate himself — often to the surprise, delight or horror of the rest of the staff and the party. But here goes. Mitt Romney will pick Rob Portman to be his running mate. I have absolutely no inside information on this one. In fact, I’m a Democrat and Obama supporter, so Republican operatives don’t confide in me. So why am I so sure about this? Because the vice presidency has changed in ways that point to the senator from Ohio. For most of our history, vice presidents were chosen to “balance” the ticket. The balance could be geographic; in 1960 a New Englander, John F. Kennedy, picked a Southerner, Lyndon B. Johnson. Or it could be ideological; in 1996 Sen. Bob Dole chose Rep. Jack Kemp in order to court the newly powerful supply-siders in the Republican Party.