We noticed a fascinating, yet disturbing, report in today’s excellent First Read article about Mitt Romney’s selection process of his vice presidential running mate.
It appears that Romney is not seriously considering a woman, even though he has many qualified Republican females to choose from, including: former Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, governors Jan Brewer, Mary Fallin and Nikki Haley, and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
So why not a woman on the ticket? After all, the Republicans broke that barrier four years by picking Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Oh wait, it turns out that Palin is precisely the reason why Team Romney is NOT seriously looking at a woman to join the ticket. Palin is often cited as one of the reasons why Sen. John McCain lost to then-Sen. Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
Here’s what Michael O’Brien of the NBC News Political Unit wrote:
In particular, few women except for New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte – a freshman lawmaker from New England with only scant federal experience – are thought to be under consideration by Romney. “I think, unfortunately, Palin poisoned the well on that,” said one informal Romney adviser, fretting that any woman selected as VP would draw inevitable comparisons to the former Alaska governor. “I would guess if I were inside the Romney mind that they’re worried that any woman chosen will be subjected to a higher level of scrutiny. “ O’Brien reports the three men at the top of Romney’s short-list appear to be former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan. Who do you think Romney should/will pick?
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