Mitt Romney needs to do something serious to break free of the narrative right now. He has a huge message problem; it's hurting him in the primary (more than he expected), and it's hurting him in the general (some would say dooming him, but whither Citizens United?); he seems to basically be a bored rich guy with no apparent core principles who has decided he really wants to be president but he doesn't particularly know why. Romney is a punchline; if nominated, he will be the most unpopular major-party candidate entering a general election in modern U.S. political history.
I've been thinking Romney's risk-averse nature is going to prod him toward making a bland, safe pick as vice president, someone like Sen. Thune (yawn), Gov. McDonnell (double yawn), or Sen. Portman (yawn times infinity). Then again, everything at this point looks like a transparent calculation for Romney. If he picks a woman, whoever she is will be compared relentlessly to Sarah Palin; if he picks someone like Gov. Jindal or Gov. Sandoval, he's going to be criticized for picking a candidate who isn't white but with whom only whites identify in meaningful numbers.
ETA - A "diva" pick, someone with a forceful personality and strong presence who is obviously just posturing for 2016 (say, Sen. Rubio or Gov. Christie, though neither seems very interested), or a "shotgun wedding" pick, choosing a rival or rival's son (Sen. Rand Paul, who is also a diva for that nice double-whammy) in order to win a potential convention floor fight, would just feed into the narrative that Romney is opportunistic, craven, and soulless.
There's not a lot Romney can do that would really be a "game change" just because the popular perception of him is so cynical. So what if he were to take the ultimate risk and make the ultimate pander - and completely turn this campaign inside-out?
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