Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Scottie.
Scott Walker is not even an official candidate for president, but the Wisconsin governor is already talking about
who he might choose as vice president—and it's a guy who's currently ahead of him in national polling: Marco Rubio.
Walker said both he and Rubio often hear the suggestion that they should combine forces, potentially even before the first nomination voting in Iowa in February 2016, as a way to stand out amid a crowded field. “We'd just probably have to arm-wrestle over who would be at the top of the ticket,” he said.
Here's a thought: you could let voters decide. Metaphorically arm-wrestle in the form of running a primary campaign.
This is an interesting move—while Rubio leads Walker in national polling, Walker leads Rubio in Iowa and New Hampshire polls. Is Walker trying to firm up his own position by sending a signal to voters wavering between the two? "Don't worry, you can have us both"? It's hard not to read the suggestion that a competitor become a sidekick as condescending, particularly given the significant weaknesses Walker has already revealed during his extended pre-campaign phase. Or is Walker, aware of those weaknesses, trying some kind of reverse psychology to get Rubio to want to tap him for vice president?
But whatever else this is about, it also looks like Walker is trying to glom onto a little of Rubio's youthful glow:
Walker noted how he tweeted greetings to Rubio, 44, for his birthday last month, a move that also underscored his own relative youthfulness amid a mostly older Democratic and Republican field.
“Marco, happy birthday from one 40-something to another,” Walker said of his greeting. “There’s certainly a generational issue there.”
Awww, Scott, are you feeling sad and overlooked because people aren't talking about your fresh, handsome face like they are Marco's?