The GOP pick for vice president: Pluses and minuses

Chris Cillizza has handicapped the field for Mitt Romney’s running mate. Here’s his countdown in reverse order, for what each person would bring to the ticket. Agree or disagree with our rankings? The comments section awaits.

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The Fix ranks 10 potential GOP nominees for vice president. Among them are Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), left; Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.), bottom right; and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), top right.

Composite image / Melina Mara; The Washington Post; Charles Dharapak, AP; Cheryl Senter, AP

10. Mitch Daniels

The good: Daniels has compiled an enviable conservative record during his eight years as governor of Indiana and is widely regarded within the GOP as the sort of peak-truth-to-power politician politician needed to solve the country’s debt crisis.

The bad: Because of family concerns, Daniels walked away from a presidential race where he would have been the favorite for the nomination. Would his heart be entirely in serving as VP?

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

The good: The New Hampshire senator is a woman who plays well with the entire spectrum of Republican voters and hails from a swing state.<br>
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The bad: Her current job, to which she was elected in 2010, is her first in elective office. The Romney team may conclude she is too green to be the pick.

9. Kelly Ayotte

The good: The New Hampshire senator is a woman who plays well with the entire spectrum of Republican voters and hails from a swing state.

The bad: Her current job, to which she was elected in 2010, is her first in elective office. The Romney team may conclude she is too green to be the pick.

Cheryl Senter / AP

8. Bob McDonnell

The good: McDonnell is the popular governor of Virginia, which could well be the swingiest state in the country. He’s also a proven messenger on the economy and job creation.

The bad: Picking McDonnell would allow Democrats to re-raise his controversial thesis that had some decidedly non-PC views of women in the workplace and a controversial ultrasound bill that drew national scrutiny. That’s not an appealing prospect for Romney as he seeks to push back against the Democratic idea that Republicans are prosecuting a “war on women.”

Win McNamee / Getty Images

The good: Pawlenty is relentlessly on message. He gets along with Romney on a personal level and has been a <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/tim-pawlenty-mitt-romney-and-the-fix-endorsement-hierarchy/2011/09/12/gIQACSe4MK_blog.html'>go-anywhere, do-anything surrogate</a> since <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pawlenty-quits-2012-presidential-race/2011/08/14/gIQAFAyzEJ_story.html?hpid=z1'>dropping his own presidential campaign</a> last summer. He’s from the Midwest and has a good pitch about Sam’s Club Republicans.<br>
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The bad: Pawlenty ranks among the lowest on the charisma-meter — how great would it be if one of those actually existed? — of anyone on this list. It’s not entirely clear what he delivers that Romney doesn’t already have.

7. Tim Pawlenty

The good: Pawlenty is relentlessly on message. He gets along with Romney on a personal level and has been a go-anywhere, do-anything surrogate since dropping his own presidential campaign last summer. He’s from the Midwest and has a good pitch about Sam’s Club Republicans.

The bad: Pawlenty ranks among the lowest on the charisma-meter — how great would it be if one of those actually existed? — of anyone on this list. It’s not entirely clear what he delivers that Romney doesn’t already have.

Bruce Smith / AP

The good: <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/eye-on-2012/john-thune-and-the-republican.html'>The South Dakota senator is out of central casting</a>: tall, handsome and conservative. He’s also from the middle of the country, a nice geographic balance for the Northeastern Romney.<br>
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The bad: Thune is pretty plain and probably wouldn’t move the needle much for Romney. Thune has also spent the past eight years in the Senate, meaning he has a fair number of tough votes the Obama team could sift through in search of negative attacks.

6. John Thune

The good: The South Dakota senator is out of central casting: tall, handsome and conservative. He’s also from the middle of the country, a nice geographic balance for the Northeastern Romney.

The bad: Thune is pretty plain and probably wouldn’t move the needle much for Romney. Thune has also spent the past eight years in the Senate, meaning he has a fair number of tough votes the Obama team could sift through in search of negative attacks.

Charles Dharapak / AP

The good: The New Jersey governor may well be the <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/why-chris-christie-is-a-good-politician--in-76-seconds/2012/04/19/gIQAhvalTT_blog.html'>most popular politician</a> in the Republican Party at the moment. His no-nonsense, tough-talking persona is a good complement to the more reserved Romney and a strong contrast with the loftier rhetoric of President Obama.<br>
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The bad: Christie’s bull-in-a-china-shop personality seems like a very awkward fit for the vice presidency. Plus, Christie has been in major elected office for only three years. While he’s performed well on the national stage, he isn’t the known commodity resume-wise that some of the people above him on this list are.

5. Chris Christie

The good: The New Jersey governor may well be the most popular politician in the Republican Party at the moment. His no-nonsense, tough-talking persona is a good complement to the more reserved Romney and a strong contrast with the loftier rhetoric of President Obama.

The bad: Christie’s bull-in-a-china-shop personality seems like a very awkward fit for the vice presidency. Plus, Christie has been in major elected office for only three years. While he’s performed well on the national stage, he isn’t the known commodity resume-wise that some of the people above him on this list are.

Mel Evans / AP

4. Bobby Jindal

The good: Jindal would be a historic pick as the first Indian American on the national ticket of either party. He’s also widely regarded as a policy wonk of the first rate and has built up an impressive set of accomplishments since being elected governor in 2007.

The bad: Jindal endorsed Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the presidential race, not exactly a major vote of confidence in Romney. Jindal also flopped in his debut on the national stage back in 2009, a performance that might give Romney’s team pause about his ability to quickly scale up to the heights he would need to ascend.

Gerald Herbert / AP

The good: Ryan has emerged as the policy expert in the Republican Party. His <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/house-approves-ryan-budget-plan-to-cut-spending-taxes/2012/03/29/gIQAdUXQjS_blog.html'>budget proposals have drawn wide praise from the GOP</a> and he is widely cast as the Republican foil to President Obama, articulating an alternative vision of how the federal government could work. He’s also from the swing state of Wisconsin.<br>
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The bad: As much praise as Ryan’s budget won him among Republicans, it earned him an <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/democrats-attack-gop-rep-paul-ryan-on-his-home-turf/2012/03/27/gIQA61xEgS_blog.html'>equal amount of ire among Democrats</a>. Does Romney really want to own a plan that he didn’t have any hand in writing and that, oh by the way, fundamentally restructures Medicare?

3. Paul Ryan

The good: Ryan has emerged as the policy expert in the Republican Party. His budget proposals have drawn wide praise from the GOP and he is widely cast as the Republican foil to President Obama, articulating an alternative vision of how the federal government could work. He’s also from the swing state of Wisconsin.

The bad: As much praise as Ryan’s budget won him among Republicans, it earned him an equal amount of ire among Democrats. Does Romney really want to own a plan that he didn’t have any hand in writing and that, oh by the way, fundamentally restructures Medicare?

Win McNamee / Getty Images

2. Marco Rubio

The good: On paper, the Florida senator has it all: He’s Hispanic, he’s beloved by tea party conservatives, he’s from the swing state of Florida and he’s got charisma to spare. For a party that badly has to figure out an answer to its Hispanic problem, picking Rubio would be a step in the right direction.

The bad: Rubio is still very inexperienced at this level of politics. There remain whispers that the vetting process might be less than kind to him because of the fact that he was barely touched by opposition research amid the hard-not-to-watch collapse of then Gov. Charlie Crist in the 2010 Senate race.

Jae C. Hong / AP

1. Rob Portman

The good: If you believe the first rule of vice presidential picks — particularly in the post-Palin age — is “do no harm” than the Ohio Senator is the guy. He’s rock solid on politics and policy — especially spending and budget matters — and has a real statewide political organization in one of the most important swing states in the country.

The bad: There’s not all that much of it. (Portman is ranked No. 1, after all.) He did serve in two jobs during the Bush administration and that may not be a connection that the Romney campaign wants to resurrect.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

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