As the Republican Primary winds down Romney looks for a running mate.

Last November Romney offered up one name as a possible running mate but she was sitting right next to him at the time and she had announced her endorsement of Romney just days before so he may have been under the influence of that afterglow.

“There are probably 15 names of people, including (New Hampshire Sen.) Kelly Ayotte,” Romney said in an interview on Fox News. “I mean, there are terrific Republicans in the Senate, in the House, in governors’ offices.”

Sen. Ayotte is a relative unknown and she hails from a state with only four electoral votes, but with her on his ticket there is a potential for more women to vote for him. For some reason Romney isn’t resonating with women voters. I find that a bit odd because an MIT study shows when a guapo candidate is running for office they usually beat the less guapo candidate.

So, Romney needs a woman who resonates with both men and women or a male running mate who inspires women voters to cast their ballots for the Romney/? ticket.

Other possible female running mates are:

• Governor South Carolina Nikki Haley — Gov. Haley is currently fighting for her political life in South Carolina.  Republicans and Democrats in S.C. concede they are whispering about the possibility of  her impeachment. Whether anything comes from the actions underway or not Governor Haley’s current situation would weigh too heavily on Romney’s Presidential campaign for him to include her on his ticket. Haley has already said that she isn’t interested in becoming Vice President.
• Former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin — no word from the former Alaskan Governor but if she decided not to run for the Republican Presidential nomination then why would she accept the VP spot?
• New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez — the first term governor would probably help Romney attract more Hispanic voters he so desperately needs but her ability to attract the other bloc of voters Romney seems weakest in (women voters) remains unknown.

Other possible running mates being mentioned are:

• Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says, “I’m not going to be the vice president.”
• New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — Based on his poll numbers from Monmouth 2/7, Quinnipiac 2/29 and FDU 3/13 polls Christie will not be able to deliver his own state in the general election. If he can’t even deliver his own state then he probably won’t help Romney win the election.
• Freshman Congressman Allen West (R-Fla.) — Veteran of Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. Rep. West is a favorite of the Tea Party movement and Republican conservatives.
• Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) — I like Ryan but he may do more good for the country in his current position as Chairman of the Budget Committee.
• Ohio Senator Rob Portman — The GOP strategists are pointing to him as the most likely candidate to emerge as Romney’s running mate.
• Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal — Some are painting Gov. Jindal as less than charismatic but I find that those politicians who speak honestly about problems and who offer up solutions based in reality are very charismatic.  Jindal has been asked to run before and has respectfully declined opting instead to focus on finishing the job he was hired to do in Louisianan.

The most attractive potential running mates (West, Rubio, Martinez, Christie and Haley) suffer from the same disturbing deficiency — they are too early in their head-of-state or national leadership roles for us to properly gauge their abilities to lead our nation.

We have all seen what happens when we elect an inexperienced fast-tracked candidate to our country’s highest office. We made a bad hire in 2008. Most of us don’t want to repeat that experience when we hire our next executive temp worker.

Rick Santorum says Man Caused Climate Change is a Hoax

I just read this erroneous argument on Huff Post in support of the man-caused Global Warming theory.

Rick Santorum Is Wrong on Global Warming

Written by: Rev. Jim Ball, PhD

Posted: 02/24/2012 12:23 pm

I hate to say this, but the man currently leading in the polls to become the Republican candidate for President of the United States, former Senator Rick Santorum, is woefully misinformed when it comes to global warming, one of the top challenges facing our country and the world. His own fears of more government control of individual freedom have blinded him to the facts on global warming, leading him to call it a “hoax” during CNN’s Florida debate.

It appears to me that the man-caused Climate Change theory is grounded in man-caused pollution — in the form of  billions of exhales (CO2) per second, massive amounts of methane escaping from the opposite end and the same combination of those greenhouse gases contributed from the animal world.

If the cause for Global Climate Change is pollution then why not just say pollution caused Global Climate Change? Why are we hating on the people or man who caused the Climate Change and not on the pollution?

Anti-pollution was the cultural cause in the 1970’s and it has now been repackaged from a national to a global cause.  World-wide distribution of a cause will obviously make more money for those in power than the old and tired national cause of fighting air, water and ground. With the Global cause we not only will have those environmental elements to fight for but we now  have added the fight to protect the planet from climate pollution.

People need to believe in something and there’s nothing more fun to believe or invest your emotions in than a cultural cause. We humans have an innate need to belong to a group or herd no matter how large or small, wrong or right or based on fact or fiction. Our comfort zone expands when we join groups of like-minded people who echo our concerns or beliefs.

Those people and groups who rail against what they have no control over like the Earth’s elliptical orbit around the Sun, the changing of the seasons or the naturally occurring Global Climate Changes will be disappointed with the outcome of their collective efforts to stop nature in its tracks.

It’s both comical and sad at the same time that people will accept whatever is written or spoken as being true without doing any or very little research on the subject being presented as fact.

Inland sea about 100 million years ago.

Geologic evidence tells us that there have been five major, yes five, Ice Ages. And it also testifies to the fact that there was an inland sea covering the interior of the United States about 100 million years ago. Florida was also underwater during that time frame.

It doesn’t take much time for anyone to look up these facts on the internet but people are so starved for a connection to any cultural cause, political party, religion or ideology of any kind which will fit their belief system or one they can compromise their current their belief system for.

During the current 2012 Presidential Primary campaign former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman said, “America faces not only an economic deficit, but also a trust deficit…” He added that the citizens of the United States want to trust their government again. I disagree that is what American’s should ever want.

If we “trust” those in office or our government then we place ourselves and our country at the mercy of untrustworthy and self-serving scoundrels. It’s better not to trust them ever again so that we may supervise them better than we have in the past.

Think for yourselves. If you read or hear something that interests you don’t believe it on its face value, research it. Become a critical independent thinker and you will respect and like yourself more for the gift you have given and accepted.

Related articles

• Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich’s views on global warming (winteryknight.wordpress.com)

Newt needs a shorter victory speech

I watched Newt’s victory speech live. He took us on one of the flattest roller coaster rides I’ve ever been on.

Next time just thank those who helped you Newt, followed by what you will fix in DC. Then mercifully end your victory lap with the guaranteed crescendo, “On to Florida!” Or whatever primary is next.

Fox political analyst Pat Caddell said that Newt’s speech was 10 minutes too long. I think it was more like 12-15 minutes too long.

Newt needs to learn how to build emotional momentum and how not to suck the emotional excitement out of his political balloon.