The Next Vice President of the United States?

None of the remaining GOP candidates are enough to win by themselves.


When, at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, the circus of primaries and caucuses to choose the Republican nominee comes to an end, that will not be the only issue settled. The other will be the second on the ticket - the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States.


In the coming months, expect speculation to increase about who the presumptive nominee is going to choose for his running mate. And expect pundits from all sides of the spectrum to give their analysis of how each candidate can be factored through one of the toughest political equations there is - the pros and cons of certain candidates and how they compliment and make up for the flaws of the Presidential candidate.


For the past couple of years, I have had a man in mind who I think would add great weight to any Republican ticket in the coming years (unless you have known me for so long as I have been saying it, I can't verify this to you. But I hope you'll err in my favour). He is the Junior Senator for Florida, Marco Rubio.


Rubio's strengths are significant. For one, he's a Senator from Florida, one of the most important states in the electoral college. This can help deliver this state for the Republicans and, more than that, help secure the South. Secondly, he's conservative - "severely" so. In 2010, Rubio was the Tea Party choice in Florida above the incumbent Governor who was seeking to join the Senate, Chris Christie. This will boost the ticket's credibility amongst Republicans who have been reluctant to support Romney so far.


Thirdly, he has the story. Romney is a former Governor (Massachusetts) and a wealthy man. Romney's dad was a former Governor (Michigan) and a wealthy man. This need not detract from Romney (Jnr) in any way, but it is not an engaging story of a rise to the top. Rubio is the child of immigrant parents who came to the United States seeking to benefit from the American dream.  Through their struggle, he embodies what American still feel is great about their nation.


The past two Vice Presidential selections have been interesting; George W. Bush chose Cheney knowing he never wanted to seek the top job and Barack Obama chose Biden knowing he would be too old by 2016 to consider a run for President himself. This election, the Republicans have a chance to select a Vice Presidential candidate who may well want to, and most certainly can, go on to "lead the free world." No matter who the candidate is, they should run with Rubio.