Mitt Romney?! Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

Robert Novak, who has a habit of being first to break big political stories, is reporting that John McCain's choice of a Vice Presidential running mate could come as early as this week. Unfortunately, he's also implying that Mitt Romney is the favorite to get the nod at this point.

Why do I say "unfortunately?" Because I'm constantly amazed at how little most people know about Mitt Romney, even folks who are pretty active in Republican politics and who supported his primary campaign. They're always blown away, however, when I show them the following video from when he ran for Senate in Massachusetts against Ted Kennedy... if you haven't seen it, just take 4 minutes and check this out:

Pretty surprising to see the "conservative," "pro-life" Romney so fully support abortion rights in this video, isn't it? It's even more shocking to any Republican to see him completely disavow the name of Ronald Reagan. And how about mandating that companies report salaries and job titles on all women and minorities in their quarterly filings to identify the "glass ceiling?" Huh?! Just what GM and its quarter of a million employees could use right about now.

Now, I'm not actually saying whether I agree or disagree with any of the beliefs of the "old" Mitt Romney shown above, I'm merely pointing out that there are two Mitt Romneys with two completely different sets of beliefs.

More likely, there really is just one Romney: the one who is willing to say whatever it takes to get elected.

So just imagine for a minute what Barack Obama would do the first time he took aim at Romney! With his silver tongue, Obama would discredit Romney so quickly and thoroughly that it would render him an empty pair of shoes for the remainder of the race.

Top off his insincere beliefs with his slick, gameshow host demeanor and Romney is just not a candidate who wears well over the long term, nor will he win McCain any extra votes from the middle or the left. I know the case for him says he'll energize the conservative base that McCain needs, but if Romney was so electrifying to "the base" in the first place, why did he get pounded so handily in the primary by the guy so many conservatives mistrust?

Don't do it, Mr. McCain. Everyone knows you don't even like Mitt Romney, and you'll find out all the strategic arguments being made in support of him won't play out, anyway. In this one instance, live up to your supposedly maverick credentials and surprise us--with anyone but Romney.

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