New York supermarket magnate and Republican donor John Catsimatidis, has a suggestion for another formidable Republican ticket that can go up against President Barack Obama in the fall. He suggests a Mitt Romney/Rick Perry or a Perry/Romney ticket.
What is Catsimatidis' reasoning?
Catsimatidis, who has supported Romney and Perry, suggests such a ticket would have an ideological and a region balance. Romney is a northern moderate. Perry is a southern conservative. Thus the appeal of such a Republican ticket would be as broad as possible.
What are some of the historical examples of such a ticket?
Catsimatidis mentions the Kennedy/Johnson ticket of 1960, which married John Kennedy, a northerner, with Lyndon Johnson, a Texan. The other obvious example, though of an ideological as well as regional balance, was Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush 1980. Reagan was from California. Bush was from Texas but with roots in New England.
Are such tickets really "unstoppable" as Catsimatidis suggests?
Not always. In 1996 Bob Dole, a moderate, tried ideological balance by choosing Jack Kemp, a conservative icon, as his running mate. In 2004, John Kerry, a northerner, went for regional balance by choosing southerner John Edwards. In 1988 then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis choose Texan Lloyd Bentsen. All three tickets went down to defeat.
Have there been other combinations that have worked?
Some presidential candidates with little or no Washington experience have chosen a Washington insider to buttress the governing strength of a ticket. This was what was behind Jimmy Carter's selection of then-Sen. Walter Mondale in 1976, Bill Clinton's selection of then-Sen. Al Gore in 1992, and then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush's selection of Dick Cheney, a former congressman, White House chief of staff and Defense Secretary in 2000. All three of these tickets were successful.
How would that approach work for Perry?
Perry would choose a sitting senator or congressman in this scenario. Rep Michele Bachmann, another presidential candidate, is one possibility. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who would also bring in some ethnic balance, is at the top of everyone's list.
Texas resident Mark Whittington writes about state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network .
