Rob Portman's Edge: He's Dull as Dirt

Mitt Romney might pick Ohio senator as a kind of anti-Palin
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 25, 2012 1:45 PM CDT
Rob Portman's Edge: He's Dull as Dirt
Rob Portman, R-Ohio talks to reporters in Cincinnati, Ohio.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Most media VP speculation is swirling around colorful personalities like Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, and Bob McDonnell, but Politico has its eye on a candidate who exemplifies drab: Rob Portman. The last bill the Ohio senator introduced was a measure controlling Asian Carp in the Great Lakes—not exactly the stuff Republican National Convention-goers swoon over. Unlike other candidates, Portman isn't selling a book—his last one was about Ohio's Shaker society—and never appears on Sunday shows.

But some Republicans think that's the perfect post-Palin VP recipe. "I don't think bland is a liability," says John Thune. "It's probably a virtue." Democrats note that Portman bears the Bush administration stigma, but otherwise have perfectly dull things to say about him—Ted Strickland calls him a "very conservative guy with good manners." For his part, Portman says he's "consciously ignoring" the speculation, lest it distract from his day job."I'm focused on the issues." (More Rob Portman stories.)

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