Furthermore, in the 16 elections since World War II, 10 presidential candidates have failed to carry the home state of their vice presidential running mates. Gov. Earl Warren could not carry California for Tom Dewey in 1948; Sen. Estes Kefauver could not carry Tennessee for Adlai Stevenson in 1956; former Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge could not carry Massachusetts for Richard Nixon in 1960; Rep. Bill Miller could not carry New York for Barry Goldwater in 1964; Gov. Spiro Agnew could not carry Maryland for Nixon in 1968; Sargent Shriver could not carry Maryland for George McGovern in 1972; Rep. Geraldine Ferraro could not carry New York (or women, or even her congressional district) for Walter Mondale in 1984; Sen. Lloyd Bentsen could not carry Texas for Michael Dukakis in 1988; Jack Kemp could not carry New York for Bob Dole in 1996; Sen. John Edwards could not carry North Carolina for John Kerry in 2004.
For the next decade, American politics will turn on this truth: Slowing the growth of the entitlement state is absolutely necessary and intensely unpopular. In this situation, which is ripe for a demagogue such as the Huey Long from Chicago's Hyde Park, Romney's choice of running mate should promise something Washington now lacks — adult supervision.
George Will's email address is georgewill@washpost.com.
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George F. Will is one of the most widely recognized, and widely read, writers in the world. With more than 450 newspapers, his biweekly Newsweek column, and his appearances as a political commentator on ABC, Will may be more ..
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I guess two unpaid for wars are great for the country but paid for entitlements are bad. Great Logic Will.
As a Democrat, I would support Romney choosing either Ryan or Jindal. Ryan is tied to budget plans that largely dismantle Medicare and Social Secuirty, while giving bigger tax breaks to the wealthy. (Incidently, if the Supreme Court strikes down More..
I wonder why none of the comments here acknowledge what a train wreck the Obama administration has been. Do you not recognize that he is taking us in exactly the opposite direction from the principles of freedom, personal responsibility and More..