Rand Paul Would Be a Good VP Pick

If Mitt Romney is not considering Sen. Rand Paul for VP, he should. It would be a "Team of Rivals" pick, a la Doris Kearns Goodwin's book about the Lincoln administration. Lincoln chose to keep his friends close but his enemies(primary opponents) closer by putting them in his administration.

A Vice President Rand Paul would have a hard time mounting a primary challenge to a President Romney, if Romney makes the mistake of governing like a moderate. I hope that Romney won't make that mistake; he seems solid on fiscal issues. But if Romney fails to govern like a conservative, he will draw a primary challenge from the Tea Party. Paul would be well-suited to that task.

The notion that the VP pick must come from a geo-politically important state is antiquated and irrelevant in an age of national media. It is therefor beside the point that Paul's state of Kentucky is safely red, or that it has few electoral votes.

The outrage among some in the Tea Party about Paul endorsing Romney is misplaced. Romney is the nominee, and he needs and deserves our support. Indeed, it would have been a mistake for Paul not to endorse Romney. But Romney should recognize that one way or the other, Paul and the Tea Party will hold him accountable. Paul can better do that if he is not VP, which is why it is in Romney's interest to pick him.