A Cautionary Tale: McDonnell, Sabato, Romney, Erickson, Ultrasounds, the Veepstakes & Rectal Exams

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    When I got up this morning and looked at the New York Times, which carried a report on Mitt “Etch-A-Sketch” Romney’s effort efforts to regain ground among women voters lost when the GOP’s War on Women became more pronounced in recent months, I said to myself, “Well, that’s the end of any shot Gov. Bob McDonnell had in snagging the VP slot.”

    After all, given the realities of this debate, the last person Romney could possibly want standing on a podium with him in Tampa this August would be Gov. Transvaginal Ultrasound himself.

    And then, arriving in my inbox, was my new issue of Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball  with a “VeepWatch” analysis putting Gov. T-V Ultrasound in the second tier of possibilities, ranking him 8th on the list of possibilities, behind Tim Pawlenty.

    As far as Sabato was concerned, I figured, McDonnell had virtually no chance.

    (more on the flip)

    According to Sabato, McDonnell’s key advantage is that he is “willing and very available.” His key disadvantage, and here I will quote the good professor, is, “Transvaginal ultrasounds.”

    Well, my own take on the matter now confirmed by Sabato, I was feeling pretty good about myself, and even though it was not yet 9:30 a.m. was seriously considering calling it a day and going back to bed.

    Then I had to go and read a post on Redstate by Erick Erickson, who despite being a wingnut ideologue is actually a pretty good analyst and interpreter of what is going on in the Conservative bubble, and he had this to say about the Romney VP slot:

    The Romney campaign has put Ed Gillespie in charge of finding a Vice President. That suggests to me Bob McDonnell remains the most likely choice – and it would be a fine, mature choice.

    Damn. Just went I thought he was out, they pull him back in.

    Of course, Erickson was saying McDonnell would be a fine choice on a ticket with Romney, a man about whom, in the same post, Erickson had this to say:

    I am about as excited by the Romney nomination as I am about going to the doctor for a digital rectal exam – necessary at a certain age, but awkward and uncomfortable nonetheless, with a lot of bending over and taking it whether or not you really want it.

    The Conservative/Republican fetish for inserting devices in bodily orifices is really beginning to concern me. It should concern us all. What will they insist on next if, against all reason, Bob McDonnell somehow becomes vice president.

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