Is Florida Veep jinxed?
07/17/2012
Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist, Bob Graham, Reubin Askew, Claude Kirk ... some of them dearly wanted to be Veep, one of them said hell no. But whatever the reason, Florida pols never seem to make the final cut when the presidential nominee is looking for a number two.
In 1968, the Republican National Convention was in Miami Beach. No one wanted to be Richard Nixon's running mate more than Florida Gov. Claude Kirk. It was not to be. Instead, Nixon picked Spiro Agnew. The former Maryland governor had a bad habit of accepting bribes leading to his indictment and resignation as vice president.
Perhaps Agnew's most famous quote was his description of liberals and the media: "nattering nabobs of negativism."
By 1972, Democratic Gov. Reubin Askew was on presidential nominee Walter Mondale's short list. Mondale reportedly asked Askew to join the ticket and Askew declined. In 1984, Askew ran for president. He finished last in the New Hampshire primary and dropped out.
Both Bill Clinton (1992) and Al Gore (2000) seriously considered Democrat Bob Graham to be their running mate. He came closest to making the cut with Gore. The former governor and U.S. Senator decided to run for president himself in 2004. He made little progress.
Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist hoped that Sen. John McCain would tap him for the Veep slot in 2008. Crist was always a long shot. Rather than pick a running mate from the Sunshine State, McCain reached up to the permafrost and picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
A lot of Florida Republicans hoped that former Gov. Jeb Bush would run for president in 2008. While they could understand why he might pass up the opportunity to follow his brother that year, the hope didn't die this year. Bush has firmly and repeatedly said he not interested in being at the top or the bottom of the ticket.
Which leaves us with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Some Republicans are simply giddy over the notion that Rubio is the best fit for GOP nominee Mitt Romney. They are convinced that having a Cuban-American on the ticket from a swing state would be all Romney needs to defeat President Obama in November.
Rubio has one big hurdle to overcome - the Florida jinx.
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