Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
What is it about Mike Pence? The Indiana congressman passed up the opportunity to run for the Senate in 2010 after Evan Bayh announced his retirement. His decision freed up Republican Dan Coats to win the election and take a seat that could have been Pence's.
Now Pence has passed up the opportunity to run for president. He's decided instead to run for Indiana governor. He's an early favorite to win the office being vacated by Mitch Daniels.
But I still don't understand why Pence decided against a presidential run. The Republican field is wide-open. No one is particularly enthusiastic about any of the candidates. Conservative activists are looking for a white knight to show up and save them from a Romney candidacy. Pence is conservative in every way and has close ties to the Tea Party movement. Even if he failed to win the nomination, he would've been on the shortlist for the vice presidential nod.
I understand that Pence is doing the conventional thing. The last president to come directly from the House of Representatives was James Garfield in the nineteenth century. But that sort of thinking is exactly what keeps politicians from ascending to higher realms. Ronald Reagan ran for the presidency four times, including in 1968 after only two years as governor of California. Pence may think he's doing the sensible thing and laying the groundwork for a presidential run in 2016. But, if Obama is reelected, the 2016 field is going to be much stronger than the 2012 field.
Pence may think this decision increases the chances he'll be president one day. I think it increases the chances he'll be secretary of health and human services in the Christie administration.
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Jun '10
Re: Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
From a presidential candidate's perspective, I imagine it looks like you'll either have to sell your soul to one or more special interests, or you won't have enough money to win the election. Reporters estimate that the Obama Team, in all it's various forms, will spend over a billion dollars in 2012. That's like facing down a tsunami.
May '10
Re: Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
Perhaps Congressman Pence surmises (correctly, in my view) that the American people aren't thrilled with the results of our most recent presidential experiment: that of electing to President a man with zero executive experience.
May '10
Re: Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
I routinely turn down the opportunity to run for President. Does anyone care? *sniff* Couldn't even interest James Taranto in hyping it under "Bottom Stories of the Day".
Honestly, Matthew, some people don't want to be President. Would you? Hell no. It's flattering to be asked, and Mario Cuomo built a huge ego on that alone. But sort of an imposition to actually have to do it.
Oct '10
Re: Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
Perhaps Mr Pence sees politics as a means to public service rather than a game to be won. Unlikely, I know, but I'm feeling charitable this Friday.
Oct '10
Re: Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
Is it possible that Pence sees the presidency through the same reality lens as Chris Christie? Why would he want the most important and toughest job in America so badly that he is willing to risk failure by not preparing for it? Don't we presently have a walking, talking example of failure to prepare (among other failures).
Ambition is the enemy of success.
Re: Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
RAYCON raises a good point. It just occurred to me that I chastised Mike Pence for doing the same thing I praised Chris Christie for doing a few days earlier. But here's the difference: I don't think Mike Pence can win the presidency, whereas it's a real possibility for Christie.
Why couldn't Pence win? He's much too ideological. But an ideological edge is exactly the quality that would allow him to make an impact in a primary fight. Right now the political market is looking for a Tea Partying rabble rouser with credentials to captivate the grassroots. In 2016 the market will be full of straight-talking adults with executive experience—and Christie will be the most prominent.
Re: Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
Pence is doing the right thing. I think that gubernatorial experience is a huge plus for a presidential run -- Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush II all had it and managed to win second terms. Carter is the exception, of course, and Nixon was ... well ... Nixon. It doesn't seem that too many losing nominees are contending for repeat shots: Dole, Kerry, and Gore all have declined to run again. If Pence really wants the job, I think a stint as governor is the right play, because the new reality seems to be that he'll only get one shot. He'll want to get it right.
Right now we need to figure out if we have any former governors who are viable. For me, Romney's health care compromise and the state he comes from disqualifies him and Palin's failure to complete her term of office disqualifies her.
I like Barbour, Christie, Jindal, and Jeb Bush, and I think Jeb Bush and Barbour could be ready for prime time. I hope one of them can save us from Romney.
Pence is coming along nicely. Don't rush him.
Re: Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
I don't have any comment to offer, Matt, but I want you to know that I love reading your posts on the presidential maneuverings--or, Pence's case, lack thereof--of the Republicans. You got me thinking about Christie. Now this, on Pence. Ricochet's reporter on the presidential front. Thanks for taking the gig.
Jul '10
Re: Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
Pence was waving the social con flag. Problem is, that's a crowded field - Palin, Huckabee and, the most recent whispering goes, DeMint. Pence doesn't have the marquee standing of the other three and would be shut out in the race for funding.
Oct '10
Re: Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
The Republican establishment said the exact same thing towards Ronald Wilson Reagan. Mike Pence can win because he is authentic, which is extremely rare in politics.
Christie is a You-Tube sensation, but in no way a true conservative. Check out Mark Levin's recent postings on Christie's less than stellar appointments and stances on key issues. I love watching Christie take down unions, but he does not have the appropriate temperament and would be a terrible President.
Oct '10
Re: Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
Kenneth—you may be taking the media’s forced categorization of Mike Pence a bit too literally. Yes, the social conservatives have shown support of his candidacy, but Dick Armey’s lobbying Mike Pence should demonstrate that Mr. Pence is not one dimensional.
To echo an earlier post of yours, I had built a complex fantasy around Mike Pence renouncing ethanol subsidies in a field of corn in Iowa.
Jul '10
Re: Mike Pence Says No to the Presidency
Ken Sweeney
Kenneth—you may be taking the media’s forced categorization of Mike Pence a bit too literally.
I'm not thinking of the media. I'm thinking of his endorsement in the Family Values Coalition's straw poll.