For Democrats, the third week of June 2012 was a good one, as Republicans floundered over their Vice-Presidential sweepstakes. Consciously or sloppily, presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney eliminated Florida Senator Marco Rubio as a potential VP nominee. When Latino forces joined by the few other Republicans who support diversity voiced racism on the part of Romney, the former Massachusetts governor switched gears in less than half a day.<\/p>\n
However, Rubio does carry some baggage. He has not been forthright about his lineage, having said that his parents fled Cuba following Fidel Castro\u2019s revolution. He was off by three years; <\/a>they left prior to Castro\u2019s revolution. Rubio also has been charged with using a state credit card for his own personal purchases when he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives.<\/p>\n There have been worse transgressions by candidates for executive office (see Spiro Agnew), but what we know about Rubio could be gateways to other more serious offenses. Furthermore, Republicans present themselves as those who are most morally virtuous, religious, and straight arrows. We know from recent history that this is not true, particularly in Florida, but this does not stop the GOP from trying to perpetrate this misperception upon the public.<\/p>\n With doubt now cast about Rubio, one of the names that became a more likely candidate was former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty is not exactly Mr. Excitement, and during the 2011-12 race for the Republic nomination, he distinguished himself by withdrawing from the campaign before he could even lose a real race. Four months prior to the Iowa caucuses, he\u00a0 was roundly defeated in the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames, finishing third behind his fellow Minnesotan, Michele Bachmann. This clearly indicated that he did not have a chance to win or even perform well in the state just south of his own.<\/p>\n