Just because Donald Trump is looking for a running mate doesn't mean the best GOP vice presidential candidates are wringing their hands in the parlor like a string of Victorian ladies-in-waiting.
Quite the opposite. Most of the potential No.2s I've heard mentioned either couldn't advance the ticket anyway or look at the job as a one-way trip to Palookaville and they've already turned it down in advance, via CNN or Fox.
You know who wouldn't turn it down? Trump's smart, smooth, charismatic eldest daughter, Ivanka.
Hold on a moment before you collapse in hysterics.
At 34, Ivanka is already one of her father's closest advisers. She doesn't rail against his bombasity, that's not her way. But she has a calm demeanor that lulls him into a more sensible state. I've observed it three or four times during family interviews. She makes her father look reasonable by proximity.
True, she has zero political experience. Even less than her father. But I like the way she's handled herself during the primaries and caucuses. She avoids advocating her father’s proposals and keeps her praise for him general, trying to balance her dual roles as Ivanka Trump, businesswoman, and Ivanka Trump, Donald’s devoted and trusted daughter.
What Ivanka Trump is, is a former model, a successful businesswoman with her own fashion line and, even with her other siblings up to their teeth in the family business, is frequently called "the power behind the throne" of the behemoth Trump real estate empire.
Her father has given her a level of authority none of his wives, or for that matter executives, have ever had. She handles some of the organization’s biggest deals, including its acquisition of the Doral Resort in Miami, and its agreement to convert the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., into a luxury hotel.
"I think her father really listens to her, and when I say listens to her I mean I think her father respects her a great deal, and not just because she's his daughter," Carl Icahn, a longtime friend of the Trump family, said in a recent New York Times story. "I don't say that lightly. I have a lot of wealthy friends who have kids and a few of them stand out, but not that many."
Sure, Trump once said he wanted his running mate to be a seasoned player, an "establishment" politician who knows his way around Washington and the Capitol, and God knows, if elected, he'll need one. I've even thought that person could well be Marco Rubio, who ticks many of the boxes where Trump falls short -- he knows how to negotiate Congress, he's young, he's Hispanic, he's lived the American dream and in full cry can bring Americans to tears. I'm sure he could help sell Trump. But as far as I can tell, at least right now, Rubio wouldn't touch the job with a barge pole.
Anyway, what are the chances a President Trump would listen to the counsel of Vice President Marco "Little Marco" Rubio? Or VP Newt Gingrich or John Kasich, for that matter? There are other, and probably more effective, ways of conquering Congress than leaning on the vice president.
Ivanka represents another vital gap he has to fill before he can dare dream of the Oval Office -- drum roll, please -- women.
Recent polling shows Trump is deeply unpopular among women, who typically vote in larger numbers than men.
A USA Today-Suffolk University poll released last week found 66 percent of likely female voters hold unfavorable views of Trump, compared with just 24 percent who see him favorably. The same poll found that only 42 percent of women viewed Clinton favorably, but in a Clinton-Trump matchup, they went for the former secretary of state by 21 points. Clinton’s commanding lead among women contributed to her beating Trump overall, 50 percent to 39 percent.
Republican Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming said last week Trump would be well served by a female running mate, a woman with more “discipline” to balance his unpredictability. That, she said, would be a better strategy than going the traditional route of choosing a running mate who represents a swing state.
Among women identified as highly qualified, but who claim they're not interested, are New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez; South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; and Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.
“Trump has succeeded on the strength of his personality, so having a regional balance, as frequently happens, is not as important as perhaps having a personality balance,” Lummis said.
I happen to agree. And there's no better personality balance in the political arena today than Donald and Ivanka Trump.
Plus -- and this is so important in the coming campaign against Hillary Clinton -- people like Ivanka Trump. They really like her. I watched and listened closely during televised focus groups. Where other potential running mates are better known -- Chris Christie and Sarah Palin, for example -- that's actually more of a liability than an asset. Each has his baggage, it's known baggage, it means Americans already have a formed opinion of each one. But Ivanka would climb into the arena well-liked -- a common-sense, super-smart, classy, problem-solving complement to Trump, who may lack experience, but she absolutely lacks the kind of baggage that turns off voters.
She will learn how to be president -- sad to say, Trump people, but probably faster than her father.
Trump is loyal, yes, and loyalty counts for a lot. But more than that, he is an opportunist. In the end, he will name the person he believes will most help him win. Remember early on in the campaign, when he wanted to put Oprah Winfrey on the ticket? ("I think Oprah would be great. I'd love to have Oprah. I think we'd win easily.") Useless idea. Oprah is devoted to Hillary Clinton. Certainly that shows how out-of-the-box he thinks; but it also shows he's open to a female running mate. Let's see what happens.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
