Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/07/24/meet-the-republican-vp-prospect-rob-portman/
Rob Portman has done plenty of training for the vice presidential debates, but this year he might get the Republican talking points. After standing in as George W. Bush’s and Dick Cheney’s debate-prep opponents in 2000 and 2004, Portman, 52 years old, may see prime-time this year in the vice presidential debate Oct. 2. Largely unknown outside his district, the former representative’s credibility as potential number two has been bolstered by nearly 20 years in national politics, high marks from the Washington Beltway crowd and the good fortune to call Ohio home.
For a low-visibility politician, Portman has seen plenty of the federal government, running the Office of Legislative Affairs for the first President Bush and the serving as U.S. trade representative and budget director for the second, in addition to a dozen years in Congress. His experience with federal budgets from both the legislative and executive sides has established his economic expertise, and his work on foreign trade has burnished his diplomatic credentials. All that, and he just broke the half-century mark, making him the rare vice-presidential contender who could bring both youth and experience to McCain’s side. On social issues meanwhile, Portman has put together a record conservative enough for the party base while generally avoiding the bitterness of the culture wars. The result has been plaudits from pundits like David Brooks and kind words from Democratic leaders like Harry Reid and Steny Hoyer, even as Portman has often been a point man for the Bush administration’s agenda in Congress.
Portman’s associations with the current administration, however, while on the Hill and in the Cabinet, may be too much of a liability for a Republican candidate trying to distance himself from Bush’s record unpopularity. Portman’s hometown paper has called him “a talking head for the Bush agenda,” and you can expect that line three dozen times before nightfall on the day he’s announced to the ticket. Also, while Ohio is a must-win state for McCain, Portman’s name recognition drops precipitously outside of the second congressional district — to “maybe 12 percent” statewide, in the words of one Republican booster. Familiarity with Nafta and Cafta, meanwhile, registers a lot closer to 100.
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