One of the more important roles of a Vice President nominee is to play the “attack dog” of a Presidential ticket allowing the Presidential nominee to stay above the fray laying out his own agenda. Joe Biden is good in this role because he is able to authoritatively just make shit up and no one calls him on it. Sarah Palin was brilliant at this, evidenced by her electric convention speech, for an otherwise flawed ticket in 2008. It looks like Ohio Senator Rob Portman is trying this role on for size starting tomorrow as he heads to Colorado to counter-punch for Romney during the President’s campaigns visit:
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman will be in Colorado on Wednesday to offer counterpoints during President Barack Obama’s campaign visit there, and he will accompany Mitt Romney on a three-city Ohio trip next week that concludes with a rally in his home region of southern Ohio. The Romney campaign said Tuesday that details of the Aug. 14 bus tour in Ohio will be announced later, but a campaign website promoted an evening rally next Tuesday outside the Ross County Courthouse in Chillicothe that would wrap up Romney’s four-state bus trip… At least two other possible contenders, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, are expected to join Romney on the bus tour when it is in their home states. Portman’s office said he will be in central Ohio this weekend to take part in the Pelotonia bicycle ride to benefit cancer research.
Details also will be announced later on Portman’s trip Wednesday to Colorado for the Romney campaign. The president is scheduled to be in four Colorado cities over two days beginning Wednesday. Like Ohio, Colorado is a highly contested state.
