'Running With Romney' Series: Ohio Senator Rob Portman
Tonight on Special Report’s ‘Running With Romney’ series, Bret Baier sat down with Senator Rob Portman (R-OH). Despite being described as “bland” by comedian Stephen Colbert, Portman takes the jokes in stride, saying, “I’d like to think I’m a serious legislator and trying to get things done.” He went on to say that in 2008, America elected a president with “sizzle” whose message of bringing people together fell through due to lack of experience and failed policies.
Republican strategist Mike Murphy weighed in on the possibility of a Romney-Portman ticket. “He can govern, he gets along well with Mitt Romney, and he’s from Ohio a very vital state… And he’s somebody the press knows and has vetted
so you don’t get the shock effect.”
Portman was known as the “budget hawk” when he served under the Bush administration. Critics say bringing up those years will not be helpful in the current election cycle. He defended his credentials, saying, “I came in as you know in 2006, 2007 and the budget that I proposed actually was a balanced budget … So the year that I was there, 2007, the deficit was about 1/8 of the deficit today.”
When Baier asked if he’s a religious man, Portman replied, “I was a Presbyterian before I got married, Jane was a Democrat. When we got married, I was a Republican, of course. So it was a pretty good trade for me, Jane became a Republican and I became a Methodist.”
So the question remains, does “sizzle” matter to the Romney campaign? Check out the rest of the segment below:
