Early Bird Special

Will the Romney campaign name a Veep earlier rather than later?  Reuters asks the question and finds the Romney camp is considering it, at least.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney acknowledged on Tuesday he is considering naming his choice to serve as vice presidential running mate earlier than usual to better compete with President Barack Obama.

As they work from a short list of leading Republicans, Romney and his advisers say they are weighing whether he should announce his choice some weeks earlier than the traditional time of around the Republican National Convention, which is to be held in Tampa in late August.

The reasoning, advisers say, is that two candidates would be able to raise more money and engage Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in battle with polls showing Americans closely divided on whether to pick the Republican challenger or Democratic incumbent in the November 6 election.

But here's the real reason why naming a Veep before the RNC convention will happen, and soon:

Picking the choice early could also serve to guarantee some positive news coverage at a time when Romney is under fire from Obama over whether he should release more financial information about his wealth.

The offshoring thing is really starting to score hits on Team Romney.  They're on the defensive, and a Veep pick now will get them back on offense and shift the news narrative, at least for a while.

The names I keep hearing now are Mike Huckabee, Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Rob Portman, aka The Huckster, Zombie-eyed Granny Starver, and The Most Boring Man On Earth.  My money's on the safe, boring, dull Portman.  Huckabee won't help Romney, and Ryan would hurt him.

We'll see.