The only surprise about Mitt will be his VP pick. I think it will be

[CK_John]

John Glover Roberts of Indiana.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Sure, it will.

Mitt picks John Roberts as his running mate sometime in the summer of 2016, while Obama is still president, giving Obama the opportunity to pick a Supreme Court justice before his term is over. Yeah, that's gonna happen.

I can't decide whether to or

[CK_John]

2. Obama will never get anyone confirmed by the Senate no matter how many empty

seats come up on the Supreme Court.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I disagree. But, more importantly,

do you seriously think a Supreme Court chief justice would give up a lifetime appointment to one of the most powerful jobs in the country in order to be the running mate for a guy who (a) probably will lose, and (b) even if he won, the job of vice-president would last for a mere four years, eight if they're lucky. And, a vice president is only as important as the president allows him or her to be; the job has no actual power other than to break a tie in the Senate. No sane Supreme Court justice would give that job up to be anybody's running mate. Roberts may be a wingnut but he's neither crazy nor stupid.

The whole idea is ridiculous and it won't happen.

[CK_John]

4. First off Roberts would not have to quit until he takes office. Second Roberts wants

to move on, lifetime jobs are seen as a ball and chain to the GOP. Three at Mitt's age Roberts would be playing the odds.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Yes, he would have to quit.

He can't run for office while still being a sitting Justice; it's a blatant conflict of interest.

An open campaign by a sitting Justice today would be virtually impossible because Rule 4.5(A) of Canon 4 of the American Bar Association’s Model Code of Judicial Conduct requires a judge to resign upon becoming a candidate for non-judicial office. Similarly, it would be almost impossible for any Justice today to conduct a covert campaign for the presidency. Such campaigns were possible until the middle of the twentieth century because most delegates until then were selected by party organizations, permitting Justices such as McLean, Chase, Miller and Field to quietly line up support among delegates without attracting public attention. Today, of course, the presidential primary system virtually precludes covert candidacies. Although a splintered convention could nominate someone who had not run in the primaries, this is unlikely. Not since 1952 has any major party needed more than one ballot to nominate a candidate. Even if a convention became deadlocked, it is unlikely that it would turn to anyone who had not run in the primaries, which confer popular legitimacy on candidates.

http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/04/legal-scholarship-highlight-presidential-ambitions-of-supreme-court-justices/

I also do not believe Roberts would want to "move on"; he's in the best possible position already, and can hold it for the rest of his life. He is just as powerful as the president and he doesn't have to answer to anybody.

I think your post is performance art.

[CK_John]

6. There is no constitutional restriction on him keeping office he can only be impeached.

Expressing my opinion using a keyboard is not a performance.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. The ABA Code of Judicial Conduct

prohibits a sitting judge from running for a nonjudicial office.

[CK_John]

9. Does not trump impeachment.

[tkmorris]

7. It's not the Leaning tower of Pizza dude

Seriously, where do you come up with this stuff?

[CK_John]

10. That is way too complex a question for me.

[jberryhill]

11. With your mad skills of prognostication, you should hire out to Bill Kristol

I predict that Mitt will instead nominate Rafalca the dancing horse

[Gothmog]

12. Jeb really add nothing to the Romney ticket and I do not believe that Jeb is trying to be VP

I know that current speculation is that Jeb will be the GOP vp and I do not think that Jeb will agree to this concept without a fight. Jeb is not that young and this is one of the last cycles where his age will not be an issue. A Romney/Bush ticket has no real synergy but has a lot of drawbacks for the social conservatives and the religious base.

This will be a fun nomination fight to watch