Bobby Jindal, Rob Portman and Tim Pawlenty are all considered low-drama options. | AP Photos Veepstakes: The fine line between safe and boring

Bet you didn’t know that Rob Portman does an impressive imitation of a chicken and kayaked the entire 1900-mile length of the Rio Grande River.

Now does that sound like a boring guy?


The senator from Ohio is believed to a top contender to be Mitt Romney’s running mate yet the poor fellow has been battling the persistent rap that he’s… well… way too dull for the ticket. Stephen Colbert helped channel this sentiment by calling a potential Romney-Portman union “the bland leading the bland.”

( See also: POLITICO's Veep Watch)

But as the shrouded vice-presidential selection comes down to the wire — and amid some signs that the choice could come sooner rather than later — the court of Republican opinion seems to be swinging back toward the notion that a little bit boring may be the right play in a close election in which the challenger can’t afford any mistakes or unscripted drama.

The politics of boring can be quite delicate, however. The problem for Portman and other charisma-challenged pols on Romney’s presumed short list, such as former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, is that a 2012 veep hopeful should present as solid, smart and noncontroversial — but not so unexciting that comedians smell blood or that activists howl that Romney is again being too cautious.

This is why friends of Portman, for example, make sure you know there’s a real character lurking somewhere beneath the wonk. “It drives me crazy when people say he’s boring. Where in the world do they get that from?” said former New York congressman Rick Lazio, who shared a house with Portman in Washington. “If you define exciting as a celebrity who invites controversy — he’s not that guy. But he’s an interesting and fun-loving guy.”

Still — despite the Matt Drudge-inspired boomlet about putting the decidedly-not-dull concert pianist, figure skating, fashion icon Condoleezza Rice on the ticket — party wise, men and women feel this is a year when the party should pick a tortoise and not a hare.

( PHOTOS: Veepstakes speculation: A guide)

“Boring is the most logical choice for Romney,” said Republican strategist John Weaver. “Given the way the base so hates this president, they are going to be motivated regardless of who the vice president nominee is. So it makes more sense for him to go with [the] safer choice.”

“Just because someone seems interesting or flashy, that doesn’t qualify them to be vice president,” said Terry Holt, a Republican presidential campaign veteran and strategist. “It’s common for activists to try to and reach for the brass ring, to hope for someone who will somehow end up being the silver bullet to victory. Ultimately, for Romney it’s his leadership attributes that will determine whether or not people vote for him — not who he picks for a running mate.”

Romney is expected to make his vice presidential announcement before the Aug. 27 start of the GOP convention in Tampa — which is not a moment too soon for exasperated Republicans desperate to direct the national conversation away from Romney’s corporate record at Bain Capital.

Angry grass-roots activists have for months been pushing fiery conservatives and show horses on the staid Romney. They clearly have a crush on inexperienced Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. They have embraced the fury and combativeness of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Rice has her backers, despite her views on abortion and her ties to the Bush administration. And they’re taken with the tea party spunk of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan. Of course, what all of these contenders have in common is that they project more pluck than Romney himself.

In recent weeks, though, the less colorful contenders have made a comeback. Among them: Pawlenty — a woeful candidate in his own race for president — has proven to be an energetic surrogate for Romney and he did not grow up well-to-do. Jindal — not the most compelling speaker — has an interesting ethnic narrative to tell as the son of Indian immigrants. And Portman, whom some Republicans feared would come across as another rich white guy, has proved to be the Forrest Gump of the campaign: He’s everywhere — and he could help in the fierce electoral battle for his home state of Ohio.

One of the hardest and loneliest decisions a politician will ever make is selecting his running mate. Everyone has an opinion about it and doesn’t hesitate to express it — from the corner dry cleaner to the droves of political operatives currently engaging in an intense behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign.

While countless complex factors go into the decision — geography, personal chemistry, skeletons in the closet, to name a few — for many voters and activists, it boils down to two factors: exciting and risky versus safe but possibly boring. The choice seems all the more pronounced this year since Romney himself is widely viewed as uninspiring.

“You have heart picks and head picks,” said another Republican strategist who asked for anonymity in discussing personalities. “Someone like Marco Rubio is a heart pick. He may electrify and energize the Republican Party because he’s young and Latino — but do people think he’s ready to become president? No.”

It’s easy to forget that one of the initially disappointing selections of the past 30 years was Bill Clinton’s 1992 pick of Al Gore, who was viewed by many in the party as too stiff to create excitement — and too Southern to bring diversity to the ticket. But the choice ended up being inspired in Clinton’s intended goal — to demonstrate a ticket that represented a generation shift. (Though Gore struggled for years with the question of finding the sweet spot between steady competence and being perceived as dull as dishwater.)

Conversely, one of the most exciting choices for Republicans in recent years was Sarah Palin, whose conservative credentials and oratorical skills electrified John McCain’s convention. But within weeks, the choice proved to be a disaster when it became apparent she was not ready for the klieg lights of a national campaign. In contrast, Barack Obama brought plenty of his own excitement to the 2008 campaign so his choice of veteran senator and foreign policy expert Joe Biden as his running mate was a safe counterpoint to Obama’s youth and relative inexperience.

“At a certain point in the campaign, it becomes less about ideology and more about winning,” said David Lewis, a professor and expert on presidential campaigns at Vanderbilt University. “There’s been such ambivalence about Romney that the party activists have been looking for someone who believes what they believe. The question becomes how much they want to win.”

And the truth is that none of these guys are as boring as they are made out to be. The sleeper in this group just may be Portman, whose challenge is that the general public — and many politicos — see only one side of him: the well-regarded wonk.

“Everyone believes he is capable of being president and he won’t make a mistake,” said John Brabender, senior strategist of Rick Santorum’s presidential effort. “The other thing that he has going for him is that no Republican has ever been elected president without winning Ohio.” And while it’s unclear that Portman could deliver Ohio, “if he can just bring 1 percentage point of support to Romney in Ohio, that could tip the balance in this election,” Brabender added.

A former congressman, U.S. trade representative and Office of Management and Budget director for George W. Bush, Portman speaks fluent Spanish, goes on 100-mile bike rides with neighbors, has canoed and kayaked all over the world and proposed to his wife by burying an engagement ring inside a carrot cake he baked himself. Keeping things interesting, for Christmas he bought his wife a chicken coop and four chickens, each of which lays one egg a day.

His friends and family also say he has a wicked sense of humor. As a joke, he once left his daughter speechless by hanging a large oil portrait of himself in her bedroom right before she returned from camp. He also imitates many birds as well as people. Dick Cheney was a longtime favorite.

“Anyone who says Rob is boring clearly hasn’t spent any time with him,” said Jane Portman, his wife of 26 years. “He’s not a fire-breather. He’s smart and he’s funny and he’s a people person.”

His mother and her aunt fixed them up on a blind date in 1983, when Jane was visiting Cincinnati. “He talked so much, I couldn’t get a word in edgewise,” Jane said. With no cell phones or email, they kept connected with letters and visits for a few years. Part of the time they dated, she worked for a Democrat — then-Rep. Tom Daschle. She said in the interview that she told her future husband that she’d switch parties if he’d agree to become a Methodist.

Lazio said that for Portman’s 50th birthday, he brought 15 of his friends together at the ranch for a week of hiking, fishing, kayaking and every other imaginable outdoor activity.

And then there’s the chicken coop. “I’ve just always been a fan of chickens and wanted a chicken coop,” Jane Portman explained. “So Rob got a small one and assembled it. It was very exciting. “