L A Times ^ | May 16, 2012 | Paul West
Far less attention will get paid to the vital, somewhat shadowy, process of protecting Romney from choosing someone who cannot withstand the white-hot scrutiny of a presidential campaign. A longtime Republican insider who’s been a central figure in vetting numerous VP candidates has just written an eye-opening description in the Wall Street Journal of the process Romney is likely to follow.
“They will be asked for their agreement to join him on the GOP ticket if chosen, and in the meantime, to submit to a most intrusive and far-reaching vetting by lawyers and advisors working for the campaign,” writes A.B. Culvahouse, a lawyer in the Washington office of Los Angeles-based O’Melveny & Myers. “No other candidate, not even the presidential nominee himself, is subjected to the same scrutiny.”
“For the ‘vettees,’ the process can appear ad hoc, opaque and at times capricious [and] without precedent in their political experience,” he added.
Already, trusted Romney aides have probably embarked on the first phase: a secret investigation, using “public databases, media archives, political blogs and other sources,” to determine whether a potential pick is qualified for the short list.
Those who make the initial cut must turn over “tax returns, medical histories, financial statements, court records, and anything else labeled ‘private and confidential,’ while also answering the most probing questions about themselves, their spouses, their children and their extended family — questions I would not dream of posing in any other context,” said Culvahouse, who served as White House counsel under President Reagan.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
