La meticulosa búsqueda de un Vicepresidente

The New York Times cuenta detalles técnicos del proceso de selección del VP de Romney, que corre a cargo de la mujer que vemos en la imagen con el Gobernador.

Aides to Mitt Romney have pored over video footage of potential running mates, studying hundreds of hours of Sunday show appearances, campaign debates and stump speeches for insight into how they handle unwelcome inquiries, even hecklers.

They have instructed possible No. 2’s to fill out a questionnaire with about 80 detailed and sometimes intrusive questions covering the financial and the personal, including, “Have you ever been unfaithful?”

And they have listened for political intangibles that are subjective but potent, like: is their style of speaking inviting or grating?

(...) For the potential running mates, the vetting process began with a telephone call from Mr. Romney, followed shortly thereafter by another from Beth Myers, a longtime Romney confidante who is overseeing the search. The candidates filled out a form authorizing the release of financial documents and background information. A team of lawyers is responsible for assessing each prospective candidate.

Many hands are involved, but the research is done by separate teams, so that only Ms. Myers and Mr. Romney have access to the full picture at all times.

Mr. Romney has taken a hands-on role. He checks in with Ms. Myers over the phone roughly every other day to discuss his thinking. And the candidate, a Harvard-trained lawyer, reviews some of the background information himself.

At the end of every day, confidential materials (tax returns, investment records and real estate documents) are returned to a secure vault inside the Romney campaign headquarters in Boston.

The campaign’s questionnaire, modeled after the one Mr. Romney filled out in 2008 when he was being considered as a running mate to Mr. McCain, delves deeply into the personal and professional lives of the potential candidate, his or her spouse, any previous spouses and immediate family members.

The initial round of paperwork is followed by interviews with campaign lawyers, some of them in face-to-face sessions.

Aides emphasize that, despite their meticulousness, they are open minded on the selections. Mr. Romney has decided he can deal with a problematic Congressional vote or state policy — something significantly to the left or right of Mr. Romney’s positions, for instance — as long as it occurred sufficiently long ago.

Ms. Myers has sought advice from previous presidential campaigns, including aides to Massachusetts Senator John Kerry’s 2004 race, who warned against picking a candidate with unchecked ambitions. (Mr. Kerry’s selection, John Edwards, made little secret of his designs for the White House.)

Cuenta también que están decidiendo qué tareas asignarán al VP después del anuncio. Y la recaudación de fondos ocupa un lugar importante.

Aides have begun discussing how to deploy Mr. Romney’s running mate on the trail and at fund-raisers. Campaign officials envision having the candidate headline a combination of $30,000-per-couple dinners in big cities and smaller events in second-tier locations, to gauge which proves more lucrative.