ohio senator rob portman is the latest object of speculation for an inside track. >> rob portman would help in ohio. very smart and conservative. >> rob portman leaves the save and solid category. >> rob portman, a seasoned though not scintillating washington veteran of congress. >> romney is better served with a portman, somebody not as exciting. >> go boring. put portman on the ticket. >> yes, nothing fires up the base like boring. because romney doesn't want somebody who's going to upstage him and just look at these two together. it's like the blabd leading the bland. (laughter) although i've got to say now that i see them side by side i wonder if portman might have too much charisma. i mean, blue shirt, red tie. those are colors in the visible spectrum. (laughter) maybe romney should go with something blander like a headless joseph a. bank mannequin or a rice cake or a heel of white bread. no, they're all too fascinating. damn it. who can mitt romney find who won't overshadow him? wait! that's it! the perfect ticket! romney/romney shadow 2012. (cheers and applause) and the best par

as far as anyone can possibly be on the limb, i said he'll pick rob portman. >> rob portman is the senatorrom ohio. a state republicans historically must win to win the presidency. here's how one republican state chairman described the appeal of rob portman. according to buzz feed. he was born to be the guy standing next to the guy. he's the type of guy who ran for vice president of his high school student council. go ahead, you first. >> whatever you think about rob portman, i make the case on a couple of levels. one, twice senate confirmed. what does that mean? >> for? >> ustr, u.s. trade representative and budget director. that means his fbi file is known to all who care. which means he will be noncontroversial and will not slow the romney campaign down if they pick rob portman. what is crucial for romney is to pick a vice president that checks several boxes and then he moves on as the alternative to obama. he cannot afford two or three weeks about who his running mate is. which i think he would invite with rubio, christie or any of the more charismatic choices. >> wouldn't they be more

har company rubio says rob portman's your guy. i don't know who that is.y about it. >> romney/portman, does it have a ring to it? >> i think rubio has a better ring. >> why does being romney's vice president now seem like a dare nobody wants to take? >> like in high school. dares go first. of course denying your interest is pretty much pro forma these days. so what is mitt romney looking for? a running mate? many of the names tossed around seem to help him with some of his biggest problems. be it latinos or young voters or his own conservative base. let's take a look at some of the possible veeps with chuck todd and major garrett. gentlemen, let's start with you, sir, chuck. let's start with the one here. >> the only true gentleman on the show. >> i keep hearing this from the right. i don't hear it from mainstream journalists like yourself. they say rubio. i keep hearing it from the right wing guys, they say rubio. where do you stand? how does it look? >> i tell you i think he excites the base. the intellectual conservative base in a way that i think none

i think marco's probably the best. >> jon: rubio passes to portman, portman back to rubio, bush also back to rubio, rubio in the lane he is driving, he is standing flex to the basket and -- >> that is very nice of jeb, i hope he'll say yes if the future president romney asks him. >> i think he would be a fantastic vice president. >> jon: passes back to bush! doesn't anybody want the rock in crunch time. >> if your cell phone rang because mitt romney has your number and said herman, i need your help. >> i would say let's talk. (cheers and applause) >> jon: herman cain, with the alley-oop, slam-dunk. >> it's not a slam-dunk. >> jon: well, you know what i mean. i miss that guy. that's why we recently sent john oliver to visit 4i78 and go inside herman's head. cain. welcome to inside the political curtain. i'm proud to welcome mr. herman cain. (applause) may 21st, 2011, centennial olympic park in atlanta, are you about to announce your candidacy for the president of the united states, a somber humbling moment. let's take a look. >> love y'all! my, my, my! lovia! ah, schuky ducky is the m

i know that senator portman will be arriving shortly. i did want to not keep our first witness waiting. my colleague, senator jim webb, is here to give testimony about our subject today as a brief introductory remark, i'm not going to go into who he is and why he's here because i think most people know who he is. but i do want to say just about why he's here when i came to the senate in 2007, senator webb and i quickly found that we had a place we wanted to work on. and that was contracting and contingencies. his background in the military was a great asset to us as we put together the war contracting commission legislation. and he and i worked on it together and succeeded back in the day that -- before senator warner had retired. senator warner as the ranking member of the armed services committee was a tough sell. i mean, people need to remember the context that this legislation was brought forward in. it was when president bush was still president. and i think there was a fear that this contracting commission was a political exercise.

what's that portman says. portman did the same thing with bush during a prep session.o it was little surprise when gore pulled the same move on governor bush during their final debate. that's "hardball" for you. coming up next, "your business" with j.j. ramberg. economy than the chevy equinox? no, sorry, sir. we don't. oh, well, that's too bad. [ man ] kyle, is that you? [ laughs ] [ man ] still here, kyle. [ male announcer ] visit your local chevy dealer today. right now, very well qualified lessees can get a 2012 equinox ls for around $229 a month. [ male announcer ] want your weeds to hit the road? hit 'em, with roundup extended control. one application kills weeds, and stops new ones for up to four months. roundup extended control. blast of cold feels nice. why don't you use bengay zero degrees? it's the one you store in the freezer. same medicated pain reliever used by physical therapists. that's chilly. [ male announcer ] new bengay zero degrees. freeze and move on.

then i'll turn it over to senator portman. is there anything you want to add on sustainability? how did this power plant get built? who decided a dual fuel $300 million power plant was a good idea in taraq hill? >> i call it kabul power plant. >> i say it's in kabul somewhere. >> exactly. >> in essence, it was an interagency decision to move forward with the power-play. i do want to note that the power plant is working in terms of performing at peak or surge capacity. i know we were talking -- >> yikes. $300 million, that's one expe e expensive generator in an emergency. >> i understand. we have turned it over to what they call dabs, the afghan utility portion of the government. we are looking at how that can be sustainable in the long-term. so it is meeting some needs in the country. you noted that the foreign assistance act requires that we focus on sustainable development and we do do that in u.s. aid programs. it's a key factor for consideration whenever we are developing program or projects. i would say we've had some work to do and we've taken seriously the cwc considerati

. >> so chairman mccaskill, ranking member portman, i welcome this opportunity to discuss the proposed comprehensive contingency contracting reform act of 2012. the impact the legislation would have on the department of defense. i've addressed the department's position on each of the provisions in the proposed bill in my written testimony so i'll not repeat that now. senator mccaskill, you and senator webb also co-sponsored the commission on wartime contracting and i'd like to thank both of you per your leadership on this important topic. it spanned three years and their august 2011 final report recommendations are the basis for many provision thfs this bill. the department maintains a scorecard to manage our progress against all of the commission's recommendations. the government accountability office is currently evaluating the department's implementation of the commission's recommendations and we have been actively providing information on our frog them. the department has been and continues to be focused on proving operational contract support. it has been a journey and we believe

broemd won last time. >> would he have a better chance with portman on the ticket?i don't think so. i am going to help him all i can. i think the key thing is going to be who has the better plan. and when you look at the record, obama administration and what mitt romney is offering, which is a new way to approach the economy and new way to get jobs going, i think he is going to get independent voters, moderate republicans and moderate democrats that voted for president obama to look to him. >> i want to get to some of the proposals in a minute. want to ask about this. every politician has an ego. yours, i have known you a long time, is considerably smaller than others that are around. that's a compliment. i want to ask you if this bothers you. we asked republican voters and independents that leaned republican, whose your choice. condoleezza rice was first. santorum, christie, rubio, ryan, jindal, you were an asterisk, less than one half of 1% want rob portman. has to t you off a bit. >> it is our approach to the economy and i think it is not surprising. condi rice,

, rob portman and rob portman with paul ryan if he wants to throw a long ball, but paul ryan would be much more controversial. i think port man is the overall best fit. >> the portman is clearly, he's the kinds of insider pick. he's very steady, served in the bush administration. he ran a terrific attest, a terrific senate campaign in 2010. he's steady. he wouldn't overshadow romney in a way that rubio or chris christie might. they're all right now practicing the art of misdirection which is tried and true in politics. when asked about it, defer and mention someone else. we all know at least history would suggest, if you're offered this job, you almost always take it. there are very few stories in which someone demurs and backs away. so i think the best way to show interest right now is to show no interest at all. these are conversations that happen in private, not in public. those who are talking about being interested are almost certainly people who will not be seriously considered. >> and to all those who say it's not important that geography doesn't matter that all kinds of other

the problem with what portman -- rob portman is bush.budget negodirector tre notiator, and you don' want washington on your ticket. >> last word. see you next week.

the problem with rob portman is bush. director, trade negotiator, and i don't think you want washington on your tickets. >> last word. see you next week.

rob portman might be that person.omeone you thought would be the republican presidential nominee. he's going goat a serious look too. he did not run a great presidential campaign. there's no question marco rubio is going to get a look. joe scarborough in fact is right, i think that marco rubio would have a hard time passing the smell test of someone who would be president. he's not too young, and i'm not sure he does some things that people might think. mexican-american immigrants and hispanics in western states are not quite sure of that as much. >> let me go with what you've done so far, i completely agree with both you and joe scarborough on marco rubio. tim pawlenty, he's already been vetted for it. one thing about all these candidates is usually there's a negative. and pawlenty to me has the fewest possible negatives on this list. and portman, i think a lot of democrats are hoping for portman, the thing you mentioned about ohio is the scariest part of them. if rob portman is on the ticket, biden gets to spend all

portman. ms. crumbly, who decided a dual-fuel, $300 million power plant was a good idea in turk hill? i know that's not what it's typically called. i don't know if i'm pronouncing it right. >> request i call it the kabul power plant. >> i always say it's in the kabul. >> exactly. it was an interagency decision to move forward with the power plant, and i do want to note that the power plant is working in terms of performing at peak or surge capacity. >> yikes. $300 million for -- that's one expensive generator in an emergency. >> no, i understand. and we have turned it over to what they call daps or the afghan utility portion of the government, so we are looking at how that can be sustainable in the long term. so it is meeting some needs in the country. you noted that the foreign assistance act requires that we focus on sustainable development, and we do do that in usaid programs. it's a key factor for consideration whenever we're developing program or projects. i would say that we've had some work

and i say either portman or mcdonald.gs to the table the same sort of things that portman does, he would be seen as a little bit boring but virginia -- virginia is another swing state. you'd have two white guys that look, ah, not so bad. >> the point is about paul ryan, if you want to send a message that you're serious about the economy, you can do that with paul ryan. >> if you're serious about his agenda, you pick him. the real choice is the one that faced mccain. mccain wanted to go with somebody like tom ridge or joe lieberman. that would have, i think, been a much better choice for mccain. it would have reassured middle of the road voters that he could reach down. there will be a lot of pressure on romney to move right. if he gives into it, he makes the same mistake mccain did. portman, he's not tintlating but he'll reassure middle ground voters. >> he's the safe choice. the one piece of baggage he brings is the bush years you do have the obama campaign. a wild card that i think will be serious in a couple of months

portman. he portrayed gore in mock debates and ohio representative rob portman noticed that in a previous debate he had left his stool and approached a questionr trying to physical intimidation to rattle him, and portman did the same thing in a prep session so it was little surprise when he pulled the same move on governsh when in a debate. that is all for "hardball." up next is your business with j.j. ramberg. ing year after year with our age-specific nutrition. and now, even for dogs 11 and older with new iams senior plus. it helps boost the immune response to that of an adult dog and helps fight signs of aging. [ dog ] i'll never be a bench-warmer. [ female announcer ] new iams senior plus. see the iams difference or your money back. [ dog ] i am an iams dog for life. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

according to a time piece, portman portrayed gore during a mocking piece with bush.at in a previous debate gore had left his stool and approached bill bradley during an answer, seem to go try a little physical intimidation to rattle him, portman says. portman did the same with bush during a prep session, so it was little surprise when gore pulled the same move on governor bush during their final debate. >>> outside groups can now buy access to the campaign's donor list at what cost? up to $26,000. one former staffer says the campaign, quote, overspent to keep up appearances of being a top tier candidate. not quite a winning strategy. up to 26 grand for access to newt's list of donors. that's tonight's big number. >>> up next, the trayvon martin case, after weeks of publicity and protest across the country, can george zimmerman get a fair trial? we'll ask criminal defense attorney mark garagos when we return. you're watching "hardball." ♪ you are my sunshine, my only sunshine ♪ ♪ you make me happy when skies are gray ♪ [ female announcer ] you know exactly what it tak