SLC Olympics Chief Could be U.S. Vice President

Mitt Romney stopped in Atlanta in 2007 to promote his own presidential campaign. (ATR)(ATR) Former Salt Lake City Olympics chief Mitt Romney is said to be at the top of the list to serve as vice president on the Republican ticket with presidential nominee John McCain.

Romney's status is the stuff of the day's political blogs in the U.S., without confirmation from the McCain campaign.

Romney made his own bid for the Republican presidential nomination and beat McCain by nine points in the Michigan presidential primary in January. Michigan is Romney's birthplace and is considered a key state in the November national election.

His experience as president of the Salt Lake City Olympics and the turnaround he performed on the organizing committee was frequently mentioned in his campaign advertisements.

For the Chicago 2016 Olympics bid, the possibility of Romney serving as vice president could be a plus, if McCain hands Romney the Olympics portfolio.

It is notable that the two men exchanged words in the lead-up to the 2002 Games.John McCain and Mitt Romney debated each other during presidential primaries. (Getty Images)McCain, a U.S. senator, sought to limit the amount of federal assistance heading to Utah for the Olympics. As vice president, Romney might be able to soften the anti-Olympic spending image that McCain still carries. McCain has said he supports the Olympics coming to Chicago.

Chicago 2016 – which must stay neutral in all of this – is believed to be keen on the expected Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, as he is from Chicago. Last month Obama appeared for the first time at a major event in Chicago for the bid.

Written by Ed Hula

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