ASTON, Pa. – Though he insists he hasn’t begun to evaluate vice presidential candidates, Mitt Romney appeared to be holding auditions on Monday as he campaigned here with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Romney brushed aside a question on his choice of a running mate – and ducked taking a position on an immigration bill that Rubio is drafting.
With the tea party darling at his side in this Philadelphia suburb, Romney pointed out that the selection process for a vice presidential candidate is just beginning. “We're looking at various legal resources to help with in that process, accounting staff and so forth to take a look at tax returns and things of that nature,” Romney said during a press conference – his first in more than five weeks.
Rubio himself declined to speak on the topic, instead focusing his remarks on what he can do to propel Romney into the White House. “I look forward to being part of this effort,” he said.
Romney is extremely eager to make inroads among Hispanic voters, as one recent poll showed himtrailing President Obama by a 5-to-1 margin among that demographic. He was asked to describe his position on the Florida senator’s compromise to the Dream Act, but said he was still studying it, even as he commended some of its features.
Rubio has said his proposal — which has not yet been formally introduced — would allow young people who came to the United States with their parents to have access to a nonimmigrant visa that allows them to study. After those studies are complete, they would be allowed them to work legally in the United States. Eventually, Rubio said, they would gain the same status of other nonimmigrant visa-holders and are eligible to apply for residency, and would be eligible for citizenship three to five years after they obtain a green card.
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