Mitt Romney and a cast of vice presidential hopefuls will be spending the weekend together at the Chateaux in Park City, Utah. Romney, the campaign’s top donors and possible running mates will be participating in panel discussion and meetings, according to details from the event invitation for the “Romney Victory Founding Members Retreat” republished by The Daily Caller.
While all the big names on the invite list are intriguing to ponder as Romney’s potential VP, the absence of Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s name is generating the most buzz. Earlier this week news that Rubio is not being vetted as a running mate made national headlines. Later the same day Romney broke radio silence and spoke publicly about his vice president search in detail for the first time. Romney stated firmly that Rubio is under consideration as a running mate. Rubio was already scheduled on a book tour for his new release, which could possibly be the reason he is noticeably absent from the Romney campaign huddle this weekend.
According to the Romney weekend retreat details published by the Daily Caller, “special guests” noted on the invitation include Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, South Dakota Sen. John Thune and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. All of the heavy hitters have been highly touted as possible Romney vice presidential contenders by political pundits.
A media panel scheduled during the retreat will includes Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes from the Weekly Standard, Karl Rove, Mary Matalin and moderator Ben Ginsberg. Speakers during the Romney campaign retreat include a plethora of current and former Republican lawmakers. Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone and Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman will offer a perspective from the business community during the Romney retreat panel discussions. A “Women for Romney Victory Tea” hosted by Ann Romney and former Olympic figure skater Dorothy Hamill will take place on Saturday afternoon, ABC News reports.
