Nikki Haley will not be the republican nominee for Vice-President

In light of her well-delivered republican response to President Obama's State of the Union Address this past Tuesday, a number of pundits have begun mentioning South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as a possible contender for the Vice Presidential slot on this year's republican ticket.

Nikki Haley will not be the republican Vice Presidential nominee in 2016.

Now you might think this is because of her Jindalesque handling of her state's economy or serious ethical issues (same link).  You might also think it's because her foot in mouth discussions of her SOTU response with national media in the past few days prove she's not ready for prime time.

Nope.

Nikki Haley will not be the republican Vice Presidential nominee because she has twice been accused of having extramarital affairs (which she strongly denies).

Now before you jump on your high horse, know that as a previous Bill Clinton supporter it would be awfully hypocritical of me to to question Haley's credentials based on rumored sexual affairs.  If I wanted to merely question her credentials, the previous paragraph listing her shortcomings would have sufficed.  I am making the case as to why the republican Presidential nominee will not choose Gov. Haley--for one, I am certain that there are powerful people in the Democratic Party who wake up nights in a cold sweat imagining the colossal damage that would have been done to the Democratic Party had John Edwards won a primary or two in 2008 only to have his extramarital affair and love child later come to light.  No one is going to take the chance that the alleged rumors are true.  Second, it's become obvious that should Hillary Clinton win the nomination (no guarantee) part of the republican playbook to mute the war on women charges against republicans is to attack the less than discrete sexual habits of her husband.  This becomes exponentially harder with Haley on the ticket and the possibility that she has a checkered sexual past as well.  Finally, the media scrutiny of a governor's election in South Carolina is one whole hell of a lot less lethal than that of a national media scrutiny of a Vice Presidential nominee.  Chances are if there is anything there, it will be found.  Again, in an uphill battle, no republican nominee wants to take a chance on that.

In fairness to Haley (and it's not often you'll hear me say that regarding a republican), neither of the two men alleging to have had relations with her have shown a shred of proof, and neither of them is what I would consider a man of integrity.  They both had something to gain (one was facing domestic violence charges and the other a DUI).  And I have to admit to feeling sorry for Gov. Haley--allegations such as these are easy for others to make and hard for her to live down, and from what I've read, neither passes the smell test.

But fair or not, it's hard to imagine any republican candidate willing to gamble their political fortune on the veracity of the claims against her.

Peace,
emaycee