Fortuño for VP?

As a student at Georgetown, Mr. Fortuño subscribed to the conservative magazine “National Review.” In 1980, he was so inspired by Ronald Reagan’s message that he volunteered to stuff envelopes for the Gipper’s presidential run. Twenty-five years later, he returned to Washington as a Republican representing Puerto Rico in Congress…

Though there’s no constitutional prohibition against Mr. Fortuño’s serving as U.S. president or vice president—Puerto Ricans have been American citizens since 1971—perhaps the biggest issue is simply that the governor is not well known here. In our media-driven age, that means he would likely face a ferocious public vetting like the one directed at Sarah Palin when she was announced as John McCain’s running mate. In other words, some of the same things that are exciting about a Fortuño VP nomination could make it a distraction.

Then again, the payoff is potentially much higher than the risks. It is no dismissal of Marco Rubio (who has said he’s not interested in the VP slot) to observe that, as a Puerto Rican, Mr. Fortuño might enjoy greater appeal among the broad Latino community than a candidate from a traditional GOP constituency such as Cuban-Americans. In short, he might inspire a critical and fast-growing demographic to give the Republican Party another look.