Hill leaders react to possible Romney 2016 bid

As word reverberated around Washington that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is contemplating a third presidential bid, the reaction from some top Republicans on Capitol Hill was largely lukewarm.

From some, it was downright negative.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky - himself almost certainly a contender for the GOP nomination - told the Daily Signal that it's time for Romney to step aside.

"I think he's had his chance," Paul said, "and I think it's time for some fresh blood."

Paul said Romney had already proven couldn't attract a big enough constituency to win.

Left unsaid was that Paul's father, former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, had the same problem the three times he ran for president. The younger Paul, however, is generally viewed as being able to attract a wider audience.

Others were noncommittal.

"I'll let him make that decision, but there will be a lot of candidates who will be making announcements in the coming months, I expect, and it's a very open process. May the best person win," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said during a press conference with Republican leadership.

On the Senate side, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, told reporters Tuesday he has said to all politicians with presidential ambitions, "the best day they will have will be the day before they announce because after they announce all of you guys will be after them."

"I admire them all for their ambition. The more the merrier, I think," he said.

Two other Republicans who are hawkish on defense issues said that Romney's strength on foreign policy issues during the 2012 election could bolster another run.

"I think he's been vindicated in many ways on some of the things that he said on foreign policy," said Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire. "And he ran last time as a resume of someone who understands how to fix things and get things done. And we obviously, continue to need that here in Washington. So I think he's going to be a strong candidate but you know, I think we're going to have a very vigorous field here as you seen."

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, the 2008 GOP nominee, also said the world that President Obama talked about in 2012 has turned out to be far more dangerous.

"I think that Mitt Romney is a person who is dedicated to serving the country. I think that he is a fine and decent American, I think he has a reservoir of support and I certainly respect any decision that he might make. I'm a great admirer of Mitt Romney," McCain said.

But he also joked that his "illegitimate son" - close friend Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-South Carolina, is also talking about a presidential bid.

"I am strongly encouraging Senator Lindsay Graham," McCain said, also citing foreign policy as a possible rationale. "No one understands the world today the way that Lindsay Graham does, in my view."