Incredibly boring white guy. Vanilla, wonky and unflappable. Bloodless technocrat. Dry as dust.

Those are some of the phrases used recently to describe Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, and in other years, they might disqualify him as a vice presidential candidate. But this year, boring is beautiful.

When comedian Stephen Colbert described a Romney-Portman ticket as “the bland leading the bland,” even the potential veep could not disagree. “I mean, it was a surprise,” Portman told The Washington Post, “but it was fine. To me, it’s not about being exciting.”

Every presidential campaign is shaped by the previous one. President Barack Obama is trying — with only modest success — to duplicate the passion he generated four years ago. And Republicans are desperate to avoid the mistake they made in 2008 by picking Sarah Palin, an inexperienced and ignorant candidate who quickly became a huge liability.

Portman is the quintessential un-Palin, bland and boring, to be sure, but also safe and reliable. He will never claim to see Russia from his house in Cincinnati. More important, he is completely qualified to serve as president, perhaps even more qualified than Mitt Romney. “The guy was truly made for the job,” says Republican strategist Mark McKinnon.