The Problem With Romney - But...
There is nothing about this election and the frustration on the Right that would not be solved if Ronald Reagan were here to run again, or if Marco Rubio were only about four years further into his Washington career. There is no Establishment RINO conspiracy led by Mike Murphy to deny the rightful nomination to a True Conservative. There is, rather, the usual selection of flawed human beings and imperfect politicians. Bill Clinton wasn’t any Democrat’s first choice in 1992 either.
I discount Ben Domenech’s weekly post on the state of the race - he has been on record since participating in the Young Guns podcast as 1) never having been wrong in a Republican nomination prediction, and 2) betting this time on “the field” over Romney. If I were in his position, after seeing the three most purportedly appealing “field” alternatives crash and burn under the jeweler’s loupe that is 21st century presidential politics, I’d be trying to push my thumb down harder on the scales as well. The problem is that the readers of Red State are not going to select the next president.
I am not a Romney enthusiast. I recognize the wooden delivery, the politically awkward statements that are perfectly sensible when uttered in a staff meeting devoted to setting a turnaround strategy for a failing business venture, the problem (!) of being successful in a world where The Vacuous Garment has fastened on envy as his basic electoral strategy.
But I also recognize, as do, for example, smart, principled conservatives such as John Hinderaker, Ann Coulter, and Chris Christie, that we have to choose from among the actually available alternatives, not our dreams or wishes. Claire is right- There is No Alternative.
It is also true that points most often cited against Romney - the Massachusetts health care program, and the birth control payment controversy - were actually examples of excellent performance in an impossible situation. “RomneyCare” was the best available alternative to the single payer program that was inevitable had Governor Romney not been able to use persuasion and coalition-building to block it with the most free-market program possible under the circumstances, designed by the most free-market recognized conservative health care experts - Prof. Mark Pauly of Penn and AEI and Edmund Haislmaier of Heritage, all fighting against a legislature 85% controlled by the Democrats who were advised by ObamaCare’s designer Jonathan Gruber of MIT.
And contrary to Newt’s bald-faced lie volunteered to Peter Robinson in his Uncommon Knowledge special interview, the leading Catholic intellectuals lauded Governor Romney for the heroic steps he took, even beyond his veto (which was overridden) trying to defend the conscience exceptions regarding abortion, birth control, and abortifacient drugs. Prof. Mary Ann Glendon of Harvard Law and former US Ambassador to the Holy See says: “At this moment when religious liberty is under attack from many quarters, people of all faiths won’t find a more ardent or effective advocate than Mitt Romney.”
A good executive combines knowledge, judgement, and leadership. By every account, Romney has been an outstanding executive in every endeavor he has taken up. He has doggedly sought out the best and most complete facts available, taken balanced risks, and shown that he understands when to be firm and when to be flexible. He has led both by example and by cheerleading, as when he went to the imminent Staples store opening bearing pizzas and pep talks for the floor employees.
So, what’s the problem? It is the way that the Presidency has evolved and what it has become. To conquer the tasks, you need to be an extrovert with a thick hide. Mr. Romney is absolutely not an extrovert, nor is his hide thick enough or his antenna well enough developed at this point.
When a “normal” person seeks a “normal” job, it involves a two-stage process: 1) Sell yourself to the employer, and then, after being hired, 2) Do the Job.
When seeking the Presidency of the United States, there is an endless campaign, inauguration….. and then another endless campaign broken up with other more traditional executive work. If you do not like or excel at the campaign process, governing will be a problem because a large part of the national governing process is the constant, endless, never-ending sales job. Fred Thompson discovered this in 2008 - realizing that he didn’t even want to dig in for the first campaign.
And as our current president has learned (has he?) the sales job is not about simply making a speech. He has done that endlessly, and no sale. It is about constant interplay, endless back-and-forth, non-stop marketing. The decisions are easy, getting them implemented is extremely difficult. Every word is questioned, every red herring is invoked. If you don’t relish the campaign process as a natural salesperson, you will suffer on the job.
It is obvious that the only real alternative is “Oh, all right, Romney, then” (H/T, Mr. Robinson)- because the other candidates are impossible.
But someone needs to go persuade Mitt that he needs to a) act as though he likes this process, and b) learn to actually like it more, even when Bret Baier asks about immigration, OWS whines about the rich, or Jay Carney talks about taxing the rich.
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Comments :
Jul '11
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
As much as I love to argue with you Duane, I think you are correct.
Aug '10
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Very good post, Duane, which points up many of the challenges/problems with running for POTUS these days. Is it any wonder that so many potential candidates decided to sit it out?
As you state, Romney is clearly not a natural politican and he needs to get better. The extent to which he improves will largely determine whether or not he gets the job. I take hope in the fact that GW Bush wasn't really a natural politican either but still managed to get elected twice!
Dec '10
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Here I go again,
MARCO RUBIO IS NOT TOO YOUNG.
Then someday they may recall we were not too young at all.
Regards,
Jim
Feb '11
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Yeah. Maybe he can buy the whole country pizza after he fails to repeal Obamacare and gives us a VAT.
Sure. The problem is that Romney is a fabulous businessman but a horrific, terrible, awe-inspiringly bad politician.
That matters. I take his inability to convince the republican electorate to vote for him- despite the glaring impossible flaws of the other candidates- as evidence that Romney is also an impossible candidate.
Face it: The United States is falling into a political, economic, and cultural abyss that the Republic may not survive.
Nothing I've seen from Romney makes think he even notices that, let alone has any idea what to do about it.
Jun '11
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
You assert that "the other candidates are impossible." But I don't see any evidence of that in your article.
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Well stated, Duane, and you make a compelling case. Which is the problem! It is becoming tiresome beyond words to have a candidate whose supporters make a more compelling case than the candidate himself seems capable of making. I hear what you're saying, though I'm not positive that all of the others are impossible. But just once, can't we get someone that doesn't put us into cardiac arrest every time he speaks? I grow weary of dreading press conferences.
Oct '10
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Romney's the only one with a chance to get the independent vote.
Oct '10
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Romney was already on his way to winning the hearts and minds of conservatives and tea party voters after the big Florida win... only to throw it all away with 2 careless comments.
May '10
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
I actually don't think that was it, John. The comments were the excuse for the activist base still looking for Reagan to resurrect himself and repeal the 22nd Amendment. Minnesota and Colorado were pure evangelical triumphs, the fruit of the Family Research Council/Focus on the Family endorsement that got Newt so riled up. Once that happened, it was Santorum's turn as ABR; he is now taking his hits as the world looks closely at him the way they did with the others.
And, Christopher, if the Newt, Perry, Cain, and Bachmann collapses don't hit home, nothing anyone says will convince you until they have all dropped out.
Santorum disqualified himself through multiple video interviews over the last 6 years, as we all saw again over the weekend. Only he can rescue Obama completely from the bad economy and $4 gasoline prices. I'm fine with most of his social views; even I know when not to overstress them.
Nov '11
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Who or what will be to blame if Romney is the nominee and loses to Obama? I need to find out now so I can start practicing my sneers.
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Duane,
You have done model work in how to defend Romney -- realistic and reasonable.
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
One minor point, Duane: my record is of never having lost a bet about politics. I have never actually wagered on a Republican nomination before. If I sent a different message on Young Guns, it was my error.
Feb '12
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
You expect Romney to say, "I know I'm not the greatest, but really, come on, just LOOK at the rest of these guys."??
Dec '11
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Point well taken, but as a bona fide Romney supporter, I'm shocked and appalled that the Resume doesn't speak for itself.
Mar '11
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
A good post. It's not that Romney isn't a conservative, he's just astoundingly ineffective at it.
It will be the fault of everyone that didn't jump on the bandwagon at the first opportunity, of course.
Nov '11
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
This worries me too. But at least to some extent, this is less because of his inherent badness as a candidate as because one issue (Romneycare) caused us all to initially write him off and consider him as the candidate of last resort. I don't know whether it indicates clearly his electability in the general.
Also -- his "favorables" are apparently going up in Michigan.
Sep '10
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Well written, Duane. I wish Romney were as eloquent in stating his case. But like Dave Carter and Rob Long, I'm tired of the "high-wire act"--Republican politicians who cannot speak in public without us cringing. It would be nice if someday, we could have someone better. But right now, it seems we don't.
Nov '11
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Not to be obvious, but... all the people who vote for Obama?
I think we should all sign a solemn agreement not to play the blame game... After all, we only get to test one proposition. If Romney loses in Nov., that doesn't prove Santorum would have won. Likewise if Santorum wins in November but doesn't have enough control in Congress to repeal Obamacare, it doesn't prove Gingrich would have done better. And so on.
Oct '10
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Duane Oyen
I actually don't think that was it, John. The comments were the excuse for the activist base still looking for Reagan to resurrect himself and repeal the 22nd Amendment.
the ABR movement gets too much credit for Romney's recent troubles, but Mitt needs to look at himself in the mirror and admit that he fumbled the ball and his florida bounce with his non-conservative view on minimum wage (this was the bigger blunder compared to his out of context "poor" comment).
american voters, especially primary voters, have short memories and short attention spans. just look at the roller coaster poll swings since december. debates and post debate spin matter. this is how newt won SC, and mitt won florida. this is how santorum won MO, CO, MN.
Romney should be prepared to explain his minimum wage comment. If romney wins the arizona debate, he will win michigan.
Nov '11
Re: The Problem With Romney - But...
Leigh
Not to be obvious, but... all the people who vote for Obama?
I think we should all sign a solemn agreement not to play the blame game... After all, we only get to test one proposition. If Romney loses in Nov., that doesn't prove Santorum would have won. Likewise if Santorum wins in November but doesn't have enough control in Congress to repeal Obamacare, it doesn't prove Gingrich would have done better. And so on. · 1 minute ago
I'm with you, but the blame game will be played, I can promise you that. If the conspiracy-theorizing ABRs somehow manage to get Santorum the nomination, we will be blamed if he loses to Obama. Likewise, the know-nothing ABR huggers will be blamed if Romney loses to Obama, because we damaged the candidate or something. I said it before, after watching Newt's ridiculous King of Bain propaganda video, and I'm sure I'll say it again: whatever.