Various polls are now saying Willard "the Mitt" Romney is losing ground in the few critical up-for-grab states that are going to decide who will be our next President. Sure, there are numerous things that could turn his campaign around, but as I see it, they are all outside his control.
Brick Obama could have a brain fart during the debates, but I think he's too smart for that. Israel could turn Tehran into a smoking hole, causing them to close the Strait of Hormuz. Gas goes up to $8 a gallon, and Obama could be sending out resumes. Who knows? Unemployment could take a huge leap up, but with holiday hiring now kicking off, that doesn't seem likely.
So where did Romney go wrong? As I've said for months, most Americans don't want an "extreme" candidate from either end of the spectrum. Remember the extremely liberal Democratic Party of the 1980's? The Republican's ultra-conservative Tea Party of today is that far to the right. Many middle-class mature voters are turned off by those types. Why didn't Mitt move towards the center?
Instead he picked lightning rod Paul Ryan for a running mate, IMO a bad mistake. Seniors see him as the guy who's gonna mess with their Medicare and Social Security. Even though Ryan said nothing for them would change, seniors don't believe him. It's sort of like how, when one company buys another, they always say, "No operational changes are expected."
Yeah, right. Six months later divisions have been sold-off, pensions and health care have been overhauled for the worse, and a few more pink slips are passed out every Friday. That's how many seniors see Paul Ryan. And just coincidentally, battle-ground states Ohio and Florida are loaded with seniors.
And the "47%" quip, the "my wife has two Cadillacs", and the "I don't know anything about NASCAR but several of my friends own teams" hasn't exactly made folks want to invite Mitt and Ann over for hot dogs and a friendly game of backyard horse shoes. There's just no "warm fuzzy".
Nope, I don't think Mitt Romney has enough time left to distance himself from the Tea Party "Young Guns" and reinvent himself as a moderate (that he probably really is). I guess we can read the expert's election post mortem three months from now and see if my analysis was on target or not. One thing no one can argue with is this has been a ridiculously expensive, nasty election. Can you imagine the free-for-all in 2016?
S
When he picked Ryan as his VP I knew it was a bad all and yet many "experts" were gushing about it. All it did was move his campaign farther right. It's true that in many places these Tea Party candidates coast to easy wins in primaries but when it comes to general elections find it much tougher.
ReplyDeleteI can just see Obama begging Netanyahoo to STFU about Iran until after the election.
Romney holds everyone who isn't rich like him in contempt. They have no clue what it means to be a regular American. There's no possible way he and his wife can represent regular people and the regular people know it.
ReplyDeleteIt's over? Thank God. Can we please also cancel the debates they cut into my Reality TV!
ReplyDeleteI think it's over as well. I think Romney's biggest problem was that he wanted to show up his old man and win the presidency more than he really wanted to affect change in America. He just doesn't stand for anything. Need proof of this? Watch him flip-flop in the next few weeks by supporting Tod Akin after telling him to get out of the race.
ReplyDeleteHey - I live in Ohio & I have an AARP card so I resemble that remark! (I'm not 50 yet, but my husband is so I rode in on his coat tails - score!).
ReplyDeleteI sure as heck hope you're right. And as one of those liberal Democrats I hope that Obama decides to go crazy & take care of a lot more things I care about (of course that would require a congress that actually DOES something). But I won't hold my breath.
I looks like you just may be right, but you never know he just may pull it out.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of Obama, but a lot of stuff that happened wasn't HIS fault (finanz crises was started before his election and surprised EVERYONE). If Mitt really did get elected, I would SERIOUSLY consider becoming a German citizen (meaning, giving up my US one, which so far I refuse to do). But, are there any alternatives to Romney & Co? I guess the Republicans are stuck with him.....
ReplyDeleteI'm with Bug, except I live in FL. And I can't vote, since I'm still a German citizen.
ReplyDeleteAnd we can hope or dread now (depending on where our views are), but it doesn't matter what the polls say 40 days before the election. It only matters what the voters think on the morning of November 6. The fat lady just took a deep breath.