What About Romney?

In all of my days actively following politics, never have I seen anything like this past week. Like antibodies attacking a foreign organism, the Republican Party establishment, in a methodical and deliberate manner, acted to destroy the candidacy of Newt Gingrich. From all directions they portrayed him as an unstable nut and a crook. They made the face of conservatism look like Jimmy Carter’s twin brother. The face of 1980’s conservatism was made to look like a liberal shill. They even went out to the cemetery and dug up Bob Dole. I didn’t know he was still living.

I am a Newt Gingrich fan…as the moral voice of the conservative movement. I’m not so sure he would make a good president. Of course in this election, the issue is a good president compared to whom. Many of his contemporaries who are up for re-election and fear a controversial Republican presidential candidate, claim he is off the wall and has some kooky proposals. I truly believe he is just thinking out loud, and articulating possibilities verbally. I do that. We try to reach good ideas be verbalizing all ideas. By the way, verbalizing about the moon in Florida might not play well in Nebraska, but that’s Cape Canaveral on the coast, and there are no more manned flights. Can you say tourism and jobs?

In all of this political pastiche I haven’t learned one thing I didn’t already know about Newt Gingrich. What I have learned is what I didn’t know about Mitt Romney, which is a lot. I know he is a Mormon. I know he was governor of Massachusetts. I thought he was a two term governor, but I found out it one term. I know he passed a universal health care bill, and I actually advised one client to move to Boston so he could get health coverage unavailable to him in Ohio at a reasonable price. I know he saved the Colorado Winter Olympics. I know he is worth a boatload of money. I also know he is personality challenged.

I really hadn’t formed an opinion about Romney other than if you called central casting for a President, they would send Mitt Romney. He looks the part. But to me, he was no different than John McCain or Bob Dole.  All are really nice guys, but as a Presidential candidate…yawn.  As Ann Coulter said, Romney is the generic Republican, the one who can beat Obama.

But what I have learned from the primary is that Romney may have had the best campaign organization in the world, but he was woefully unprepared on the most basic of issues. Fumbling the tax return issue is like having to learn where the line of scrimmage is. Hello…when you run for President you will be asked to release your tax returns…Running For President 101. When you are as rich as Romney in an election where class warfare is going to be THE central issue, you better be able to defend your wealth and how you earned it. His private equity firm saved and created in excess of 100,000 jobs, and yet Romney allowed Gingrich to run roughshod over a few plant closings involving companies on the verge of bankruptcy when Romney’s firm came in. And what difference does it make anyway. As one who wants to be the voice of the Republican Party, he should be ready to defend capitalism and talk about the expanding pie as opposed to Obama’s divvying up a shrinking pie. Never apologize for being successful.

And mostly I was shocked at his mean spiritedness. This is a primary election. They are rough and tumble. But Romney is a Mormon…and I had hoped that he had a moral code that would shine through the primary election falderal and his character would emerge a shining example of what a politician should be. Silly me!!!!! Gingrich had enough legit stuff to be called out on. Romney instead stooped to outright lies and character assasination.  I don’t have the space to list them here. But call me and I will tell you what they were. He should be ashamed.

This primary I have learned nothing new about Gingrich. He will always be my favorite pundit, but I remain ambivalent about him as a presidential candidate. As for Romney…let’s just say I am disappointed. Like I said, in this election the issue is whether the Republican would be a good president compared to what. This year, Obama has set the bar pretty low. That still doesn’t say much for the Republicans, and certainly not much for Mitt Romney.