LIVING POLITICS
Howard Fineman
Burying Mitt
Romney failed because he ran as something he's not.
Here lieth the campaign of Mitt Romney, victim of the mistaken belief that the only way to succeed in national Republican politics was to turn yourself into something you are not. Or maybe the campaign revealed what his closest friends never imaged him to be. They thought he was a decent classy guy. But maybe he really is a soulless throat-cutter who would do and say anything to win.
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he was a good fellow who didn't know enough about national politics and listened to people who gave him bad, cynical advice.
Sen. John McCain was in a good position before; now it's hard to imagine that he won't wrap up the nomination in the next week or two. His lone remaining serious opponent, Mike Huckabee, has exceeded expectations, but expecting him to be able to unhorse McCain is perhaps expecting too much.
I have covered a lot of presidential campaigns, and I can't think of one that so lost its way-so expensively-as that of the former governor of Massachusetts. A board room and business favorite, a man with a Midas managerial touch, he was widely admired and even beloved. But he was a Republican of an old moderate school-that of his own father-and, like George W. Bush, Romney the Younger decided that he had to jettison all that he was to become something that he was not.
And so it was that this square peg spent perhaps $80 million-including at least $30 million of his own money-trying to pound himself into a round hole. It didn't work. The irony of his failed campaign: if he had just stuck to selling his managerial mettle, he might well have won the nomination, given the way the country's economic anxieties have become voters' number one concern.
Even as conservative radio talk-show hosts reluctantly settled on him as their savior, they were uneasy about it and about his previous record of social moderation and fiscal flexibility. They sold him hard in the last few weeks, but to no avail. Romney won his home state and the states in the West where Mormonism was familiar, but not much else.
The quality of being genuine is hard to convey, and deciding who should be president based solely on that basis can lead to disaster; you need brains and an ability to go with the flow as well. But voters know a phony above all and Romney came off as one from the get-go. Over the last decade he had changed his views in a rightward direction on so many issues to suit what he thought he needed to win the GOP nomination that he ended up standing for nothing but his own ambition.
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Member Comments
Posted By: pricejc @ 03/13/2008 3:48:42 PM
Comment: I'm suprised by the amount of vitriol towards Mitt Romney. I agree that his campaign has not presented an effective public relations persona but nearly everything else about the guy screams that he is a decent and sincere human being. There have not been many recent serious Presidential candidates who display entire fidelity to their family the way Romney does. The idea that Romney would be unfaithful to his wife is laughable yet story after story about infidelity, lying, unfaithfulness on the part of other leaders in our country is simply pushed aside as "irrelevant". As far as I am concerned it is the single most relevant issue. Our country is reaping the rewards of its own collective immorality and it is not pretty. Romney is far from perfect but to demonize a man of his caliber who has stayed by his wife despite her debilitating disease, whose children absolutely adore him and who has worked incredibly hard for his success and often served without pay in governmental and civic positions is preposterous.
Posted By: kimmily05 @ 02/13/2008 6:29:04 PM
Comment: I'm glad he is out of the race...he did run as something he wasn't!
keep religion out of politics it bugs me more than anything to bring up your religion in your political speech not say I'm a atheist but those things should be seperated. GLAD HE's GONE.
Posted By: eddiewhere @ 02/12/2008 3:59:59 AM
Comment: MORMONS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CRITICIZE THEIR LEADERS EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE MISGUiDED.
I noticed you criticized Benson for supporting the JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY. BUT you never criticized him. Benson doctrine is what the MAJORITY of Mormons live by. I would like to see you go to your church and criticize Benson. As mentioned I back my statements up with facts.
There are many reasons Mormons will not come forth even though they know of the corruption in the Mormon church. One is due to their belief in Mormon scripture which they associate with the Mormon church. The leadership has usurped power and authority over this scripture. Thus, the members of the Mormon church think that God expects them to support their misguided leaders. This is much the - rationalization that many Americans make about our government. They all know of the corruption, but rationalize that it is unpatriotic to talk against the government or ungrateful to complain when they enjoy superficial prosperity."
THE LINK BETWEEN BUSH FAMILY AND ROMNEY IS HENRY TAFT BENSON. CO FOUNDER OF THE RUSSEL TRUST aka. SKULLS N BONES SOCIETY.
MITTS MISSION IS OVER. HE was the REINCARNATION OF BUSH but with NO comPasiion. HE WOULD HAVE LEFT MILLIONS WITHOUT HEALTH CARE and his immigration Plan scared half the AMERICAN PoPulation. I HAD A TOUGH TIME FIGURING OUT WHO WAS THE BIGGEST CLOWN ROMNEY OR RUDY. HAND DOWN RUDY. HOWEVER ROMNEY COMES IN A CLOSE SECOND. THIS GUY FLIP FLOPPED ON EVERY MAJOR ISSUE. HE IS A NUT. HE NEVER LIVED IN THE REAL WORLD. HE has no idea what many AMERICANS GO THROUGH. HIS AGENDA WAS TO FEED THE BUSH BACKER's GREED.