Romney's Closing Sale

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Nov. 2, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

        Running against the clock, GOP presidential nominee former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney asked voters in Wisconsin to hold President Barack Obama accountable for his record, passing himself off as the real change agent.  “Look beyond the speeches and the attacks and the ads,” said Romney.  “Words are cheap.  A record is real and earned with effort . . .” urging Midwesterners to change directions and vote for him and his 42 year-old-running mate House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).  Urging voters to look at the record is a dangerous thing for Romney.  After all, the president inherited the worst economy from former President George W. Bush since the Great Depression.  When he took office Jan. 20, 2009, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was about 8,000 compared to today’s 13, 093.  General Motors and Chrysler faced bankruptcy.  Today they’re running on all cylinders.

            When Mitt talks about Obama’s record not measuring up, he’s referring to optimistic campaign promises that could bring down unemployment to 5%.  Romney knows that former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan forecasted it would take years, perhaps a decade, for the economy to fully recover from the 2007-08 financial collapse.  Expecting Barack to put on Superman’s cape or wave a magic wand was unrealistic and unfair.  If Mitt really wants to look at the real record, it’s one of steady economic recovery.  Today’s Labor Department report showed 173,000 jobs added for October, while the unemployment rate ticked up one-tenth-of-one-percent to 7.9%.  That’s far better than the Eurozone’s 11.6% unemployment rate.  Yet, every time the Labor or Commerce Department report good news Mitt and his running mate completely ignore the report or disparage the data.

            Four days before Election Day, Romney pleads with voters to believe him not the Labor or Commerce Departments.  “Change cannot be measured in speeches.  It’s measured in achievements.  Four years ago . . . Obama promised change, but he could not deliver it.  I promise change, and I have a record of achieving it,” said Mitt, referring to his record in his one term as Massachusetts governor.  Mitt knows it’s easy to “measure” the Dow Jones Industrial Average today as compared to Inauguration Day, four years ago:  It’s 5,000 points higher.  It’s also easy to measure U.S. auto sales at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.  Each company is having bumper years compared with four years ago.  Four years ago, home sales were plummeting into one of the worst real estate meltdowns in U.S. history.  Today, existing and new home sales have risen to the highest level in five years.

            Mitt’s team knows how to read the statewide polls in key battleground states.  They’re all reading the same numbers that the Romney campaign is losing virtually every real battleground state, making the electoral math next to impossible.  “You know that if the president is re-elected, he will still be unable to work with the people in Congress,” giving voters another reason to vote for the Romney ticket.  If Barack’s had any problem working with Congress, it’s because of Mitt’s VP pick that has thrown just about every obstacle in Obama’s path.  “The president was right when he said he can’t change Washington from the inside.  In this case, you can take him at his word,” ignoring Ryan’s role as the GOP’s obstructionist-in-chief.  With House members in key committees like Ryan, it’s no wonder Barack faced a brick wall.  Republicans in his next term will have to play ball or face the repercussions.

            Romney’s closing argument involves let’s have a fresh start on Election Day.  He’s hasn’t distinguished himself from the previous Republican administration that left the economy in ruins.  While Mitt plans to make his “closing argument” in the battleground states over the weekend, he hasn’t offered any specifics as to how he intends to create 12 million new jobs, other than cutting taxes.  Unwilling to acknowledge the depth of the recession Obama inherited from Bush, Romney talks to voters as if Barack took a booming economy and trashed it.  Applying more of Reagan or Bush’s Supply Side Economics doesn’t convince voters that Mitt can deliver on his promise of more jobs and eventually a balanced budget.  Hinting about a federal hiring freeze and layoffs, Romney’s real plan involves slashing federal spending, something Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said would harm the economy.

            Mitt’s closing argument involves trusting him to get the job done over the president.  While he talks of his track record as governor of Massachusetts, he was only there four years managing a small budget.  While Mitt would like the election to hinge on the economy, he and his VP pick lack foreign policy experience to navigate what promises to be another treacherous period.  Both have talked of Barack’s “weak” foreign policy, allowing events to get out-of-hand in the Middle East.  Yet Barack ended the Iraq War Dec. 31, 2011.  He now has a plan and timetable for ending the Afghan War and keeping the U.S. out of Syria’s civil war.  Talking tough about Syria and Iran, voters in the battleground states know who’s kept the U.S. out of another foreign war.  When voters walk into the booth Tuesday, they’ll think twice about Mitt’s promises vs. Barack’s proven track record.

 John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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