Romney Desperate for Votes Before Tuesday

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Nov. 4, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

        With the clock running out, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney can only look back and wonder what he could have done differently.  When he picked House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) Aug. 12 three weeks before the Republican National Convention, there was a strange déjà vu to the 2008 presidential race.  Back then, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) thought he pulled off a genius pick with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.  Instead of moving toward the middle, McCain pivoted toward his Party’s extreme right wing.  Romney, considered by most a moderate, did exactly the same thing picking Ryan.  Still wet behind the ears, 42-year-old Ryan proved almost instantly his naivety to national politics, attacking Medicare and Social Security.  Before the GOP could muzzle the ever-zealous Ryan, the damage had been done to Romney’s campaign.

            Romney now finds himself scrambling for votes in solidly Obama-territory  Pennsylvania.  With polls in key battleground states now in Obama’s camp, Romney’s run out of places for votes.  Recent endorsements by Republicans or Independents like former Secretary of State Colin L. Power and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg haven’t helped matters.  While holding his own in presidential debates, Romney’s switched too many of his positions, especially on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Before he opposed Barack’s timetable ending the Iraq War.  Now he’s OK with it.  He promised to repeal Obamacare but now wants to implement his own national health care plan like he did while governor of Massachusetts.  Mitt wanted tougher border enforcement but now wants comprehensive immigration reform.  He talked tough on Syria and Iran but now takes Obama’s position.

            Bloomberg and Powell cited Romney’s flip-flopping for why they support Obama.  Making the rounds on Sunday’s political talk shows, Mitt’s political director Rich Beeson predicted Romney would have over 300 electoral votes Nov. 6.  None of the polls or reputable forecasting groups concur:  They predict Obama will have about 306 electoral votes on Election Day, more than enough to win a second term.  Mitt’s made many promises during the campaign but most recently 12 million new private sector jobs.  He doesn’t say how he’d get there other than cutting taxes.  “We’re Americans.  We can do anything,” Mitt said in Des Moines, Iowa.  “The only thing that stands between us and some of the best years we can imagine is a lack of leadership—and that’s why we have elections,” failing to mention Friday’s Labor Department report that showed the nation adding another 171,000 jobs.

            Voters have been confused over Mitt blaming Obama for the sluggish economy, ignoring any real economic data that show improvement.  His statement that Chrysler was shipping jobs to China didn’t fit autoworkers experience in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa now back to work.  When the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales were up nearly 10% from 2011, Romney and Ryan totally ignored the news.  Romney’s path to victory was only possible bashing Obama’s economy.  Any good news belied their campaign speeches that the country desperately needed new leadership.  Midwesterners simply couldn’t believe Mitt when the Labor and Commerce Departments were telling them otherwise.  With consumer confidence at five-year highs and with consumer spending helping propel U.S. GDP over 2%, Romney’s message fell flat.

            Romney talks of bipartisanship but Senate Democrats, who are now poised to add to their majority Nov. 6, would never pass his right wing agenda.  “I know I look a little bit older, but I’ve got a lot of fight left in me,” said Barack in Concord, N.H.  “We have come too far to turn back now.  We have come too far to let our hearts grow faint.  It’s time to keep pushing forward,” urging the Democratic base to turn out on Election Day.  With the national memory short, voters don’t recall the dark days only four years ago when banks ran out of cash, the real estate market was in freefall and when wars raged in Iraq and Afghanistan.  While Friday’s Labor Department report wasn’t perfect, it was better than the 800,000 jobs lost a month during the waning days of the Bush Administration.  Romney could never explain how his economic policies differed from former President George W. Bush.

            When the dust settled four years ago and Obama became president, the Republican Party was in shambles.  No one could figure out what direction to take.  Instead of following the advice of Party elders like former President George H.W. Bush, the Party once again tilted toward the extreme right wing.  If only Mitt could have been himself or picked someone with moderate credentials.  Whether that would have been enough to give Obama a run for his money is anyone’s guess.  Scrambling for votes in Pennsylvania is an hour late and a dollar short for the 65-year-old former Massachusetts governor whose own state health care plan became a model for the Obama administration.  If there’s any lesson for the GOP, it’s about rediscovering the forgotten middle ground.  No Party can hope to govern again when it panders to voters in only upper income brackets.

 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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