Time to Thin the Herd
Newt Bonaparte graced us all with his asses-ment of the field of Republican hopefuls by declaring them to all be a bunch of "pygmies". Thanks, Mr. B. Would that they could all be so tall in wisdom and rotund in tact as the grandmaster of pygmydom himself. I suppose it is big of you to sit it out until it looks like Repubs are flailing for a leader and then insert yourself again as the conquering hero. Get your pointy hat out of the closet and start dusting it off, I suppose. Like, what the Repubs really need is a guy who can chase those pesky "independents" clean out of the Grand Ol' Party tent. Yeah.
So anyway, sure, I agree these debates are rather ridiculous. Stand up, smile, catch a few sound bite opportunity fish thrown your way by a guy you really can't stand. At some point, you just gotta figure the numbers aren't swinging your way.
But where is that point? Cut too soon, and you might miss the old front runner's campaign ruination. Cut too late, and you look like someone desperate for one last gasp at the gold ring. The real problem with hanging in too long is that you're siphoning must needed cash from the availability pool. The real problem with cutting too soon, is that you might've been able to cash in on some good opportunities... like taking the lead in numerous key polls.
When I first heard Romney was looking to make a go of it, I thought, "hey, cool, a righty Mormon from a lefty state. Might be fun." But I didn't give him a whole lotta confidence. I mean, come on, he's a Mormon. A good friend pointed out that to win in the east, you've got to compromise a few values. Poll numbers weren't looking all that great, anyway. Wrote him off.
I think, though, that Romney played this one smart. Needed name recognition, needed to overcome the Mormon thing. An early start was the only way to do it. Put the Mormon issue out there, let folks chew on it a bit, bait Sharpton to comment on it, and people realize how stupid the whole issue really is. That's out of the way. Focus on the early states for the name recognition. Do well enough there, and you'll get noticed the rest of the way.
This is a guy who has earned his millions. This is a guy who has turned many lemon into a nice refreshing summertime beverage. This is a guy who knows how to get people of influence to do things. I'm thinkin'... give this guy a chance, see what he can do.
For the rest of these guys, 1.2% is not gonna change all that much, especially with no money behind it. It's getting to be about time to start facing reality, and start thinking about climbing behind a champion.
4 comments:
But can Romney win in the South? Does he represent "values" enough to influence Average Joe to vote against his percieved best interest?
No doubt, he's a great politician, but with the electoral college as close as it is, I don't know if the best thing to do is give Southerners a choice between two Yankees.
No, Newt's not the guy, but he's right. The Republicans need a Hero. They need somebody to excite the party again. Romney's great, but this is not his time. Or Guliani's. I don't know that they can do it. Not now.
Maybe a plain-speaking good ol Southern boy from Tennessee might be up to the task?
Not sure what you mean by "getting people to vote against their own best interest", but yes, I think Rom could win in the South. I think almost any Republican could win in the South. I base my evaluation of Romney's potential, in part, on the map linked to in a previous post. While it might be true that Fred could make a stronger showing in the South, all one really needs is 51% or better of generally more educated civic-minded citizens who care enough to vote. Rom could get that. Once that mission is accomplished, he can still command a stronger presence in the NE states, where, unfortunately, a Senator from TN might have a more difficult time snatching one or two from the jaws of evile.
I am anxious to see how Fred would play out across the national stage. I don't dislike the guy, I just haven't formed an opinion of him yet.
Southerners also tend to me more libertarian than conservative. I don't see either of the Democratic front runners making much of an appeal to y'all.
By "best interest" I mean the pie-in-the-sky promises of free health care, a higher minimum wage, and more taxes on the rich. Republicans make no such promises. Does Romney represent "values" enough to make Joe turn down the Democratic snake oil and vote for what Joe believes is "right"? I don't know...
Yea, Democrats have no chance in places like South Carolina, I can tell you that right now. But other states don't hate Democrats like those boys do. Swing states could be a problem. I don't know that running a Yankee is the best thing to do.
I concede that a Yankee would do better up north.
And to be honest, my only problem with Romney is that he's a Yankee. I know he can't help that but still. So my analysis is probably not as logical as it could be.
Post a Comment