We touched briefly on Ramesh Ponnuru's weak defense of Mitt Romney for president. Here's an astute follow-up from Michael Brendan Dougherty (bold in the original, italics added by me):
Ponnuru acknowledges a number of Romney's weaknesses: his inconsistency, his support for "Obamacare in one state," and a lingering reticence among Americans to elect a Mormon.Maybe it would help if Romney revealed more humanizing details about himself, like, for example, what kind of pizza does he like? Wait, what? He peels the cheese off? Oh forget it.
But Ponnuru misses Romney's biggest weakness - one that is fatal to his contention that Romney has achieved the prerequisite of being able to become President: Romney is utterly unlikable.
If after five years of pandering to conservatives, a highly disciplined campaign that is firing rhetorical Howitzers at Obama, and a series of debate performances that looks flawless, Romney remains this weak in an uninspiring GOP field, then he has no hope in the general election.
Flip-flops would be a sign of inconsistency in another candidate. In Romney, they seem to indicate a soullessness that makes people physically uncomfortable. When confronted about them directly by a Fox reporter, Romney resembled a malfunctioning robot more than he did a man. And then he compounded his mistake with pathetic complaints afterward. Does anyone think he'll do better against Obama?
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Romney needs to go back in time and become a fiery Tea Party speaker. That would overcome the vibe that he is Prince Charles with a smaller nose and Brokaw-esque diction.
ReplyDeleteI'll have you know my daughter peels the cheese off her pizza, and she is more conservative than Romney ever could be.
ReplyDeleteOkay. I concede that peeling off the cheese in itself is not a disqualifier. How old is your daugher? Maybe she could run.
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