Former Massachusetts Governor Willard Mitt Romney is a man who
has it all. A vast personal fortune, a successful private
career, a stint in public office, a perfect family life, a sharp
mind, a charismatic personality, and, he is very easy on the
eyes. Heck, even his name
has a touch of stardust about it. And now, after his nomination
as President by the Republican Party, the 65-year old Romney is
about to crown his phenomenal career by capturing the highest
office in the land, the office of the President of the United
States of America.
However, it has not been an entirely smooth journey for the
former bishop. Despite his appeal to the moderates and
independents, Gov. Romney faced tremendous resistance from the
GOP conservative base over the last five years.
There were strong concerns over his fundamental political
ideology. His stewardship of the Massachusetts 2006 health care
reform, which many charged was the progenitor of President
Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), threatened to derail
his candidacy earlier on. His critics also contend that his
greatest strength, the ability to build a consensus from
diverging factions, was also his greatest weakness. He appears
to be intent on pleasing everyone, which lends an appearance of
him being indecisive on the issues. These characteristics were
used in devastating fashion in 2007/08 by Gov. Mike Huckabee,
Senator Fred Thompson and Senator John McCain to derail Gov.
Romney’s first campaign for the GOP nomination.
However, perhaps a better way to look at the quarter billion
dollar man is through his own eyes, that of a financial
investor. Mitt hedges his position across a broad portfolio,
which, while preventing the chance of a mega payday, also
drastically reduces the chances of a catastrophic loss. In other
words, he doesn’t believe in putting all of his eggs in a
single basket. Instead, the grandfather of fourteen is intent on
keeping hypothetical baskets of varying sizes to hypothetically
fit as wide a spectrum as possible of the hypothetical egg
demographics.
Cognizant of this perceived vulnerability, Mitt has adopted a
very organized and low-key strategy for the 2011/12 nomination
cycle. He chose to skip all the straw polls and remain in the
shadows of his rivals, only making a handful controlled media
appearances. Gov. Romney clearly remembers how brightly his star
shone in the 2008 race, and how quickly it faded as well. He
revealed his hand only several times early in 2011.
Former advisor to President George W. Bush, and 2008 Republican
nominee John McCain, Mark McKinnon, concurs,
stating, "Romney is playing things very methodically and
deliberatively. I think he understands the physics of this game
very well now and is carefully calibrating his approach to
2012."
As it turned out, Gov. Romney’s strategy ultimately proved to
be a brilliant one. After soaking the year-long criticisms and
more importantly, the limited resources of his challengers, Mitt
flexed his campaign muscle and ran away with the nomination with
startling ease. Along the way, the Detroit-born Bay Stater also
won over the conservative base, and stunningly, the support of
almost all of his nomination rivals.
The Barack Obama juggernaut swept into office in 2008 under the
banner of change and unity, two rallying cries that reinvigorated
the blasé and jaded section of the electorate. He was armed with
a war chest of the likes never seen before, accompanied by an
army of politically outspoken glitterati and aided ultimately, by
a waning George W. Bush, his predecessor.
It would be unfair though to solely credit Obama’s ascension to
the highest office in the land to merely external factors. Obama
is exceptionally intelligent, articulate and possesses an
old-school, hands-on approach to politics that harkens back to
the days of Strom Thurmond, or even, the more contemporary Rudy
Giuliani – albeit with infinitely more panache.
However, as the euphoria of his victory began to steadily die
down, the 51-year old has had to deal with a growing number of
issues that have taken the shine of his presidency. Questions
about his controversial Affordable Care Act, the stagnant
national unemployment rate, his perceived big-government
approach, the Birther accusations (which many felt carried
unpleasant racial undertones), allegations of ties with radical
socialist elements, and more recently, the debt ceiling battle in
the Capitol, have seen his stock plummet.
His supporters, nevertheless, claim that most of the issues that
are weighing him down were inherited from the previous
administration, and Obama is merely cleaning up the mess; two
unpaid wars, the worst economic depression in 80 years, a broken
national health care system, the battered international
reputation of the United States, and a horrific job market crash,
were just some of the issues he had to contend with.
They are quick to highlight his success in hunting down Osama bin
Laden, his job-creation numbers (which have already overtaken the
Bush administration’s eight-year tally), the recovery of the
Detroit automotive industry as a result of his bailout plan, the
withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan and Iraq, the
effective military approach in aiding three successful African
revolution – all proof of President Obama’s effective
policies.
However, the biggest question among his detractors is whether
President Obama is capable of charting his own course and holding
the country to it. His concessionary approach is gradually being
interpreted as a symbol of his indecisiveness and lack of
conviction - which under the present socio-economic conditions
and the Republican-dominated Congress, is threatening to consign
the nation into a rudderless second term of his presidency.
Furthermore, the more liberal section of his support base is
increasingly dismayed by his apparent shift to the center, which
is seen by many as a capitulation in the face of a sustained
conservative onslaught. There are growing calls for him to stand
his ground and to fight for the cause of the people that elected
him.
Debate Transcripts and Videos