US election 2012: Mitt Romney moves one step closer to the Republican nomination

Exit polls in Michigan showed once again that Mr Romney – the son of a
Republican Michigan governor who was born into privilege and went on to
amass a $250m fortune with Bain Capital – failed to connect with
middle-income earners.

His cause was not helped by a series of gauche remarks that revealed his
personal wealth, such as the day last week when he went to a NASCAR race in
Daytona and admitted he didn’t follow motor-racing – a very blue collar
pursuit – but added “I have some great friends that are NASCAR team owners.”

Such tin-eared statements will continue to damage the Romney candidacy,
undermining his credibility with middle-ground voters even before he’s
reached the start-line for November’s election.

And for a candidate billed as a relative moderate, the protracted contest has
also forced Mr Romney to tack to the right on several policies, such as
immigration and contraception, as he tries to energise the Republican
grassroots.

Although that tactic might win him the Republican nomination, polls this week
suggested it could damage his chances of winning the Presidency, with Romney
now trailing Obama among independent swing voters by 20 points.

Lastly, Michigan showed that Romney, while a solid CEO and a turnaround
master, is not a gifted stage performer.

A series of tepid stump performances – including a tired victory speech in
Michigan last night – has many Republicans openly expressing misgivings over
whether their most ‘electable’ candidate has the ability to take on a
speechmaker of Obama’s abilities.

“We didn’t win by a lot, but we won by enough and that’s all that counts,” was
how Mr Romney chose to characterise his big win.

It was typically weak form of words that could yet sum up a long, grinding run
to the Republican nomination.

Views: 0

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes