“Not ready for prime time”
That was the response of an unnamed former aide to Senator McCain to Governor Romney’s botched reaction to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. Romney would have done better to crib from the tweet of the new prime minister of Libya, @MustafaAG:
I condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest possible terms. This is an attack on America, Libya and free people everywhere.
The question is not whether Romney is now ready to be commander-in-chief, but whether he is capable of getting ready. I don’t see much evidence of that. His insensitivities are legion: the denigration of Great Britain’s preparations for the Olympics, his attributing lack of success to Palestinian culture, his telling poor students they should borrow money from their parents to start a business, his mention of a possible need to sell stock to meet financial obligations when he was a student, his failure to mention U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan during his convention speech, his touting of the successful Salt Lake City Olympics without ever mentioning the Federal funding that helped him save the day. Those are just the items I remember off the top of my head. This is a guy who simply does not have the experience needed to empathize with others and understand how others will view him.
This should not be surprising. Romney has lived in a wealthy and protected bubble all his life. He really could borrow lots of money from his father, unlike many Americans. He has never lacked resources. Even as a young missionary in Paris, he lived well and was regarded as a candidate for president. He has not much needed the good opinion of others. He cultivates it by switching his positions to suit the audience, tying himself in knots over whether he does or does not support Obamacare, for example.
I wouldn’t be the first to suggest that Romney has already flubbed the 3 am phone call test. But it is much worse than that. He fails the breakfast, lunch and dinner tests as well. The pundits like to suggest that President Obama is more “likable,” as if that is a small thing. It is not. If Americans can’t picture themselves enjoying a beer with Romney and don’t believe he understands their problems, how can they elect him?
The Romney campaign seems to have wound itself up to challenge Obama on everything. They are pretty close to challenging him effectively on nothing. I had a debate last night on whether he was the Michael Dukakis or the John Kerry of the Republican party. That is not winning company to find yourself in.
Of course the election isn’t tomorrow, and things could change. So I’ll reserve final judgment and stick for now with “not ready for prime time,” yet.
Share this, I'll really appreciate it:
2 thoughts on ““Not ready for prime time””
Comments are closed.
RSS - Posts
I find the handwringing over Romney’s response ironic in light of the failed policies/management/intelligence that actually led up to the events that occurred.
Mike Dukakis was an honest and excellent governor. After he lost the Presidential election, he returned to Mass. and raised taxes in order to allow the man replacing him – a Republican – not to start off with a politically impossible move. (Romney, in the same state – hard to say what kind of governor he was, he started running for President by mocking Massachusetts after only a year or so in office.) Back to Dukakis: When the Australian PM worriedly asked Bush I during the election whether U.S. foreign policy would really fall apart if he were elected, the honorable Bush I reportedly told him not to worry: “He’s solid.” Kerry allowed himself to be Swift-boated, true, but it was the first time the technique was used, and assuming people would see it for what it was, he ignored the attacks for too long. Both men would have made better presidents than the man they lost to.
Can you say anything similar about Romney? It’s not just photo ops and untruthful assertions in his case. For all his money, the guy just has no class.
[Yes, Mr. Galucci, the nick means I’m from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.]