“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.