Mitt - Too Little Too Late

I was surprised yesterday when I heard that Mitt Romney was going to give a speech on the state of the Republican party. The fact that he is the titular head of the party having been the most recent presidential nominee, he's been pretty much out of the spotlight.

I wondered how hard he could be on Trump since Trump endorsed him in his bid.  Well, that didn't take long to answer.  It is open season on every person past, present and future.  It seems more bloody this year as the Republican establishment tries to find a way to oust Trump.  Needless to say they're botching it but good.

There he stood, still with the movie star looks and beautifully tanned. His voice was firm with conviction.  He sliced and diced Mr. Trump to a fare-thee-well and it rang with truth. I could find no argument with anything he said.  If you haven't heard it here's the transcript.

I shouldn't have been but never-the-less was surprised at how badly it was received by the pundits.  He's old news.  He's the loser, not Trump.  He's the epitome of the "establishment".  Perhaps so and I have lots of ill feelings toward said establishment myself.  One thing that can't be denied, however, put side by side with Trump, who would you rather have facing the world?  Without question I would choose Romney.

Trump took on Romney's remarks during a rally in Portland, Maine.  I watched briefly then went on with my morning chores.  I couldn't listen to any more self aggrandizement in rebuttal.

Romney had an interesting ploy though.  He suggested that people vote for who ever is ranked highest in the polls where it is someone other than Trump.  For instance Kasich in Ohio, Rubio in Florida, Cruz has already won Texas.  Should any of them actually win that would give all the delegates to them thus depriving Trump of the numbers needed.

Point being, after the first vote at the convention delegates are released to vote for whom ever they want.  Thus a brokered convention.  Actually the Democrats may have one themselves if Hillary's troubles catch up with her.  Who would they choose?  Perhaps Biden.  I'm not sure.  But who for the Republicans?  Romney perhaps?  He's said he wouldn't run but could he be chosen after the fact?

Curious times these. I have no idea how this is going to play out but I hope all who are planning to vote realize this isn't a single circle circus.  It has all three rings.  Our domestic woes and foreign policy are the two other than the nominee.  Who ever wants it most had better distinguish himself from the field, as small as its getting to be,  and start talking concrete policy and quit the name calling.

Mitt Was There - Where Were We?

Where were we when we needed him?  Teeing off about his religion, his wealth, his perfect appearance.  Listening while Candy Crowley contradicted him and our President mocked him.  It has been our loss and we best learn a lesson from it.

I concede he was a poor campaigner.  He wanted to win so badly he took bad advice and was overly cautious when he should have just been himself and not felt apologizing for who he is was necessary.  That's all in the past now.  It's our loss.

I do believe he would have been a far better President than the one we have.  Heck, I would be a better President than the one we have but I don't mean to damn Romney with faint praise.  He didn't achieve all that he has by being no more than a community organizer with a big ego.  He earned it.  He is worldly, economically savvy and understands the world of which we are a part whether we want to be or not.  He would have served us well.  Now he has had the good graces to read polls accurately and has bowed to, hopefully, a younger generation.  If we've traded him for Jeb or Hillary than I think we've learned nothing.

Is there one of the remaining candidates, at this point, that have the combination to offer that Romney had?  I don't think so.  Except for Lindsey Graham, they are all weak in foreign policy.  The governors have experience managing diverse organizations but only a few have knowledge of Washington's ways.  Few if any have hands on business experience.  Few have actual military experience and I dare say first term senators are still feeling their way and at this point are getting attention with mostly flamboyant rhetoric rather than actual ideas.

It's sad, really, that we turned our backs on a man who truly loves our country. The irony of it is he was there when we sorely needed him.  But we couldn't be bothered when he needed us.

Lesson learned? I doubt it.  

The Romneys ~ The Barbie And Ken Of Politics

I think back to the campaign and how perfectly pressed Mitt was be it the creases in his jeans or his white tie and tails.  Ann, too, always perfectly wardrobed right down to her equestrian garb.  Barbi and Ken.  The great hope of the Republican party.

Where have they been?  I am aware of a couple of perfunctory interviews after the loss, but since then not so much.  Until yesterday.  I saw an add for Ann's new cook book.  Cook book. How absolutely Americana.  How Barbie and Ken.

Then this morning I saw the first comments I've seen in ages from Mitt. In his usually nuanced manner he declared the Republican strategy for eliminating Obamacare would not be effective.  No argument there but where were the suggestions from the former candidate that might suggest we were wrong in not electing him?

He credited Joe Manchin's idea of delaying the implementation for a year. It has some merit but Obama has already nixed the very thought of it.  Or, Mitt went on, work hard to get Republicans elected to the House and Senate so they could do it in the traditional way.

He has been missing in action.  There is nothing traditional in the way the government is doing business, if they even are, these days.  Nor do I expect to see it return to traditional practices any time soon.  It's rough and tumble and the most clever win.  It has become a reality show airing in real time showing how our elected officials work and play. I'd rather it be a non-reality show but it's not.  I'd rather the squeaky wheels that gain the most attention were getting it for substance rather than drama but what we see is the new reality.  Watch it and weep.

Voters didn't think Mitt related to the world they live in during the campaign. I'm not sure that's true but visuals being everything these days, he was far too comfortable in that white tie and tails. Too Ken.

Ann too was too Barbie.  All those wonderful outfits, homes, cars and locations all paid for by dreamers.  In Barbies world it was parents making their little girls happy.  In our world it was a reflection of a world most will never know. A world they both understood and one most of us don't. Knowing that aspiring to it was unlikely to become reality we denigrated it and turned to one who drops his "g's" thereby relating to us.  Comfort zone.  Vote for him.

I don't know what Ken did for a living in the world of toy perfection.  I do know what Mitt did and I know that in his own plastic way he'd have been better than the illusion of leadership we have today.  

Romney - Why I Wonder

I've spent the last several years articulating why I don't think President Obama is suited for his job.  I haven't changed my mind.  Today, however, I'm going to share a few thoughts about Mitt Romney.

First, what doesn't matter to me.  The fact that he's wealthy or Mormon or not very warm and fuzzy doesn't matter to me at all. That he had his own version of Obamacare doesn't matter nor does his flip flopping on issues.  All politicians, except tea party types, flip flop when it's expedient.  He doesn't speak particularly well, but neither does Obama without his teleprompters.  Doesn't matter.

What I do wonder is really pretty basic.  It goes to his ability to lead.  Does he have that skill or would he be just another leader who governs by sound bite?

He is reputed to have been a highly successful businessman.  Perhaps his wealth is testimony to that but I don't see his success in business translating to success in politics.

He may have been able to create  business plans to save troubled companies but he has yet to lay out a plan to save a troubled nation.

As is true with most politicians, he is loyal to those who have stuck with him through thick and thin.  However, if those advisers he would have to choose as President are no more astute regarding what's going with the country then his current advisers are with his campaign I've no reason to have faith in his  ability to choose top notch cabinet members.

The race is virtually a dead heat.  He is correct about one thing, a recent revelation that has come about purely by accident - whether or not we want to be a nation driven by individual effort and the freedoms that allow it or a nation driven by government demanded distribution of that which the successful have earned to the less successful.  On that matter, to me, there is no choice.  And it scares me.

Elections these days are poll driven.  Romney has his pollsters.  Are they finding different results no one knows about?  If not, why aren't the polls being paid attention to and adjustments made?  Why are the same advisers kept on?

If Romney runs his campaign with a deaf ear will he not run the country the same way?  If he makes gaffes week in and week out why would we expect them not to continue into his presidency?  How bad does one need to be to cause similar unrest like we're experiencing at the moment?

He ran for the presidency four years ago and lost to a weak candidate.  I'd like to have seen some evidence that he learned from what cost him the nomination then.  I've seen no evidence that he has.

I'm really disappointed with the Republicans.  I'm disappointed in the men who have led in other venues and could lead this country who chose not to run.  I'm disappointed in the slate of candidates they put before us.  I'm disappointed in the candidate that has been chosen.

I don't know if I have another four years, but Hub and I are already in our  'how are we going to make do' mode.  It is not a comfortable place to be.  There are innumerable reasons I want to see a Republican victory and yes, it has to do with ideology.  I just don't see the current crop of candidates, be it House, Senate or the presidency being able to carry it off.

How I wish there was a 'none of the above' to vote for by default.

It's The Pits

I've gone and done it.  I've totally lost my sense of humor.  I define more and more of what I hear as tasteless.  Jokes included.  Take for instance Obama's crack at the White House Correspondents Dinner regarding Sarah Palin. Was it about Sarah? Or something else?

"What's the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?  A pit bull  is delicious."

I guess there are some things of which I find hard to let go.  One is the horror story of football's Michael Vick and his dog fighting ring of pit bulls. I'm still reading progress reports on those rescued by Best Friend's Animal Society.  I've crossed paths with a lot of pit bulls during my years and have yet to meet one that deserves the reputation they have as a breed.  Oh sure.  They can turn and do but it's not a trait exclusive to them.  Even my beloved Saints can be nasty and believe me a nasty Saint is no Saint!  I guess that's why the President's joke left me cold.

I usually weigh how men treat their wives in public when forming an opinion.  Maybe I should pay more attention as to how they joke, or even just talk, about their dogs!  Neither Mitt Romney nor Obama rate very high on the Arf Scale!

Sure, Obama was referring to his previous comment about having eaten dog as a youth.  I know it's considered a perfectly legitimate food in some societies.  But not ours.  It's the connotation in the form of a joke.  Animal lovers in this country fight so hard to give our voiceless companions the best lives possible.  They fight the idea that an animal is no more then a possession and can be treated anyway you please.  They aren't inanimate objects.  They are living, breathing, feeling creatures. Does how you treat your possessions carry over to how you treat your animals?  Does it carry over to family too?  Some would say yes.  I'm not sure.  I've never experienced the circumstance.  Our dogs have always been treated  like the most revered of people.

It just hit my hot button.  I've been saturated with mean spirited and truth challenged commentary over the months since political season began in earnest.  It's going to get worse before it gets better, I know.  Go ahead,  tear one another apart.  Lie about one another.  Leave it to the bewildered brain power of the voters to sort it out.  But leave our dogs out of it.  Don't joke about eating them while legalizing the trapping of wolves.  Keep your attacks aimed at those on equal footing who are equipped to fight back - other politicians.

As words and phrases are being banned on what seems nearly a daily basis, maybe we should do away with "It's a dog eat dog world."  More appropriately it should be " It's a politician eats politician world." After all they are the ones cannibalizing our way of life.

Boring As A Disqualifer?

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  The candidates will do anything to dissuade the electorate from selecting Romney as the Republican candidate.  Even to the extent of calling the kettle black when they're the pot!

Consider Rick Santorum calling him "bland and boring" , therefore we should not vote for him. After all, McCain and Gore were boring and they both lost!  Now there is sound reasoning.  This from Rick Santorum?  I hadn't noticed that he was Mr. Excitement.  Mr. Odd perhaps, but hardly Mr. Excitement.  Besides, what is more boring this day and age than a sweater vest?

On the other hand, Romney himself is caving to pressure on his impeccable three piece suit image.  He's taken to dressing in jeans and button downs for campaign appearances.  Is he defeating his own intent by wearing Tommy Bahama jeans rather than Wranglers?  I will certainly keep that in mind when I'm ready to pull the lever.

Newt isn't to be forgotten either.  His bone to pick as all else is failing is the idea that Romney  (gasp) speaks French!  Just like John Kerry, that Liberal elitist who also lost! Jon Huntsman speaks Mandarin.  What does that make him?  I stumble with high school Spanish - but then I'm not running for anything.

Santorum suggested Romney, with his perceived stand offishness, too resembles Obama to be electable.  Here I thought Obama was the epitome of hope and change and his following  was  cult like in its fervor.  Well, that may have been true during the campaign but since being in the White House his stand offishness is self evident.  It seems to me he's never really stopped stirring the pot in campaign mode.  If there's anything he's standoffish about it's governing.

There are reasons I'd prefer another candidate than those above.  As far as those are concerned, however, this man who seems bland and boring has been successful in business to the point where he can buy and sell most of us.  Forget, for a moment how that was achieved. That's another subject entirely.  This man who is bland and boring turned a failing Olympics into a dynamic success.  This man who is bland and boring has put together a political organization that is leaving the other candidates in the dust.

If this man who is bland and boring can put his nose to the grindstone and govern the country with a steady hand and a meaningful, if not perfect, agenda can he be all bad? Sorry Mr. Santorum and Gingrich,  there are scores of differences between Romney and Obama that are actually meaningful. Perhaps you'd be better served by pointing out the same about yourselves.

Is Romney Changing His Image?

Ah, the debates.  I watched a bit of the one last night.  They're getting to be a bit redundant at this point but they do give people a chance to see the candidates up close even if scripted.

I think Cain handled his situation well but he still won't get my vote on substance.  Too many areas where his knowledge is shakey. All the hoo ha over Perry's gaffe seems to me to be over blown.  Anyone who has to keep the pace the candidates do deserve a brain freeze now and then.  My generation calls them senior moments. It shouldn't be a campaign ender.  Newt as usual dazzles with his background knowledge on nearly everything.  No surprises from any of the rest of them - except Romney!

I wondered if anyone else had noticed the wisps of hair hanging down on his forehead!  Jerry Doyle did.  He was talking about it on his show this afternoon wondering if the people in make up thought Mitt should loosen up is image a bit. It wouldn't hurt.

The other thing I noticed is he actually showed some passion now and then.  I thought it was great!  It seems likely he'll get the nomination though at the moment he's not my first choice.  He is one I could live with.  From a purely entertainment stand point, I'd like to see Newt for the singular reason of watching the debates between him and Obama.  Probably wishful thinking, but wow.

I also watched the body language with interest.  All the men would look at the person speaking.  Michele Bachmann stared straight ahead.  She reminded me of a mannequin.  It was surprising since she is usually quite animated!  Maybe she's just tired from leading all those fights in Congress.

In thinking about Mitt, though, one thing he has been is consistent.  His poll numbers have remained consistent.  His message has been consistent.  He's had enough practice, that's for sure.  But I rather like it.  After all the 'personalities'  to whom we've been subjected perhaps someone who is methodical and steady, isn't easily flustered, and actually has opinions and a willingness to defend them isn't all bad.

That he flip flops does not set him apart from any other candidate.  They all do what they think at the moment is expeditious.  It's a fact of life.  I'm beginning to agree with those who say there is no perfect candidate.  They all have their flaws.  What those flaws are matter more.

I want in our next President a man who both other world leaders and our own Congress will respect.  Most of all one who isn't going to try change the country into his own personal image of what it should be.  Will it be Romney?  I don't know.  I just hope showing some passion and appearing with mussed hair doesn't mean he's getting over confident and sloppy!