I've talked here at some length about the turnaround. First, No Apology makes the case better than anything about Romney's qualifications. Second, picking Paul Ryan as his VP nominee convinced many wary of his Conservative Credentials, that he is, in fact, at heart, one of us. Third, over the past couple of months, Romney and Ryan have demonstrated to me their ability to understand what is at stake in this election and where their opponent's weaknesses lies. And lastly, Obama continues to show us what a self righteous little monster he is, and with the economy still in the doldrums, debt climbing, and a host of other problems, an informed electorate could very well say "enough" in November.
Here's why I say, don't panic (and a lot of people are):
- We still have an enormous war chest, and the campaign is, I'm convinced, keeping its powder dry for when the advertising will have maximum impact, ie, three weeks out. I've seen a lot of folks on the web panicky over the campaign's near silence. Remember this scene from the movie Hunt For The Red October? "Captain, what are you waiting for??" Watch the clip if you haven't seen it, and take it as an analogy.
- Polls are imperfect. You can never properly sample them to have a perfect picture of what the electorate is thinking. People can lie to pollsters. People polling can manipulate data to get the outcome they desire. The one on November 6th is the only one that I really care about.
- We still have four debates (counting Biden/Ryan). The more I learn about Romney's business mind, the more I realize what a powerful political weapon it can be. And he's not debating a particularly smart man when it comes to business and the economy. As House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told National Review about Obama: "he’s isn’t persuasive. There’s never any sort of economic argument that he can make for his position. It always reverts to that social-justice end."
He needs to remind the electorate that the President has gotten everything he wanted and then some, especially during the first 2 years of his Presidency. He got his Stimulus, he's had his way on virtually everything. In short, his attempt at "social justice" economic reform has left us deeper in debt and still in the economic doldrums. How's that working for you, Mr and Mrs Voter? And then answer the question by saying, as bluntly as possible, that this guy doesn't understand basic economics and business. "That's why you are suffering. As long as businesses fear this man and his administration, they are not going to hire. And you are going to continue to suffer."
He then needs to get specific about what makes him different. Explain how rolling back regulation and reforming the tax code will make employers breath a little easier and look to expand.
Romney's business mind will provide him with the opportunity to juxtapose himself to the president with regard to understanding business and the economy. When you read him explain Productivity in No Apology, you'll see that he takes something nebulous to the average voter and make it very understandable and applicable to the current economic situation.
In the debates, Romney needs to harness that advantage. Attack Obama's cluelessness, point out that said cluelessness is the cause of our misery, and show how a return to good business practice and economic common sense is what is needed to right this course. Romney needs to use his business smarts to get the average voter to see that, when it comes to what makes a Market Economy work, Barack Obama isn't in his league.
And if Romney can tweak him personally, deflating his ego in the process, even better. Obama hates being insulted, even with the insult is deserved.
