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Good advice for Mitt Romney by Mickey Kaus.

By: Moe Lane (Diary)  |  June 24th, 2012 at 08:45 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

To wit: show the American people that Mitt Romney’s just… a human being, like everybody else. Not that Romney should pretend to anything that he’s not. As Mickey put it:

Note that this does not require that Romney show he’s a man of the people, down with NASCAR etc. No pork rinds are required. In fact, trying desperately to appear non-upperclass is likely to reinforce Romney’s more fundamental problem. A simulacrum can eat pork rinds, if you program it properly.

In other words: just don’t do it the way that John Kerry tried to. Romney’s rich. That’s actually fine. He was a successful businessman. That’s fine, too. What won’t be fine is if Romney appears to be visibly forcing himself to act like he was never neither; that sort of thing grates. I suggest that the man take some pointers from George W Bush, who was always able to come across as sincere*, despite the fact that he was (at least) third generation richer-than-blazes.

Mind you, watching Barack Obama trying to pierce the bubble this season ought to be funny. The President’s used to campaigning as a god, or at least a Greek Hero. Watching him trying to campaign as a mere mortal – “OH, NO: HE’S RIGHT THERE IN THE ROOM WITH LATINO LEGISLATORS! GET THE FORKS! GET THE FORKS!**” – should give the rest of us plenty of material to work with.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

*I certainly hope that the choice of that word grates on people who will never, ever stop fighting the 2004 election. Although they’re all really fighting the 2000 one. Which Gore lost. Oops! That’s me, grating on those people again. I really am an awful person, sometimes.

**This is precisely the sort of inclusiveness and consideration for the dignity of others that we’ve come to expect from the man who brought us “I won.”

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  • trutexan

    Last night at a neighborhood BBQ, I was talking with a Hispanic friend. She said, ?I know I should vote Republican because I?m a business person. And I don?t know anything about politics because I don?t have the time or the desire to keep up with it. But I do know that Romeny is this arrogant rich guy who only cares about rich people and I don?t know how that?s going to be any better for me than Obama is now.?

    I was dumbfounded. But she?s the average voter. I brought up to her the story about what Romney did for that guy who?s daughter went missing when he was at Bain. And she replied, ?That was one time and that was years ago. What about now??

    Romney?s GOT to fix this stereotype. Because she admittedly didn?t follow politics, and my husband was giving me the ?let it go? eye, I didn?t attempt to change her mind. And to be honest, I?m not sure I could say anything substantial to do so. I did say, ?Well, we have a known and an unknown. And the known sucks so Romney?s my guy.? But I?m a political junkie and I?ve followed the disaster of the Obama White House. Slamming Obama?s lousy record and spending isn?t enough when you?re trying to make Romney out to be human. I don?t have the ammo for that, so we moved on to other topics. Romney?s team needs to help people like me out so we can share the word to people on the fence like her.

  • ghostship

    That’s what team Romney should be focusing on and not stupid gimmicks showing that he’s just a common man. It’s annoying to people and it it comes off as fake as his saying y’all.

    Look, Romney is never going to get people excited about voting for him. That would be as likely as getting someone excited about watching paint dry. The only reason people are going to vote for him is that Obama sucks. His team needs to just stay focused on not making any major gaffe between now and the election.

  • ceili_dancer

    Especially this early in the game.

  • http://lukos.com Ed54

    They’ll start tuning in for the conventions in August. I assume Romney has some corporate marketing guys working hard on a “product rollout” leading up to the convention. Presumably that marketing campaign will introduce us to Romney the man, not the caricature the left wants to run against.

    There is a lot to work with: highly successful businessman, Governor, saved the Olympics, and still found time to serve as church bishop and be a good husband and father. You’re right about avoiding regular guy pretensions, though. And there’s no reason to dodge his richness. Turn it into a strength. “Yeah he’s rich. That’s what happens when you are smart, competent, and focused, which is exactly what we need to get our economy started again.”

    Bad jobs reports for June and July will tee that drive up perfectly.

  • ghostship

    It’s about Obama losing.

    Normally, I would agree with you but Romney just isn’t a good enough candidate to get people to vote for him. His only chance is in people being so sick of Obama that they’ll vote against Obama and let Romney get the win by default.

    His strategy needs to be I’m Mitt Romney. Obama sucks. I can’t be any worse than him so vote for me.

    It’s not an inspiring platform but we’ve got to work with what we got. If we had a better candidate then yeah I would say go for a more pro-active approach. However, we’re stuck with Romney so asking him to not screw it up is the best we can hope for.

  • acat

    because that’s remarkably crappy advice.

    Romney needs to do one simple thing .. and so far, he has been quite good at it.

    Every bit of mud Obama slings – turn it back to the economy.

    Period.

    Mew

  • monolithic

    The WORST thing Romney can do, which will cement a loss, is try and be someone he isn’t. Run on who you are, not who you think people want to see. He’s not “cool” but thankfully, that’s not a requirement to be president.

  • bk
  • clearasday

    Seriously? Mitt Romney should show us he can bleed and puke? Is that what it all comes down to now: Conservatives are not just arrogant, rich, out-of-touch white racists and misogynists – they’re not even human beings? Is this what constitutes smart politics in the 21st century?

    For all Romney’s political faults, there is no doubt the man is a human-being. The evidence is there for all who choose to see. Mitt Romney is as American as apple pie. If you want to get some warm fuzzies take a few minutes and watch the video his sons put together for Fathers’ Day. You might be pleasantly surprised at how human and “everyman” Mitt Romney can be. The fact that we are even debating things like this shows how deeply mired we are in the Democrats’ double-standard ridden political playbook.

    Did we have to see Barack Obama bleed or sweat to recognize his humanity? Anyone who would have even suggested such a thing would have been subjected to a nationwide media Shamefest. Instead, Obama’s cool, above-it-all air, complete with elegant suits, crisply pleated, were “thrilling.” His larger than life portraits, personal logo, European Progess in the fashion of royalty, framed by Greek columns and fainting masses were evidence of his greatness. There was no doubt: he was The One.

    Yet here we are again, jumping through another Democrat hoop, trying to prove that we are not stupid, rich, racist, women-hating androids from another planet.

  • PowerToThePeople

    in fact, I am more excited to vote for the “R” this time then I was when President Bush ran against Gore. I believed Gore would be a dismal failure who would spend his 4 years making our lives miserable with his BS science about GW, so I was excited. This time around, I know the damage Obama has done and know what damage he will do if given another 4 years. So I am more excited to vote for Romney than I have ever been before.

    A lot of people in this country are very excited to vote Romney. We may be disappointed our guy did not win, but that has done nothing to tamper our enthusiasm to get out in November so we can say President Romney.

  • Kyle-MI

    He should not try staged events or ways to prove his common touch during the campaign, but he has a fairly good personal history. There was some group running a Romney ad in Michigan about putting his business on hold for several days and helping a business partner find his missing teenage daughter. I am sure someone can find good family stories that emphasize he is a family man.

    And, of course, the emphasis should be on economic polity, but they should have room for a few smarmy commercials on top of it.

  • septembergurl

    You really can’t engage them in a discussion or debate on politics because they have no understanding or knowledge of politics. You’re not going to change her mind by offering facts or logic because she’s operating in a different realm from yours.

    It’s not that she’s on the fence, as you say, and open to persuasion. Nor is it Romney’s alleged shortcomings (any Republican would be, and has been, treated as out of touch with her — if not too rich, then too right-wing, whatever).

    No, this is a classic low-information voter — someone who, when challenged on a political topic, will present the last thing she heard on The View or Jon Stewart as her “opinion.” If you engaged her on an actual issue — say the Keystone Pipeline or the ACA — or bring up the fact that as a businesswoman she has more in common with Romney, a successful businessman, than with Obama, who despises business and commerce, she will simply shut down.

    This kind of voter is not the same as a moderate, independent, or swing voter (who actually tend to be very well informed on issues, voting records, etc) who might actually be on the fence due to conflicts on ideology, local issues, etc. Nor is the low-info voter the same as the stupid voter, though there’s obviously overlap. They are alienated, usually but not always for educational/employment reasons, from the political realm — young people, recent immigrants, African-Americans, and (for some reason) women. The Democraps have been successful at pandering to this group’s sense of victimization(which makes up their entire political worldview).

    This leaves Republicans with two choices — pander, or write it off. The upside to the low-info voter is that they tend not to vote much, or consistently. They turned out in very large numbers for Obama in 2008, because Obama was able to make a non-political appeal outside the normal realm of politics (self-interest, ideology, patriotism, etc) while also pulling in traditional voters.

    It’s unlikely this will happen again (they did not turn out in 2010) which is why Obama is making ever more desperate panders to rope them in again. Some will turn out again — African Americans, for example. Some will not vote, as I suspect is the case with your friend. with his focus on the economy, Romney will win some of them — not many, but some, those who have figured out, or had it explained to them, that there is a causal relationship between voting and the quality of their lives.

  • http://lukos.com Ed54

    To further elaborate on the core message:

    1. The economy stinks.
    2. Obama failed to fix the economy because he hates business and knows nothing about it.
    3. Romney can fix the economy because he knows a lot about business.

  • 1bunny

    with no fanfare, no media and in the middle of a presidential campaign in 2007. This is the man the media likes to portray as inhuman, cold. There are several links to videos and stories about the kindesses Romney has performed. Closing his company to look for the missing girl, rescuing a family of 6 and their dog from a sinking boat and last but not least showing up to help dig up a stump after the fires in San Diego in Oct 2007.

    Enjoy! Hope this helps you to portray him better to your friend.

    http://mittromneycentral.com/tag/tree-stump/

  • renl57

    They’re both cool-tempered characters. Neither one is your typical warm, backslapping, shmoozing politician. (Clinton was good at that, Bush nearly as good)

    In 2008, voters looked past Obama’s coolish demeanor, because he came off as an intellectual or professor–and we don’t expect that type to have great social skills.

    Romney should play to his own strength: He’s a technocrat, a Maytag repairman who’s real good at fixing problems that other people can’t. And nobody expects mechanics or engineers to have great social skills either. At least not during working hours.

    If Romney emphasizes his “Mr. Fix It” image, he’ll do fine.

  • trutexan

    Great story.

  • Marcus_Traianus

    but that’s just me.

    Besides the “rich guy” trope, Romney is a person with humble beginnings. His dad was the quintessential American success story- coming from nothing to work and earn the American Dream.

    Romney. largely made it on his own. Again the product of hard work, intelligence, perseverance and a diligent American work ethic.

    If that doesn’t resonate with the American people- what does?

    Oh, and this was not only crafty, but fairly indicative that Romney likes the unscripted appearances.

    Real examples instead of popular memes are a much better indicative of Mr. Romney’s personality and everyday appeal.

  • commonsenseobserver

    He’s been great on the trail. Now he needs to focus on his own plans, and also contrast them with Obama’s (almost non-existent ones, but then he has a record to run on, if he wants to).

  • http://conservativemormonmom.blogspot.com ew88

    I’ve been following Deseret News, who writes up all sorts of nice things he’s done over time and descriptions of Romney from his associates, etc. They all agree that he’s embarrassed to call attention to himself. I like humility in a potential president. It’s a stark contrast from the one we have now. But you’re all right: he needs his humanity broadcast for him since he’s not comfortable doing it himself.

  • uselogic

    Run into low-info folks all the time, including relatives. Just wish there was a good way to get that past that shutdown you and trutexan described. Frustrating as hell.

  • goodgovernance

    Is how Romney’s been campaigning up until now. I hope at some point Romney rolls out a real strategy that tells us what he’ll do, not just focus on the fact he has business experience. I wouldn’t ever invest in a startup where somebody didn’t tell me their plan, but only reassured me they had prior “business experience.”

    Independent voters think of Obama as a mixed muddle who means well and maybe did one or two good things, along with waste time on stuff that went nowhere, or worse. Romney they view as an odd fish who doesn’t understand their problems. I wouldn’t count on just being able to sell “Obama sucks” as all it takes to get to victory.

  • goodgovernance

    It really is. I have no doubt that Romney, amongst the people he’s closest with, is actually a decent human being.

    It’s the general public, the country as a whole he manifestly distrusts and feels uncomfortable with, as evidenced by his visible discomfort on the campaign trail, and his hesitancy to say anything that strays from poll tested talking points.

    That is a bad trait for somebody who wants to lead the entire USA, not coach a softball league. Romney can overcome this distrust within himself in time, but I wish I didn’t have to wait for it to happen.

  • checkmate2012

    Double standard indeed.

    It’s so hard to get our msg through with the MSM defending and repeating O’s every word. Reporting the truth on networks (anything but FOX) is dead but it is still watched by most non-informed voters, sadly.

    Here’s to FOX buying CNN or MSNBC with perhaps a younger crowd agenda.