Since it is now pretty obvious that this will be a two horse (pig?)race, let the debate begin. There hasn’t been much of a debate to date, just people who hate Obama and those who don’t (and a couple who like him). No one seems to really like Romney-he’s just not likeable. I personally don’t like either candidate, but I severely dislike one more. To be fair, the people who don’t like Obama have good reasons:
pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/is … epage=true
There is a lot of ranting in that article, but some valid points. My main beef with Obama is that he has been a fairly weak leader. He should have completely went for the health plan he wanted, for example, and not bowed to the blue dogs. That was his fault entirely. He has never been as strong of a leader as Clinton was. Policy wise, I don’t always agree with him, but that leads me to Romney.
I don’t remember a candidate this weak since Dukakis. Romney has avoided being specific on any issue.
[quote] I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything like this.
If this is the Etch A Sketch phase of Mitt Romney’s campaign, he seems to want to freeze it the moment after you shake the toy, before you turn the knobs again: blank.
Mitt Romney wants to run as the generic candidate, the every man and any man, undefined, nonspecific, the other guy, anybody but Obama.
Romney inserts “economy” into every sentence but recoils from specificity like a slug from salt… He can create jobs and make the economy grow, somehow. He can cut government spending and cut taxes, somehow. He can fix immigration and education, somehow. He can do a better job of dealing with the healthcare system and our entitlement programs, somehow.[/quote]
This strategy obviously cannot last. He is going to have to stand for something beyond “job creation” as if that is a principle or plan of some kind. For how long can he keep saying what Obama has done on immigration or the economy is wrong when he offers no plans for anything whatsoever. I have not heard a single plan put forth, which leads to his second big problem: regardless of what he says, he is going to contradict a previous position. He has zero credibility on health care or gay marriage,for example. No matter what position he takes, it will be easy for team-Obama to paint him as a flip flopper. Right now, team Romney seems to be keeping him on the fence on every issue. Have you seen this guy in interviews? It’s like watching a caricature of a slimy politician who will say anything to get elected, but it’s real. Additionally, all politicians lie, but Romney seems to lie as if he is running in the days before there was radio. He lies about his lies. I think the dem party should buy 30 minute prime time slots and just run his statements for a month up to the election, Jon Stewart style. At the rate he’s going, they will have enough material for it.
I will be interested to see if Romney comes up with any real plan for…uh, anything. I’m going to stay open minded for now, but I’m not swayed in his direction at all. Plus, I’m still convinced he will lose by wide margins.