Kind of like Ronald Reagan (a little) in a way, possibly? Americans really want someone that is optimistic (unless your a dem, of course). I don’t think the other candidates show any optimism (maybe you could say Huckabee does somewhat).
When Reagan was running there was a sense that our best days were behind us. I think there is a similar desperation taking hold now, not as bad as the seventies, but becoming worse. Romney definitely doesn’t have a message of acquiescence and decline.