Romney Needs a Turnaround Artist [NRO: "Romney campaign has failed to make the case..."]

National Review ^ | 09/18/2012 | Mona Charen

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Charen has been undercutting Romney for weeks.

So, just to review, then: publicly and enthusiastically ENDORSING Romney for the presidency -- while (simultaneously) literally festooning NR and NRO's "The Corner" with pro-Romney puffery, over several years -- counts for zero, zip, nyet, nada, and didn't/doesn't help even one minuscule, microscopic bit...

... but, one or two pieces stating (as this one plainly does; read it) "Romney should be doing far, FAR better than he is right now, given Obama's record over the past four years" is somehow -- and I don't even pretend to follow the argument, mind -- "undercutting" Romney, and does materially affect his electoral chances.

Is that about the size and shape of things, here...? ;)

[Puddleglum]

NRO = beltway prima donnas (with a very few exceptions).

The first debate will make or break Romney - it will be his one chance to bypass the media filter.

He should have chosen Condi Rice for VP to put the media in disarray for a precious few days that might have let him break out of the pre-defined narrative. Even then, even if he could put the opponent’s secondary in disarray, I wonder if he’d have a play to call.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

He should have chosen Condi Rice for VP to put the media in disarray for a precious few days that might have let him break out of the pre-defined narrative.

He absolutely should have tapped a woman for the slot, agreed... although I would have steered clear of Rice, myself. (Too easy to play the "Here Comes Four More Years of GWB" card against her, sadly.)

I seem to recall reading someplace (Hot Air, perhaps?) that Nikki Haley was being vetted by the Romney campaign, at one point. That might well have ended up being my choice, all things being equal.

[LS]

READ IT: anyone doing anything that advances Obama to a second term in word or deed is, in my view, no better that the Taliban. This is not childish little "he's not conservative enough" crap. This is not "Romney should be up 30" crap.

This is th survival of the Republic. So pick up a gun and help fight or run to your purity foxhole and freakin' pontificate while the rest of us sav the country.

[LS]

READ IT: anyone doing anything that advances Obama to a second term in word or deed is, in my view, no better that the Taliban. This is not childish little "he's not conservative enough" crap. This is not "Romney should be up 30" crap.

This is th survival of the Republic. So pick up a gun and help fight or run to your purity foxhole and freakin' pontificate while the rest of us save the country.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

anyone doing anything that advances Obama to a second term in word or deed is, in my view, no better that the Taliban.

... and Charen (and National Review) are doing what, SPECIFICALLY to "advance Obama to a second term," again? Spell it out, please; details, rather than rhetoric.

I note, with genuine disappointment, that my simple, straightforward query, re: #41, has unaccountably gone a-begging. Ah, well.

[jmaroneps37]

Here are the facts: Barack Obama is NOT winning any group he lost in 2008, nor is he doing better with any group he won, not Jewish voters not Blacks not Hispanics not Young voters not women. At the very least Republican enthusiasm is 5 points above Democrat enthusiasm. Republican registration is at its all time high and Democrat registration is less than one point above its lowest point in history. Obama’s Catholic support is 27% which is half of what he got in 2008. His Jewish support is 59%.
NO DEMOCRAT has ever won a presidential race while losing the Catholic vote or getting less than 68% of the Jewish vote.

Charen is doing the Left’s bidding with crap like this.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Charen is doing the Left’s bidding with crap like this.

AFTER endorsing him for the presidency.

And AFTER publicly lauding Romney, two or three times weekly (at barest minimum), over the past several years on NRO. (They do have a perfectly good Search function over there, you know.)

And she's suddenly doing this, in your estimation... ummmmmmmm... why -- ?!? ;)

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

From Mitt-boosting Ace of Spades, only just yesterday (and highly relevant, re: all the increasingly pouty foot-stamping and tantruming and whatnot, both on this thread and elsewhere on FR):

"One of the things that's truly annoying about political movements is the large number of people who don't really have particularly interesting minds, and don't write particularly interesting things. So they appoint themselves to a position long held by uninteresting people: Morale Officer. And, like Morale Officers throughout time (the US had them in military; the Soviet Union had them for civilians) they don't actually do much to improve Morale; they just insist it should be better, and if you are not Regulation Cheerful, you are a Malcontent and must be Disciplined."

Fewer sullen, spittling, self-appointed Morale Officers, hereabouts.

That would make for a considerable improvement, in all naked candor. ;)

[iopscusa]

FU Romney and the gutless NR, I voted for ABMR in the primary and got the feckless MR anyway. Bye, bye Republican eunuchs!

[Daveinyork]

I think she’s criticizing his campaign, not the man. She wants the campaign to campaign so that the man wins.

[LS]

I don’t respond to “queries” that are concealed attempts to subvert the Romney campaign. I’ll give you one more chance to come on board, then as far as I’m concerned, I’m done with you. It’s too bad. But I’ll repeat: ANYONE doing anything to advance Obama to a second term-—and you know exactly what that means and you know exactly what Charen. . . and you . . . are doing is a threat to the Republic.

[Daveinyork]

Romney/Ryan needs to turn that tax lie around, and hammer away at the fact that with trillion dollar deficits and a 16 trillion dollar debt, Obama will have to raise taxes on the middle class.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

I think she’s criticizing his campaign, not the man. She wants the campaign to campaign so that the man wins.

Absolutely. And thank you -- and I mean this most sincerely, sans any sarcasm whatsoever -- for reading for simple, baseline comprehension.

As you've doubtless noticed: not all can, or do. ;)

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

I don’t respond to “queries” that are concealed attempts to subvert the Romney campaign.

I'm going to state this as gently (yet straightforwardly) as I possibly can: you are behaving like a profoundly paranoid person, or a frothing, bug-eyed jihadi.

At some point down the road -- weeks, months, what-have-you -- you're going to look back on this sort of overheated nonsense... and flinch. Guaranteed.

I’ll give you one more chance [...] what Charen. . . and you . . . are doing is a threat to the Republic.

All by my lonesome, you mean, like Lex Luthor; or in malevolent, Chthonic tandem with Charen, like Boris and Natasha?

Good heavens.

[jersey117]

He doesn’t need to make the case - THE CASE IS OBAMA.

It wouldn't hurt to mention the trip to Las Vegas and remind people that obama skipped almost half of his intel briefings and tell people that he, his secretary of state and Rice all lied to the American people about the coordinated 9/11/12 attack. He should also ask if we took down AQ's flag yet.

[granada]

can’t believe that conservative media enters into an alliance with MSM and blames Romney.

[Jim Noble]

Romney does not understand the moment, and there was never any chance that he would.

[Daveinyork]

Far too often, Romney and his campaign act like they don’t really want to win.

[Mase]

Mona Charen takes the msm bait hook, line and sinker. I thought she was smarter than that. Apparently not. The msm has created the meme that Romney's campaign is a total failure, because he's not up 10 points in polls weighting dems by more than 10 points, and conservatives across the country wet their pants in response. The msm gets what they want in spades. Not only is the msm jumping on Romney, so are conservatives - even after a tape of Romney surfaces where he makes a hard core conservative case for getting rid of Obama.

In 1980, at this same time, Carter had a solid lead in the polls. In 1988, at this same time, Dukakis held a 17 point lead, according to the msm crystal ball gazers. In 2004, John Kerry was going to be the next president. Stupid people believe stupid things. It's been going on for a long time. This is just more proof. STFU Mona.