Three of Mitt Romney's emerging strengths

IBD Editorials ^ | May 29, 2012 | ANDREW MALCOM

[Kaslin]

With summer officially underway and only 161 days left before the presidential election, it's a good time to take inventory of Mitt Romney's chances of sending Barack Obama into early retirement a la Jimmy Carter.

The MSM has made much of Obama's commanding poll leads among blacks and Latinos. Romney was supposed to be vulnerable among evangelicals, until Obama's same-sex wedding gift. We heard a lot about Obama's strength among women, until it started to fade.

No one knows, of course, but conventional wisdom today holds the Nov. 6 outcome will be close. Unless it isn't. And then we'll hear all about why it wasn't.

You don't hear much about Romney's strengths these days, but what can we discern right now about them and their scope?

Well, economics and jobs have been atop virtually every opinion poll since Obama took office and began his determined drive for pretty much anything else. Gallup asked people recently to describe their economic views. By more than a two-to-one margin (46%-20%) Americans called themselves some shade of conservative instead of liberal. Even moderates (32%) outnumbered liberals.

On social issues the gap was closer (38%-28%), but conservatives still outweighed the spendthrifts.

[freedomfiter2]

Romney will win but it will be due to who Obama is, not who Romney is.

[Diogenesis]

Milt is vulnerable because he won unfairly over scorched
conservatives, and he authored, himself, RomneyCARE.

Worse, Milt performed very, very poorly as governor
and appointed all DNC judges.

[StAnDeliver]

"Romney will win but it will be due to who Obama is, not who Romney is."

Yes. Exactly.

[ChocChipCookie]

Here on FR, Romney was accused of being behind the fall of Herman Cain and Rick Perry, among others. Perhaps that was true. If so, it means he’s willing to fight dirty, and who was the last Republican Presidential candidate who was willing to do that?

[Vigilanteman]

Somebody needs to come up with a clever bumper sticker graphic:

Romney, because he ain't Obama

[Diogenesis]

Puhleze, Romney DEFENDS Obama.

On the lack of Obama’s valid BC.
On Obama’s TARP.
On ObamaCARE=RomneyCARE.

Romney ONLY attacks conservatives, especially
the little children and the women, and he
does it through paid surrogates.

[Kaslin]

Stop it. Enough is enough

[cookcounty]

Romney, because ALL Obama has to offer is a sweet baritone voice (unfortunately that’s ALL the young folk care about)

[ChocChipCookie]

We’ll see. I’ve never forgiven McCain for refusing to fight back and actually encouraged people to vote for Obama! And please cite an instance of Romney attacking little children and women.

[myself6]

No.. its NOT enough... Romney is a socialist...

The convention needs to be brokered... We are NOT going to shut up. we are not going to support a socialist.

The GOP better figure this out FAST...

[Finny]

And please cite an instance of Romney attacking little children and women.

Dio, can I answer?

ChocChip, Romney provided for taxpayer funded $50 abortions on demand as part of his RomneyCare, and he is on record as saying he believes if a girl under 18 gets pregnant and her parents want to prevent her getting an abortion, she should be able to go to a judge and have him override her parents' decision. As I have gotten older and wiser, I realize how intense an attack that is on women and children.

ABO says vote for cyanide to avoid re-election of arsenic. I say vote official on-the-ballot third party in the presidential to dilute whichever poison wins. Voting for Romney is as nuts as voting for Obama. Voting for Romney is as stupid as voting for an orange juice can.

[Diogenesis]

[Impy]

1)He’s not Obama
2)He’s not Obama
3)He’s not Obama

[Finny]

People are so busy obsessing on what they want to be voting against, that they fail entirely to consider the price of ABO. Hillary Clinton isn't Obama, either; if she switched parties and ran as a Republican, you could vote for her, for EXACTLY the same reason you're willing to vote for Romney, and and get the same results. Once elected, she'd roll-over for conservatives about as readily as Romney would -- as in, she'd tell them to go pound sand, just like Romney would. If he won, he'd tell thee and me and every other conservative trying to hold his feet to the fire: "Listen, pal, the only reason Republicans even have the White House is because of me, so sit down and shut up." And you'd better damned well expect that that's what a lot of Congressional conservatives would do.

You don't want to choose that drink -- it's got arsenic! Better choose this one because it doesn't have arsenic. It's got cyanide. That's much better.

[jdsteel]

The rending of garments and gnashing of teeth from FR continues.

Personally, I see some positives to never, ever saying or thinking that Mitt is just what we want and 100% great. I hope to see him win and to have his feet kept to the fire from day ONE. We need to drag him, kicking and screaming if necessary, to the right starting November 3.

As a side note, it will be HILARIOUS to hear the Dems paint him as an uber-conservative.

[fieldmarshaldj]

DUMP WILLARD FOR WALKER 2012 !

[af_vet_rr]

Here on FR, Romney was accused of being behind the fall of Herman Cain and Rick Perry, among others. Perhaps that was true. If so, it means he’s willing to fight dirty, and who was the last Republican Presidential candidate who was willing to do that?

Romney fights dirtier against conservatives than he does against Obama. Hell, earlier this month he was praising Bill Clinton.

At the end of the day, Romney is still a liberal, and just like the last liberal Republican, he will lose to Obama.

[Impy]

I was listing his “strength(s)” not saying I was voting for him.

However I am and yes that’s why. I respect your argument (which of course I’ve heard before and I at one point felt the same way) but I want Obama gone. I want his “legacy” destroyed by being a one termer. I want his sycophants crying all over the internet. I want to laugh in their faces and drink their tears. Sure I’m petty but they need to be punished for annoying me for these past 4 years. And he needs to be off my damn TV screen. Last night I watched part of a Geography Bee for kids hosted by Alex Trebek. Guess who asked a question via video? That’s right, Obama! Trebek thanked him and flattered him by suggesting his (Trebek’s) job was in danger. He pops up on ESPN. I personally need to be rid of his presence, period.

If Romney is even worse I’ll take that risk, but despite his horrible record as Governor I reject the notion that he’s a committed socialist like Hillary Clinton (whom I like LESS than Obama, I was perplexed by freepers who cheerleaded for her in 2008 primaries, she’s just as leftist as he and more competent so she’d be even worse, she was our public enemy#1 while Obama was still a pissant State Senator). He’s a weather vane, all he cares about is being President to avenge his dead father and win his approval from beyond the grave. And he probably will be cause this election isn’t about him.

[Finny]

Now, admittedly, I may have been reading things into your post wrongly, and if so, I apologize. But ... What are you talking, "Gee, he's not 100% great?" "Not just what we want"? Excuse me?? Try 100% WRONG on five MAJOR issues that threaten to destroy our most basic of individual freedoms, with a demonstrated track record to prove it. He has used his political office to ADVANCE five major liberal agendas that many of us have been voting Republican all these years to oppose!

You cavalierly write-off as "gnashing of teeth" our observation that Romney is essentially a ligher shade of Obama and that he would therefore be as destructive as Obama, if in a different way and on a different scale.

Let's see how "HILARIOUS" you think it is when a President Romney is embraced by "bi-partisan" Democrats nobly and generously reaching across the aisle for his "progressivism" and how "HILARIOUS" it is when he plays political hardball with conservative Republicans in Congress and neuters those who would stand in the way of his "legacy."

If you're going to vote for Romney, you should think about what you're voting FOR. Because THAT is all that will count in 2013, when Obama would be forgotten.