One of the points about Willard M Romney that I've seen made several times this year, is that it was extremely important that he get out in front and define himself for the American electorate. I've also seen it noted several times that Romney has failed to do this, and that President Obama's campaign is succeeding in defining Romney instead, and the portrait they are painting is not an attractive one.
Tonight New York Magazine is out with a new piece that also delves into to Romney's problem with defining himself for the electorate. Here's a taste:
[W]hat no one sane disputes is that the past two weeks have been hellish for Romney—and certainly nothing resembling how he and his team intended to spend them. (Bad jobs numbers? What bad jobs numbers?) What’s equally clear is that their handling of the twin attacks on Bain and taxes has been so bad that it qualifies as political malpractice. In every campaign Romney has waged, starting with his 1994 Massachusetts Senate run against Ted Kennedy, his record as a businessman has been central to his persona and to the dynamics of the race. This record has conferred on Romney both assets and liabilities. Thus the central strategic imperatives of his bid for the White House in 2012 were obvious from the get-go (and, really, for nearly two decades beforehand): to maximize the former on offense and minimize the latter on defense.
Yet even with all the time in the world to prepare a game plan, Romney and his operation have been awful at both ends of the floor. On offense, the candidate has yet to offer a potent, persuasive argument—or, in truth, any real argument at all—as to how his experience at Bain would translate into policies that would help the U.S. economy. And on defense, Team Romney has been shockingly unprepared to fend off the inevitable fusillades from Chicago. How can it be that, as of this writing, the campaign still hasn’t explained (or been able to explain) who was running Bain from 1999 to 2002? How is it possible that Romney didn’t instruct his blind trustee not to stash his dough in Swiss and Cayman Islands bank accounts? Or that, knowing full well that his tax returns would be a target, the campaign didn’t release a decent number of years’ worth of them last summer, when the hits he would’ve taken would have been far less consequential?
The Hidden Mitt
For those who were not paying close attention during the primaries, you may have missed this biography that appeared in
Vanity Fair back in February, with insights into Romney's character like this long paragraph on the first page.
If Romney is exceedingly comfortable around family and close friends, he’s much less so around those he doesn’t know well, drawing a boundary that’s difficult to traverse. It’s a strict social order—us and them—that has put co-workers, political aides, casual acquaintances, and others in his professional circles, even people who have worked with or known him for years, outside the bubble. As a result, he has numerous admirers but, by several accounts, not a long list of close pals. “He’s very engaging and charming in a small group of friends he’s comfortable with,” said one former aide. “When he’s with people he doesn’t know, he gets more formal. And if it’s a political thing where he doesn’t know anybody, he has a mask.” For those outside the inner circle, Romney comes across as all business. Colleagues at work or political staffers are there to do a job, not to bond. “Mitt is always the star,” said one Massachusetts Republican. “And everybody else is a bit player.” He has little patience for idle chatter or small talk, little interest in mingling at cocktail parties, at social functions, or even in the crowded hallway. He is not fed by, and does not crave, casual social interaction, often displaying little desire to know who people are and what makes them tick. “He wasn’t overly interested in people’s personal details or their kids or spouses or team building or their career path,” said another former aide. “It was all very friendly but not very deep.” Or, as one fellow Republican put it, “He has that invisible wall between ‘me’ and ‘you.’” Referring to the time later when Romney was governor of Massachusetts, a Democratic lawmaker recalls, “You remember Richard Nixon and the imperial presidency? Well, this was the imperial governor.” There were the ropes that often curtailed access to Romney and his chambers. The elevator settings restricted access to his office. The tape on the floor told people exactly where to stand during events. This was the controlled environment that Romney created. His orbit was his own. “We always would talk about how, among the legislators, he had no idea what our names were—none,” the lawmaker said, “because he was so far removed from the day-to-day operations of state government.”
The Meaning of Mitt
Romney has failed to define himself as well as properly prepare for this election. Apologizes for the short diary, but I've been looking forward to watching
The Newsroom on HBO all day. I just wanted to get these two pieces out there for you to read.