New Yorker: Why Is Romney Such a Loser? Seven Theories

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2012/09/why-is-romney-such-a-loser.html?mbid=nl_Weekly%20%2823%29

September 21, 2012

Posted by John Cassidy

It’s a serious question. On the basis of fundamentals, the race should be a squeaker. The Yale economist Ray Fair’s prediction model, which ignores the opinion polls and just looks at economic factors, currently puts Obama’s share of the popular vote at 49.5 per cent, implying that Romney would almost certainly get a narrow majority in the electoral college and win the election. Because the margin of error in Fair’s forecasting equation is three per cent, he isn’t really predicting a Romney victory; he’s just saying that the race should be close, really close. As of today, it isn’t.

According to the Real Clear Politics poll-of-polls, which averages out all the most recent surveys, Obama is leading by more than three points. Since the start of the year, Romney hasn’t led the poll-of-polls. He has only drawn level once—immediately after the Republican convention. And in many of the swing states, such as Ohio and Virginia, the survey data looks even worse for him. He could still come back, of course, but at this stage it will take something dramatic to change the dynamics: a foreign-policy disaster, a terrible piece of economic news, a big slipup by Obama in the debates.

What’s gone wrong for Romney? Here are seven possible explanations:

1. The Romney campaign is incompetent. In a column a couple of days ago, Peggy Noonan, the former White House speech writer for Ronald Reagan, said publicly what many Republicans have been saying in private for months: “It’s time to admit the Romney campaign is an incompetent one. It’s not big, it’s not brave, it’s not thoughtfully tackling great issues. It’s always been too small for the moment.” Stuart Stevens, Romney’s mercurial campaign manager, is the piñata of the moment, with Republicans blaming him for everything from failing to settle on a clear message, hogging too much responsibility inside Team Romney—he’s in charge of speech-writing and advertising, as well as overall strategy—and bungling Romney’s speech at the convention. Stevens “sold himself as a kind of mad genius,” Noonan noted acidly. “I get the mad part.”

2. Romney is incompetent. No big-name Republican has come right out and said this, but many are increasingly convinced of it, especially following the emergence of the “forty-seven per cent” video. Bill Kristol, the editor of the Weekly Standard, called Romney’s comments on the video “stupid and arrogant.” In a column in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove, who has been one of Romney’s biggest supporters, noted, “There’s little tolerance among Republican donors, activists and talking heads for more statements by Mr. Romney that the media can depict as gaffes.” It seems that almost every week lately Romney has had to walk back, or clarify, something embarrassing he’s said.


FULL story at link.

[gopiscrap]

1. Rmoney is such a loser because

he never had to live a real life!!!

[markpkessinger]

2. Re. Rove's comment about the media depicting Romney's comments as "gaffes" . . .

. . . The problem isn't that these were Romney "gaffes" -- they were simply truthful statements about how he regards 47% of the population. Considering he has since doubled down on those remarks, they can hardly be called "gaffes."

[Spazito]

3. This statement is all that is needed...

"Ultimately, though, the primary responsibility lies with Romney himself."

Yes, yes it does. He can't manage, he has NO campaign skills, he chose the wrong people to be part of his campaign, he chose the wrong people to advise him and he chose the wrong person to be his VP.

To quote from one of my favorite movies:

"He chose poorly"

in every possible way.

[renate]

4. this sentence sums up the GOP for me:

“It’s a protest movement rather than a party of government”--the author is quoting himself from a previous piece, but I also think it bears repeating.

[Moral Compass]

5. But why does he appear to be stupid?

What I can't figure out, is why does he appear to be stupid?

He's been the hyper successful CEO/owner of a very successful private equity company. Regardless of what you think of his business practices, the outsourcing, the shuttering of plants, the layoffs, and the forced bankruptcies...he did one successful deal after another. He made a whole bunch of money. Stupid can't do that. At least so I thought.

He did so well, that he was able to save the main Bain firm, when their hedging strategies blew up in their faces.

So, why does he appear to be stupid? These are stupid comments he's making. The Olympic gaffe? Stupid! The Israel gaffe? Stupid! The Libya gaffe? Stupid! The planes should have windows that roll down gaffe? Stupid! The poor can get their health care at the emergency room gaffe? Stupid!

Something is just not right here. He's not supposed to be stupid. I didn't expect to like his positions, but I didn't expect out and out stupidity. But here it is. Day after day. Week after week.

He either is starting to show signs of dementia or he's doing his best to throw the election. Because otherwise this all doesn't make any sense. Unless he's always been some sort of suited up figurehead and I'm not buying that.

Any thoughts?

[RagAss]

6. Because he is being coached to speak down to a low IQ base.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. One Correction-Ted Kennedy Didn't Beat Romney Narrowly. He Beat Him 58%-42%

Ironically that might have been Ted's closest race in Massachusetts*



not sure about his first Senate race in 1962.