G.O.P. Donors Seek to Anoint a 2016 Nominee Early

[mrpeatie]

Originally Posted by LauraC

Romney flip-flopped and then flipped again on so many issues that no one knew what he stood for or whether they could believe what he was saying when he ran. While Obama projected a blank slate, Romney had the entire slate covered.

I have similar feelings about 2012. It was a very weird election. Instead of a mandate on Obama the Obama team was able to turn it into a mandate on Romney for undecided voters. Or more accurately- mid 90s Romney, 2002 Romney, 2008 Romeny, 2012 Primary Romney and 2012 General Election Romney. With a side of 'Romney comes to town' corporate raider as funded by Sheldon Addleston in the primary.

He basically had himself tied in knots with two sides and three explanations of every issue, 47% and an explanation of Romneycare not being Obamacare that rivalled anything Bill Clinton pulled in trying to find alternate meanings for the verb 'is.' If it weren't for Obama's being so much less popular than in 2008 I think Romney would have been relegated to the low 40s, I think a hamster could have gotten the same vote total. Then again I think every election since Eisenhower is as much about who was defeated as it was about who won.

[dsjj251]

Originally Posted by wutitiz

Exactly right. Competition improves the breed. In 2012 we saw one 'not Romney' after another lead in the GOP polls. There was Cain, Santorum, Perry, Gingrich, and all proved unsuitable, and I think it made Romney stronger. I disagree that Romney was not a strong candidate. He did in fact overcome all these challengers (mostly they all imploded on their own).

Romney lost in 2012 largely due to identity politics. Romney won 59% of the white vote. You don't do that as a weak candidate. But he lost 80% of the non-white vote due to Pres. Obama's much greater focus on, and facility with, manipulation of the electorate via identity politics.

The fact that Mitt Romney couldnt beat what most see as mediocre competition could indeed be argued as proof that he was an inferior candidate.

Think of it in sports terms. You dont expect a good team to struggle with a bad one.

And yes, you can do that as a weak candidate, you said it yourself by talking about identity politics.