Mark Halperin chronicles the many woes of the Romney campaign in the wake of their epic Meh Convention. It's not pretty. If this is the conventional wisdom, they've got to be getting pretty desperate.
But Halperin shares a little inside knowledge from earlier in the campaign that's rather interesting:
Romney still has the debates, millions and millions in TV ads, and weeks of campaigning to try to turn things around. But he faces the immediate threat of quiet and loud we-told-you-so’s from Republicans who last year had the very worries they fear are being manifested now. Romney is an awkward, unlikable candidate. The author of RomneyCare is ill positioned to attack ObamaCare. And Romney’s shifting positions make him an easy mark for an aggressive White House.
And that's not even counting the fact that he's a massively wealthy vulture capitalist who refuses to even release his tax returns at a time of economic suffering among the people he wants to vote for him. He is the Marie Antoinette of American politics. Almost anyone would have been better at a time like this. (Except Palin …)
I've never believed that Obama would be beaten in this election. It seems counter-intuitive, I know. The economy sucks. But my feeling has been from the beginning that the Republicans' heart wasn't in it. They don't want the mess and they are such an effective opposition party that they can accomplish many of their goals without the presidency. (I suppose that the fact the first string didn't jump in was the first clue.)I'm sure they would have loved to make Obama a one termer. But they can live without it if they fail.
But any idea that this loss will be so traumatic that they'll change their spots and become partners like old Tipnronnie back in 82 is delusional. None of this is personal.It's strictly business. And they have an agenda to advance. The only question is whether the Democrats, including the president, will help them.
