Then there are the party elders who despise him, violating the Republican mantra of unity and harmony. The authoritative book on the 2008 campaign, “Game Change,’’ had John McCain referring to Romney in a way we can’t repeat here, Rudy Giuliani declaring Romney “will say anything,’’ Mike Huckabee saying “I don’t think Romney has a soul.’’
Add to this the fact that what he thought would be his signature accomplishment, universal health care reform in Massachusetts, is looking like his biggest obstacle to the nomination, despite that dramatic PowerPoint rebuttal he did last month that has so many enthralled onlookers thinking, “I only wish his font size was bigger.’’
Finally, there’s Sarah Palin, a politician with all the gravitas of a hummingbird but none of the insight, gobbling up attention by doing and saying precisely nothing of any logic or merit, even on the day of his announcement.
So, against this shaky backdrop, what does Romney do when he pulls into this quintessential New Hampshire town yesterday to launch his presidential campaign? He hits the cover off the ball, that’s what — maybe not for a home run, but at least a wall-ball double, one that may begin changing the tone of the game. He was confident, more so as he went along. He was pointed in his attacks on Barack Obama without being shrill. He poked fun at himself.
Watching Romney’s speech yesterday was a little like going back in time, back to 2002 when he won the election for Massachusetts governor by effectively portraying himself as a straightforward, business-minded outsider who would get caught in none of the traps that snare lifelong, overly ambitious politicians. He followed that up with a couple of good years in office, until he dedicated his life to his political ambition and didn’t miss an opportunity to pander, vacillate, make outright reversals on gut-check stands. It got bad.
