Romney Reopens Whatever-It-Takes Playbook

NYT ^ | Published: March 1, 2012 | MICHAEL BARBARO and JEREMY W. PETERS

[throwback]

When Gov. Rick Perry began rising in the polls, Mitt Romney was ready with a potent debate-night assault: under Mr. Perry, illegal immigrants in Texas received a $100,000 tuition break.

As Newt Gingrich surged, the Romney campaign dispatched colleagues of Mr. Gingrich, a former House speaker, to ridicule him as “narcissistic” and “erratic” in conference calls that required a sardonic pass code: “Newt Gingrich is an unreliable leader.”

And with Rick Santorum persisting as a threat as 10 states prepare to vote on Tuesday, Mr. Romney unleashed an ad in Ohio on Thursday mocking him as an unprincipled flip-flopper.

The Romney campaign’s shortcomings have been on vivid display in recent weeks, from verbal stumbles to a failure to stir the passions of the Republican base.

But even his battered rivals acknowledge that Mr. Romney is proving unusually adept at defining, diminishing and disqualifying a serial cast of challengers through relentless attacks.

His campaign has deployed every tactic in the negative-campaign playbook. It has issued Twitter messages poking fun at Mr. Gingrich’s penchant for rhetorical excess (with the hashtag #grandiosenewt). It created digital slogans and a letterhead disparaging Mr. Santorum’s long career in government (“Rick Went to Washington,” they read, “and he never came back”). It created dozens of Web videos denigrating President Obama’s economic leadership (“Obama isn’t working”). And it benefited from the advertising onslaught unleashed against Mr. Romney’s rivals by a “super PAC” backing him.

[throwback]

But negative commercials have accounted for nearly half of all the money Mr. Romney has spent on broadcast television advertising this election — $5.7 million. That is roughly as much as Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Santorum and Representative Ron Paul of Texas have spent combined.

Money can't buy happiness, but it does buy a lot of negative ads. His problem in the general will be that Obama has an unlimited ability to run negative ads because the media will be working for free.

[wildbill]

Maybe Romney will be the well-financed attack dog we need to get after Obama.

[FrankR]

[Erik Latranyi]

Maybe Romney will be the well-financed attack dog we need to get after Obama.

Romney has said he will not do that in contrast to Gingrich and Santorum's attacks on Obama.

[ansel12]

Maybe Romney can attack Obama for Romneycare, and for pushing homosexuality in the military and our culture.

“If we are to achieve the goals we share, we must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern. My opponent cannot do this. I can and will.”

“One issue I want to clarify concerns President Clinton’s “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue” military policy. I believe that the Clinton compromise was a step in the right direction. I am also convinced that it is the first of a number of steps that will ultimately lead to gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly in our nation’s military. That goal will only be reached when preventing discrimination against gays and lesbians is a mainstream concern, which is a goal we share.”
Sincerely,
W. Mitt Romney

[Logical me]

Romney is about as close to a closed mind as can be and he will be as dangerous as King Obama with the pen. Watch this guy operate and draw your own conclusions. Doubt he will honor much input from the Senate or House once elected.