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“Many of us thought that Romney was capable of an aggressive campaign, questions of ideology aside, as we watched him systematically and even ruthlessly dismantle his conservative opponents in the primaries.”

Thanks for a very thoughtful assessment. I think it's still relatively early, and to be honest, I haven't heard many of Romney's stump speeches, so I'm not sure how aggressive he's been verbally. Also, to be fair, the media weren't covering for his Republican opponents in the primaries like they are for Obama. If anything, because they saw Romney as less conservative than some of his opponents, they were probably more than happy to help him beat those opponents.

I believe that a viable campaign approach has to include efforts to divide some of the coalitions that make up the democrat base, and to work on suppressing their support. I know this sounds distasteful, but its what they do, and to me it's much more ‘distasteful’ to lose our nation as we know it.

I also think that Romney needs to really hit hard on the economic front, and point out to all of those saving for retirement that they may lose much of the value of everything they've saved and invested because of a looming collapse of what is now a financial house of cards. Also, point out to home owners that they've lost a significant amount of their equity (if they have any at all and aren't underwater), and that this is not going to get better unless we have significant economic growth. People respond most predictably to what they perceive is in their best interest.