Romneydid none of what I suggested. His apppeal to the working class was very weak. He ran and behaved not as a populist, but as Thurston Howell III, of Gilligan’s Island fame. And as for Herman Cain being the next best candidate, well, he was a joke to all but his devotees. Why not run Alan Keyes instead. (sarc)
Romney ran on pro-coal, pro-American manufacturing, and clamping down on China , but it didn’t work . Romney was actually the more populist of the two candidates, but the Dims framed the race and argument early ,and ultimately won because of it .
Cain truly posed more of a threat than most realize . He is the only candidate that could have pulled ,at the least, 10 percent of the black vote, which would have won it .
This is evidenced by how vociferously he was attacked .
I could go into the details of this , but if you do not understand what I am saying, it won’t matter anyhow ...