Posted on 07/31/2014 7:42:17 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Nobody has ever rooted for that scrappy Romney kid to overcome the odds. Until, maybe, now.
Perhaps it says something about us that our most interesting presidential candidates swear they won't run for president. This is true of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and it's increasingly true of Mitt Romney.
As regular readers of this column know, I've never been much of a Romney booster. I've also expressed skepticism about the notion he would run again. But let's not let "a foolish consistency" cloud our judgment. There is reason to believe that a third try wouldn't be an absurd venture.
First, in the intervening years since 2012 — and on a range of issues, not the least of which is Russia — Romney has been proven right. And second — perhaps more important — one of the reasons so many observers viscerally disliked Romney was the cloying "goody-goody" quality that this fortunate son seemed to ooze. But do you know what the cure for that is? Losing.
That's right, Mitt Romney the scrappy underdog — the loser who's out to redeem himself — is a more attractive Mitt.
You know the term "lovable loser?" He should embrace it.
There's a reason why Rocky gets knocked out by "Clubber" Lang early on in Rocky III. The rest of the movie is about the comeback. This journey involves Rocky shedding the trappings of fame and wealth — and getting real.
Romney would similarly have to get real. No more phoniness. No more telling us what he thinks we want to hear. He would have to be utterly authentic, and he would have to show that losing caused him to encounter pain and reflection. (The good news is that the Netflix film, Mitt, already helped show this side of Romney.)
Could Romney III be like Rocky III? Maybe, if the narrative is true and convincing.
There's a reason the "comeback" trope resonates with us (aside from Rocky, it's a prevalent theme in almost every boxing movie, ranging from The Fighter to Cinderella Man). These tropes are timeless precisely because they tap into something that we intuitively understand about nobility, courage, and humility.
People like comebacks. We can identify with the guy or gal who is struggling to redeem themselves (and nobody has ever identified with Mitt Romney before).
Ironically, Romney is almost tailor-made to benefit from having lost before. What might be a devastating blow to most political figures — a blight on their résumé — actually transforms Romney into a more compelling candidate. Having struggled and stumbled is, for Romney, at least, a feature, not a bug. The same could be said for Hillary Clinton, who only became a compelling candidate in 2008 when she lost her front-runner status.
People who were hated the first time around — when their lives seemed charmed — can, by facing adversity and overcoming the odds, transform into sympathetic figures — heroes, even — that we actually root for (think: Robert Downey Jr.). Nobody has ever rooted for that scrappy Romney kid to overcome the odds. Until, maybe, now.
Someone who knows a thing or two about comebacks is Pat Buchanan. In fact, his new book is called The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose From Defeat to Create the New Majority.
During a recent discussion, I asked Buchanan about the prospects of Romney taking a page from the Nixon playbook. After all, George Romney figures prominently in the Nixon comeback story. "First, I admire that Romney is thinking of this," Buchanan told me during a recent podcast discussion, "and he ought to follow what's in his heart."
Buchanan, whose sister was a Romney adviser, believes that Romney should take a page from the Nixon handbook. Having lost to Kennedy in 1960, and then having lost the 1962 gubernatorial election in California, Nixon was assumed politically dead. But he was revived by working hard for other candidates — he worked hard for conservative Barry Goldwater in 1964 and backed liberal Republican Nelson Rockefeller's candidacy in New York — just to name two of the many GOPers he hit the hustings for between 1962 and 1968.
"If I were Romney, there's no doubt I would do it," Buchanan (who thrice ran for president, himself) continued, adding, "But I'm not him."
Romeny’s had his bites at the apple. He let it slip away through his fingers. We don’t need a POTUS who can’t stand up to a fat woman named Candy. (Sorry, Candy, but it’s true.)
But as a candidate he evidently did, he lost by millions, an election that the republicans couldn’t lose.
But the GOP knows that.
I can't wait until the liberal republicans are politically destroyed.
/johnny
Best to roll over and get yer teeth kicked in...
Water under the bridge, or to put it in another vernacular, spores in the wind.
Its all water near a bridge...
How would he explain why after he won the nomination, that he switched back to being pro-choice, and claimed that he had campaigned as such?
The silly GOP can nominate Mittens again, but he might drop out on Oct. 1 and endorse HRC to promote “unity”.
Because the true believers would not back him.
Sure he sucked but the other teams true believers backed Obama.
Now where are we at?
I understand the disgust with moderates.
Jeez Obama is hanging it all around our necks now, but if the ahole was not in office we would have a chance.
That is your argument in support of the pro-choice Romney running again, is that republican voters don’t vote for him?
Its a fact, had we voted for Romney as distasteful as he is we would not be enduring Obama crapping on our heads.
Lesser of two evils and all that...
But thats what Romney did not do. He sat silent during the early battles about Obamacare and left it to Palin and a small handful of others to fight the fight... and indeed, romniacs almost uniformly savaged Palin at every opportunity. In fact, I'd say that the romniacs were as relentless in their attacks on Palin and tea party conservatives as they were silent in the face of Obama's assault on the constitution.
In fact, he was AWOL all during all the fights that mattered. He continues to be AWOL. He does not lead. He does not fight. He does not stand for anything.
Leaders lead. Fighters fight. They do not wait to be anointed.
Romney tanked Massachusetts and imposed gay marriage
and ObamaCARE/RomneyCARE.
AND he is Mexican.
Romney/Soros 2016
Mitt! Take a hint! We don't want you as our candidate. You are a proven loser.
Its a war of increments, you don’t just charge headlong into 500 troops alone, it is certain death.
Face it the stuff Mittens is despised here for is stuff that the general public has to be swayed on.
Would you rather have Obama in your camp or Mittens?
I do not know the guy but I’ll pick Mitt.
Obama/Romney - Each of their names are audible and visual ipecac.
That was gibberish.
Absolutely.
Christie crashed and burned, “JEB” hasn’t taken off and McLame is too old. So the RINO establishment - the guys who wacked McDaniels in Mississippi, have dusted off Romney and are trying HIM out - AGAIN!!!
NO DICE!!!
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