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."
THANKS... but NO THANKS!
How much is Romney paying for these guys to be putting out these trial balloons?
This guy seems to think Romney would not be such a phony this time.
So, this guy is pushing for Romney so that Romney can be a chameleon and change into whatever he thinks the public wants? He has already tried that — and HE LOST.
After two runs for the presidency, we have had plenty enough of the phony Romney and the Romney who cowered in the debates after the Crowley — ‘get the transcript, Candy’ — confrontation.
Romney lost to the guy who lost to Obama.
Romney lost to Obama.
If he wants to run for something, let him try running for Dog Catcher and see if he can do that. He has only won ONE election — and that was a single term as Governor of Massachusetts.
Author is on crack.
GO... AWAY!
Perfect analysis...
Richard Nixon, had won his first Congressional race immediately after leaving WWII as a Lieutenant Commander, followed by a second term, followed by the Senate, followed by the vice presidency twice, he was a political war horse.
During his 20+ years of running, Romney won a single race with less than 50%, and his own polling made him give up on reelection, he left that office as a failure and with 34% approval and switched that office from 4 GOP governors in a row, to democrat.
Do NOt Want.... indeed. Not just NO but hell NO
Tell the RINOS: HELL NO!
Ted Cruz IS the one that CAN win!
Just when we were looking forward to no more obama, it’s albinobama!
Pray America wakes up
“He didn’t want to win in 2012.”
That’s the thing with the Romneybots who blame everybody but their candidate for losing. The guy threw the game and got bullied by Candy Crowley.
What really ticked me off is how he “went missing” the last three weeks before the election. I forgot who was running against the Kenyan. He was no where to be seen.
Willard might have learned to be a better candidate- but conservatives have no more reason to like him now than they did before. If the GOPe hasn’t learned that northeastern RINO candidates will be ignored on election day by conservatives, they will be consigned to oblivion, along with the Republican party. WHICH IS THE BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME!
We have the WINNER!
Instead we’d have the so called lesser evil crapping on our heads. But this speculation is moot because Mitt wasn’t running to win anyway. You have to kind of show up if you want people to vote for you. Mitt couldn’t be bothered so neither could anyone else.
Are you drunk or just high?
Moderates are losers.
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The way I view our politics (L to R), with the Center dividing:
Left: Socialist/communist, progressive, liberal, Democrat;
Right: Republican, libertarian, independent, conservative.
The two groups just left and just right of center are the so-called moderates.
Obviously, the Independents and Conservatives are more in tune with the majority of American citizens. So, why do the Socialist/Communist and Progressive groups on the left get so much more support from the media and the Obama admin.???
Water under the bridge, or to put it in another vernacular, spores in the wind.
45 posted on Thursday, July 31, 2014 10:10:32 PM by Fungi
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To: Fungi
Its all water near a bridge...
46 posted on Thursday, July 31, 2014 10:11:55 PM by mylife
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How did Drunk Fat Dead Ted Kennedy get in this conversation?
Romney’s an anti-American, New World Order globalist, just like Obama and Hillary...Why would any American want to vote for him???
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