On Romney's White House bid...

It's less than a month and a half  to the general election in November 2012.  As everyone knows, unless something dramatic (or drastic, depending where you stand) happens, the result is more or less set.

Since Obama won in 2008, it's been some die-hard Republican burning dream to unseat  him at all costs.  Granted that Obama has not done himself any favors in backpedaling on issues, the economy is still doldrums for swarth of populace, and unemployment is still high, there's been turnaround improvements in the past four years.  Sure, economy has not roared back, like the country did when it crawled out from past recessions, the housing property has been looking up in a good part of the country.  Underemployment is still big problem, but at least the official unemployment figures and downturn have been arrested and not going upwards anymore.  Even in foreign policy which was almost a laughing joke of Obama - remember his proposal to do a sit-down with Iranian leaders? Well, it didn't happen - he has shown shrewdness and guts in dealing with tough situations like going after Osama bin Laden (where George W Bush and Bill Clinton have failed to do).  Even Michelle Obama - his spouse with a chip on her shoulder before winning the White House in 2008 - has turned around her public image.  Certainly it helps to have two cute-looking kids for the the cameras and spotlights.

It shouldn't have been bad - or this bad - for Romney.  He has a winsome wife and smart-looking children.  He has wealth.  He's got a good resume in business.  He bills himself as turnaround artist in coming to the rescue of the Salt Lake City winter Olympics.  Despite being a standard bearer of the GOP Party now, he has shown aptitude to work more like an Independent, or even a moderate Republican (if such species still exist), to work across the aisle in the Massachusetts City Hall as its governor.  What more can you ask for from a candidate?  Everything looks perfect on paper.

Of course, things don't always work out as well as they do on papers.  There are many theories as to why Romney's campaign looks so anemic so late in the game, ranging the blame game of Romney himself (he doesn't really have any burning conviction or long-standing principles politically, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly doesn't make him look any better, with even his own campaign staffers billed him as the chameleon who would drop all that he's promised in the primaries, by way of etch a sketch), or the confusion within his own campaign staffers, or the extreme right positions of his own party, or that, maybe the real situation isn't as bad as poll numbers have shown it to be, yada yada yada.

But perhaps his most decided failure is that, no one has much burning passion or rooting for him.  Heck, he doesn't even have the stomach to stand up and defend himself.  He stops touting his business records when the Obama campaign stresses Bain Capital for outsourcing jobs to cut costs, rather than creating jobs.  He refuses to address issues about his wealth or even release his tax returns in order to duck the accusation that he's paying lower tax rate than average Americans; his only defense (and very lame one too) being that, it's all legal.  (I mean, seriously, Mitt? I heard loads of Wall Street bankers using that "it's all legal" lame excuses to do whatever they want, before the 2008 collapse in the financial system.)  He's pandered to the far right in issues like abortion.  He's backtracked on his record of pushing through the healthcare reform in Massachusetts (dubbed RomneyCare), which has been a blueprint of the very unpopular ObamaCare among diehard Republicans.  On almost every single issue, Romney has to backtrack on what he's done or said, with or without the attack from the Obama camp.  Even on the very non-partisan issue where he's tried to drum up his foreign policy standing, with the hope of reminding people how great a job he's done at Salt Lake City, using the visit London Olympics as highlight, he's put his foot in mouth by criticizing London's missteps, resulting in foreign leader's (British prime minister David Cameron) public rebuke.  And then there is the latest 47% remarks, denigrating and essentially writing off those very voters that he should be wooing.  Choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate is supposed to reset the public discourse, emphasizing on the direction of taxes and budget deficit; unfortunately, Romney never seems to be a true believer in the more extreme position of the Ryan plan, worrying that any tinkering of the Medicare will anger the older voters in must-win states like Florida.  Even those supposedly on his side, including the very faithful Wall Street Journal, voice their displeasure on how things have been going with the Romney campaign.

To be sure, I'm not a sworn Democrat; I'm more an Independent issue voter.  I voted for Hillary Clinton in the last election's Dem primaries, and then I switched to John McCain even though McCain looks rather impotent.  At least McCain has shown himself to be a principled man.  Circa 2008, I haven't seen anything from the blank slate of the then Obama, and I didn't - and still don't - buy into the hype of Hope and Change.  I never believe in one-man crusade.

Having said that, Obama has come a long way.  Surely, he's nowhere near the Hope and Change that he's billed himself to be, and anyone pragmatic enough should know that while the president can steer the country to one direction or another, the president alone is not going to bring about the kind of change that many voters - in particular, the young college crowds - have hoped for in Washington.  Obama does show his approach and attempts in addressing issues like the economy and foreign policy, and I like what I see.  It's not sufficient for GOP - let alone Romney - to run a campaign simply with the slogan to vote Obama out, as the antidote for anything ill in this country.  In fact, I blame more on the gridlock in Washington and the Congress (Republicans and Democrats alike) for the increasing partisanship that results in nothing useful being done, rather than the president alone.  Attempts after attempts to undermine the much needed regulations to rein in Wall Streets, banks and financial institutions, like the recent veto of the SEC proposal by the Republican commissioner to reinforce the wobbling money market funds, make me really sick.  Those are the kind of actions that I would like to get done, and Washington fails miserably again and again; and it's nothing of Obama's doing.

Prior to the announcement of Romney becoming the GOP nominee, I have thought that Romney is the most likely candidate to defeat Obama, given that Romney should have the biggest appeal to the moderate and independent voters, like myself.  Since then, the choice of Paul Ryan on the GOP ticket, the failure of Romney to forcibly come out to rebut the many attacks on long-standing women's rights (eg. abortion rights, contraception), and many of these similar incidents, go to reinforce the impression of impotence of the Romney campaign, and his lack of conviction and principles.  Romney's (and all other GOP's, including Ryan) attacks of Obama consist of nothing other than accusation that, yes things are improving but not good enough, so let me give me a try.  For goodness sake, this country is in such deep shit, thanks to the very long eight years under Bush who is so incompetent, he let Cheney and neocon run amok to start, not one, but two wars, and let Wall Street lobbyists tear down all safeguards, aided by Greenspan and the gang.  Do I want to give the White House back to another Republic administration to go back to the same wrong track that Bush has started us down?  Hell, no.

Bottomline is, there's no reason why we shouldn't stay the course, and let Obama finish the job since he's shown sufficient competency and principles to handle the complexity and demands in the job at White House.  If Romney can't even handle a campaign, how can I be sure he and his staffers can handle the real thing?

As Ann Romney says it, "it's hard."  I can only think of one message to her:  But, honey, of course it's hard; your husband is applying for the top job in the world, and you think everyone's going to fall over each other to kiss your feet, simply because you've been earning big bucks for so long?  She must be smoking or something.  I don't doubt that Romney is a nice guy in person, but as Bush has shown us all, I don't want a guy who we would share a beer with, but who is too incompetent for the job.  It's not good enough; it should never be good enough.