Game Change: Can Mitt Romney Beat Obama? - Page 2
Step 3: Strike the right tones on foreign policy and national defense.
While we Americans like for our Commander-In-Chief to be tough on defense, we are also a very war-weary nation looking for some relief from overseas conflicts. Therefore, Romney would be wise to try and look tougher than the President on Iran, and other potential threats, but not "too much" tougher. Saber rattling and seeming eager to send more Americans off to war in a general election could come back to haunt him, especially among veterans and their families.
Step 4: Do something to excite the base.
Let's face it, core GOP voters are not too excited about Mitt Romney, whereas the Democratic base seems firmly behind the President. One possibility might be for Mitt to pick a running-mate that is popular with the base, but he should learn from John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin in 2008, that experience counts to voters as well as excitement, and make a safe choice for the No. 2 spot on the ticket. In addition to Sen. Marco Rubio, S.C. Governor Nikki Haley, or Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, might be good choices for Romney.
Step 5: Downplay the wealthy and disconnected persona.
Mitt has stepped in it a number of times when it comes to his zillion dollar wallet in a nation full of people who are hurting in this economy. From saying "I like firing people", "I'm not concerned about the very poor" to "Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs", like John Forbes Kerry before him, he needs to do everything he can to move the focus away from his giant fortune to his platform. One way to do this might be to keep his mouth firmly shut about how many houses and cars he owns, and how much he likes to fire people from now on. Seriously.
If Mitt Romney can successfully do ALL of these things, then in my judgment we are going to have a very tight race come November, as Romney, unlike McCain, should have plenty of cash to take on the President. Just so long as he learns from some of his mistakes in the GOP primary and crafts a well-executed plan based on the points above, he's got a chance.
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