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spanone

(135,633 posts)
Fri Jul 13, 2012, 01:15 PM Jul 2012

Did Republicans forget to vet Romney?

Here's how it normally works: Several fully funded, fully staffed campaigns vie for the presidential nomination over a period of some two years, sometimes a little more. Some of those full-service campaigns may come to an end shortly after the Iowa caucuses, but only after having basically run serious races — think, for example, John Edwards in 2008 or Steve Forbes in 2000. One of the consequences is in opposition research: By the time a candidate secures the nomination, odds are that the most obvious personal attacks have been exposed. It doesn't mean they won't still be used in the general election, or that exposing them early necessarily neutralizes them, but it does mean that party actors should get a general sense of what they're dealing with.

That's why the conservative-fringe idea that Barack Obama was never vetted is silly; while it's always possible that something else might be out there, Obama survived a general election campaign against John McCain and a tough primary fight against Hillary Clinton (and several other seemingly competent campaigns up through Iowa, as well). Indeed, a lot of the story about Obama is a complaint that already-reported items have, for some Republicans, inexplicitly failed to get voters to reject him. To a large extent, even the fringe Obama vetters know that the 2008 campaign functioned to produce information about Obama.

That didn't quite happen this time around, did it? I think that’s the context behind Thursday’s Bain article in the Boston Globe as well as the recent Vanity Fair article about offshore accounts. Remember the primary season? There were basically two serious candidates who fully committed to the race against Mitt Romney: Tim Pawlenty, who left early before really getting his act together, and Rick Perry, who started late and promptly imploded. Does anyone think that any other candidate had a serious opposition-research shop and the ability to exploit whatever was there? I sure don't. Rick Santorum barely had a campaign. Newt? Sure, he was supported by anti-Bain Super PAC ads, but I don't think he actually had much of a campaign staff, either. Herman Cain? Michele Bachmann? Ron Paul? Well, Paul did run some very effective attack ads (against Newt, if I recall correctly), but you didn't really need very sophisticated research to come up with Newt and Nancy on the couch.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/did-republicans-forget-to-vet-romney/2012/07/12/gJQAXrb4fW_blog.html?hpid=z2

12 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Did Republicans forget to vet Romney? (Original Post) spanone Jul 2012 OP
Here is my take on this NNN0LHI Jul 2012 #1
Baloney. randome Jul 2012 #2
Yeah, I don't think they cared all that much PatSeg Jul 2012 #7
Thank you for posting this Dalai_1 Jul 2012 #3
He was vetted by the McCain team. louis-t Jul 2012 #4
maybe this is why? spanone Jul 2012 #10
I think they knew, but... GoCubsGo Jul 2012 #5
Remember the Palin vetting? progressivebydesign Jul 2012 #6
+1 GardeningGal Jul 2012 #9
Romney looked akward in 2008 as well... Xolodno Jul 2012 #8
No McCain beat him up in 2008 Johonny Jul 2012 #11
McCain had done it treestar Jul 2012 #12

NNN0LHI

(67,190 posts)
1. Here is my take on this
Fri Jul 13, 2012, 01:20 PM
Jul 2012

They knew no one was going to beat Obama. Anyone with half a brain knew that.

So they threw the most hated politician they had in for the slaughter.

Don

 

randome

(34,845 posts)
2. Baloney.
Fri Jul 13, 2012, 01:23 PM
Jul 2012

You don't drag your name through the mud just to get rid of a minor character like Romney.

No one is in charge at the GOP.

Bush, Jr. is toxic to them. Palin was not vetted. Romney was not vetted.

There's nobody home.

PatSeg

(46,794 posts)
7. Yeah, I don't think they cared all that much
Fri Jul 13, 2012, 02:09 PM
Jul 2012

They couldn't find a decent candidate who was willing to run and they've been putting most of their energy into state elections and Congress.

Dalai_1

(1,301 posts)
3. Thank you for posting this
Fri Jul 13, 2012, 01:25 PM
Jul 2012

surely, he was not vetted very well, if at all...I think they were so anxious to
wind him up,get him on the road that it never occurred to them anything
such as his experience at Bain would be an obstacle..more importantly,
they underestimated President Obama's campaign staff.I feel sure the
President had this information long before there was a whisper of
wrongdoing by rmoney...hopefully ,there is more to come if necessary.

GoCubsGo

(32,061 posts)
5. I think they knew, but...
Fri Jul 13, 2012, 01:59 PM
Jul 2012

They have gotten so arrogant that I don't think they believed the Obama campaign would go after them here. I think they also have started to believe their own BS talking points about the President being "stupid", "unprepared", "in over his head", and all the other lies they spew about him. They certainly don't think that a stupid, unprepared guy who is in over his head is going to be smart enough to go after their guy the way they go after Dems.

progressivebydesign

(19,458 posts)
6. Remember the Palin vetting?
Fri Jul 13, 2012, 02:05 PM
Jul 2012

I think they don't care. I think that they truly believe that with the Citizens United ruling, that the Billion+ they're spending against President Obama trumps anything that could come out about Romney. They knew damn well that he has these issues, they've seen his financials. But they don't care.. they truly believe that they will buy the election and use the "anyone but Obama" mentality.

They have tried to destroy him from Day One. And they figure they could put anyone up against him, and win, because they have the media, and they have billions to spend. They are not concerned about it. They also thought they had it in the bag with McCain/Palin because they had a vet and a woman. They were wrong.

I do think they know Rmoney's issues.. but they figure that they can lie, buy, and sling mud on the airwave that they own.

Their BIG miscalculation was Rmoney's COMPLETE lack of personality and charm. Bush was the worst president ever.. but at least he was funny and people found him charming. Romney is like the asshole that the bank that wouldn't give you a loan, and made you cry on the sidewalk when you got outside because he was so condescending.

Xolodno

(6,330 posts)
8. Romney looked akward in 2008 as well...
Fri Jul 13, 2012, 02:49 PM
Jul 2012

...they more or less said let him have it this time and lets see what he can accomplish. The GOP establishment I'm pretty sure has no illusions thinking they got this in the bag and I do believe they are focusing on the Senate.

The other reality is, they had no canidates to field this time either. They thought Bobby Jindal might rise up, but then he crashed and burned on the State of the Union address rebutal. He needs time for that memory to slip out of memory.

Paul Ryan, Chris Cristie, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, etc. are all rising stars, but still haven't quite cut thier teeth yet. There looking to take on Biden in 2016. If they manage to take the White House this cycle, then it will only give more experience to thier rising stars for later...but aren't expecting it.

Johonny

(20,683 posts)
11. No McCain beat him up in 2008
Fri Jul 13, 2012, 05:09 PM
Jul 2012

the Bain stuff hurt him all the way back when he ran first for the Senate. Everyone but apparently Mitt Romney understands his huge weaknesses as a candidate. Which is why after all this time it is AMAZING how horrible he is at responding to questions any normal candidate would know were coming.

treestar

(82,383 posts)
12. McCain had done it
Fri Jul 13, 2012, 05:12 PM
Jul 2012

Maybe they relied too much on that. Or they are just incompetent and they don't have anyone else that can get nominated, with the Tea Party in the mix.

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