2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumNYT: Romney Claims of Bipartisanship as Governor Face Challenge
BOSTON He came into office with a mandate to shake things up, an agenda laden with civics-book reforms and a raging fiscal crisis that threatened to torpedo both. He sparred with a hostile legislature and suffered a humiliating setback in the midterm elections. As four years drew to a close, his legacy was blotted by anemic job growth, sagging political popularity and except for a landmark health care overhaul bill a record of accomplishment that disappointed many.
That could be the Barack Obama that Mitt Romney depicted in Wednesdays presidential debate as an ineffective and overly partisan leader. But it could also be Mitt Romney, who boasted of a stellar record as Massachusetts governor, running a state dominated by the political opposition.
Mr. Romney did score some successes beyond his health care legislation, notably joining a Democratic legislature to cut a deficit-ridden budget by $1.6 billion and revamping a troubled school building fund. Some outside experts and former aides say his administration excelled at the sorts of nuts-and-bolts efficiencies that make bureaucracies run better, like streamlining permit approvals and modernizing jobs programs.
As a Republican governor whose legislature was 87 percent Democratic, Mr. Romney said in Wednesdays debate, I figured out from Day 1 I had to get along, and I had to work across the aisle to get anything done. The result, he said, was that we drove our schools to be No. 1 in the nation. We cut taxes 19 times.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/us/politics/romney-claims-of-bipartisanship-as-governor-face-challenge.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121006
Justice
(7,185 posts)the health care plan was really the work of the speaker of the house - Sal DiMasi (now in jail for corruption, and sadly suffering from mouth/tongue cancer).
TroyD
(4,551 posts)I posted a list yesterday in another thread.
Everything from the fact that the Democratic legislature had to override hundreds of his vetoes, to his destroying his computer records before he left office, to being out of state on 200 different days instead of governing the state.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,407 posts)Nearly every POTUS until President Clinton enjoyed some degree of bipartisanship from the other side- or at least there was a recognition that, regardless of who is POTUS, life must go on and there were things that needed to get done. Even despite the "outcome" of the 2000 election, Democrats didn't vow to crush George W. Bush and worked together with him to keep the country going, especially after 9/11. The Republicans vowed to crush President Obama from day 0, making it necessary for President Obama to HAVE TO get things IN SPITE OF THEM. I imagine that Romney had it pretty easy by contrast in Massachusetts during his single term as Governor (and BTW I hate that some commentators still refer to him as "Governor Romney" even though he hasn't been governor for, what, 6 years? They do the same thing with Gingrich too).
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)office they have achieved. President Carter, Governor Whitman, Senator Kerry, Speaker Pelosi...
Annoying as it may be, more annoying might be for the press to diss former Senators, Governors, Presidents and Speakers we actually kinda like.
TroyD
(4,551 posts)As far as I know, Romney has been out of office longer than any other Presidential nominee of either party since Reagan in 1980.
Usually when people run for President, they are incumbent Governors, Senators, Vice-Presidents etc.
In Mitt's case, he has been out of office for YEARS.