"Why Is Romney Such a Loser? Seven Theories" by John Cassidy at the New Yorker

[applegrove]

Why Is Romney Such a Loser? Seven Theories

Posted by John Cassidy at the New Yorker


http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2012/09/why-is-romney-such-a-loser.html#ixzz2799np1pe

"SNIP............................................

What’s gone wrong for Romney? Here are seven possible explanations:

1. The Romney campaign is incompetent. In a column a couple of days ago, Peggy Noonan, the former White House speech writer for Ronald Reagan, said publicly what many Republicans have been saying in private for months: “It’s time to admit the Romney campaign is an incompetent one. It’s not big, it’s not brave, it’s not thoughtfully tackling great issues. It’s always been too small for the moment.” Stuart Stevens, Romney’s mercurial campaign manager, is the piñata of the moment, with Republicans blaming him for everything from failing to settle on a clear message, hogging too much responsibility inside Team Romney—he’s in charge of speech-writing and advertising, as well as overall strategy—and bungling Romney’s speech at the convention. Stevens “sold himself as a kind of mad genius,” Noonan noted acidly. “I get the mad part.”

2. Romney is incompetent. No big-name Republican has come right out and said this, but many are increasingly convinced of it, especially following the emergence of the “forty-seven per cent” video. Bill Kristol, the editor of the Weekly Standard, called Romney’s comments on the video “stupid and arrogant.” In a column in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove, who has been one of Romney’s biggest supporters, noted, “There’s little tolerance among Republican donors, activists and talking heads for more statements by Mr. Romney that the media can depict as gaffes.” It seems that almost every week lately Romney has had to walk back, or clarify, something embarrassing he’s said.

3. It’s all the G.O.P.’s fault. A month ago, on the eve of the Republican convention, I wrote a post saying that Romney’s main handicap wasn’t his campaign manager or his tendency to trip himself up but the fact that he was running as the representative of such an extremist and unpopular party. “It’s a protest movement rather than a party of government,” I wrote. “Even in the most favorable circumstances, it’s barely electable at the national level.” That still seems right. Even after his problems, Romney’s approval ratings (low forties) are running about ten points ahead of the G.O.P.’s ratings (low thirties).

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[Freddie]

1. 8. He makes C. Montgomery Burns look like Santa Claus

[lumberjack_jeff]

2. They're vile, depraved and stupid.

Despite being willing to do their utter worst to make the US suck, they are too incompetent to capitalize on the problems they've caused.

They're willing to do anything including lying, cheating and stealing to win but they're too stupid to close the deal.