Got Nothing? “The Other Guy Sucks”

Old man chauffeured in harsh sunlight.

Hey, Mitt Romney. Whatcha doin’?

“Coasting to the White House.”

Is that anything like sailing the waters off the coast of Somalia? Watch out for pirates.

I guess there are a couple of ways you can go about getting to the White House. One is to have better ideas than your opponent. To challenge your opponent in the marketplace of ideas with a superior product.

Another might be a buoyant leadership and spirit of charisma.

There’s yet another way, though. The Romney way. The Wall Street Journal called it “coasting.” I’ve previously referred to it as Backin’ Up. Recently conservative pundit Bill Kristol lamented that the Romney campaign won’t come out with specifics about economic growth, deficit reform, health care reform, tax reform and replacing Dodd-Frank. He accused the Romney campaign of believing, “No need for any of that.”

A headline on the Huffington Post claims, “Mitt Romney Taking Heat From Prominent Republicans Over Play-It-Safe Approach.”

An article on Time.com noted that Romney, in pursuit of the presidency, is being “vague.”

Methinks I’m noticing a trend.

If you aren’t going to bring forward ideas, what then? This brings us to the core of the Romney campaign. “Obama isn’t working.” Inspirational, isn’t it?

Let’s face it. This campaign is not exactly about excitement. Let us not forget. It’s about the other guy.

This is the same Romney that couldn’t clinch against John McCain in 2008. In politics, losing isn’t exactly a good thing. That’s why I find it odd that, somehow, he backed into success this time around. “Hey, I’ve got a great idea. Remember that guy who lost last time? Let’s run him against Obama.” Not bad, not bad. I can already feel the vagueness.

The Republican primary process was a lot like reality TV. Haven’t we already conclusively proven that successive rounds of competition with each round eliminating the weakest player is decidedly not the best way to pick the best?

Another writer for Time.com had this to say about how Romney is pursuing the White House:

Well, here’s a clear message: There is no clear message that can get Mitt Romney to the White House, except for “Obama Isn’t Working,” which happens to be the Romney campaign’s clear message. It would be suicidal for Eric Fehrnstrom and his team to try to articulate Romney’s plans, because the details of the Republican policy agenda of tax cuts for the rich and spending cuts for everyone else is wildly unpopular. And it would be impossible for Team Romney to articulate the candidate’s principles, for reasons that should be obvious by now. If the Obamacare obfuscations out of Boston about taxes and penalties sound like word salad, that’s because word salad is the only path to victory for the father of Obamacare.

Source: Time.com

Every candidate for every elected office against an incumbent since the dawn of time wants “change.” They have to. Otherwise, why not just stick with the current person? In order for them to be elected, by definition, there has to be a change.

So I guess the question here, punk, is: How’s the vaguey-changey stuff working for ya so far?

Coasters belong on the living room table.