This, along with the atrocious performance of the Obama campaign, has led me to believe the potential of two things
happening come November:
1. The polls (I know, it’s REALLY early) are showing Romney
close, tied or in the lead among various demographic groups and individual
battleground states. The lack of mistakes (so far) from his campaign should
give Republicans confidence as we go into the summer months. This all could
lead to the possibility of a not-so-close election, culminating in Romney winning
a healthy number of electoral votes (not to mention popular votes). I would not
be surprised with a mid-50% share for Romney, and a mid 40% share for
Obama (honestly, if we didn’t live in Bizarro world, it wouldn’t be close at
all).
2. The second thing that I see happening is that we
could be on the verge of another transformational political election on the
order of 1994 and 2010. This won’t just happen at the federal level either. Governorships,
state legislatures and local governments will see more
conservatives/Republicans/libertarians taking office in 2013 (especially as we see more Democrats switching parties; Arthur Davis the most prominent). This would have the most profound effect on our country and its future. I'm not so naive to think that just because a Republican is in office that everything will be rosy, but at least there will be the chance for a devolution of federal power back to where it belongs: in the hands of the people.
Now, there are a million caveats that could be attached to
this, but politics is not just a science, it’s an art. Gut feelings come into
play on top of all the hard work that campaign operatives and candidates put
into the various races. My gut is telling me that the Romney campaign is
exhibiting a level of skill that we didn’t see from the McCain campaign in
2008. So far, it seems to have the same organizational flexibility and tactical
awareness of the 2004 Bush campaign (and depending on how things go, that of
the 2008 Obama campaign). Would it be possible for the Romney operation to
outmaneuver the Obama campaign? Well, they seem to have done it today with the
dual press conferences at Solyndra
headquarters and the Massachusetts
State House! Not to mention the failed Obama attacks on Bain, the ridiculous "War on Women", the fight against the Catholic Church and his own surrogates (Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Cory Booker among them) shooting the campaign in the foot.
The funny thing about all this is that the 2008 campaign was
about the transformational nature of Barack Obama. His voters loaded him up
with their dreams and hopes and carried him to the Oval Office. In 2012, is the
country looking for the same thing? No. This year, we are looking for steady
administration, quiet confidence, success and experience. There won’t be many
fainting youngsters at Romney rallies or God-like images of Mitt on posters,
but there will be internal relief among many conservatives, independents, and
even liberals, that here’s a guy who can get things done.
After eight years of President Bush-a steady, confident
leader-who was dogged by constant media and Democratic assaults on his policies and
character, the country wanted something diametrically opposed to him. They got
that with a vengeance. Now, the country has seen what the lack of gravitas and experience
can do to the economy and our national standing in the world. They want steady
back.
