A lot of Republicans are not overly enthusiastic about Mitt Romney being their presidential candidate. They should take another look, however, because he is the one Republican in the race who could have a real chance to win the presidential election in November 2012.
The Republican campaign is heating up, with seven candidates still actively competing for the nomination. Only three of them appear to have enough support to be seriously considered: Herman Cain, Rick Perry and Romney. Each has about one-third of the Republican base as supporters.
While Cain is likable and straightforward, he has not thought through his positions on a number of issues, and his responses to reasonable questions are neither clear nor consistent. In particular, he does not seem to have much knowledge about foreign affairs, and a president’s first responsibility is defense of our country.
Perry is an interesting candidate, with a lot of governing experience. Unfortunately, his Wild-West style is unlikely to appeal to the average voter in the eastern part of our nation. Also, he has not been strong in the debates, so far.
Romney also has real governing experience. He served as the governor of Massachusetts, and is an experienced elected leader. While senators and congressional representatives have had to take positions on many of the issues the next president will face, they are not necessarily competent managers. Their legislative positions tell us nothing about their ability to work with people, to get legislation adopted, or to lead. Good governors must demonstrate all of these strengths.
Secondly, Romney is a seasoned businessman. He has run a private company, and also successfully led the Salt Lake City Committee for the U.S. Olympic Games in 2002. As a businessman, he understands the importance of balancing the budget, reducing the long-term deficit and cutting back the huge debt. He understands entrepreneurship and business, and might have more ability to help our economy recover and create jobs, than most of his opponents.
Thirdly, Romney is an attractive candidate, in more than just looks. People see him as reliable, honorable and reasonably conservative. And Romney is a good debater. Even when his Republican opponents have ganged up on him, or accused him of having his lawn mowed by a contractor who allegedly employed illegal immigrants, Romney has denied this and been cool, collected and consistent in his responses. He has looked and acted much more like a presidential candidate, than some of his opponents.
Lastly, Romney is the candidate that President Barack Obama’s team is most worried about. That is evident in the attacks they are making on him, while saying little negative about the other candidates. In fact, they would greatly prefer the other candidates, because they see them as easier to beat.
Both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have made mistakes while in office. You can’t lead without making mistakes. Both have records on which to run. And the opportunity to have them confront each other would give us a presidential campaign with two strong contenders.
We are facing a lot of problems in our country, right now: Health care, illegal immigration, housing foreclosures, job losses and unpopular wars on foreign soil. We will need strong, intelligent leadership to lead our country out of these difficult economic times. People want change, but they also want stability. Whoever wins the nomination, and ultimately the presidency, will have to inspire trust in their leadership.
Right now, President Obama has raised more money for the coming campaign than all of the Republican contenders, together. If the Republican candidates have to use up a lot of their funds on the primary contests, they will have a lot less left for the general election.
A number of Republican voters will have to be convinced that Romney will be conservative enough to gain their support, yet centrist enough to get votes from citizens in the middle, who are still largely undecided about what they are going to do in next year’s election. Romney could be the right man, at the right time, for his party.
If you are a Republican, which candidate are you supporting for the primary election? Can your candidate attract the Democrats and independents who will be necessary, in order to win the general election? Right now, Romney looks like a strong choice. We will know more after the New Hampshire primary, about just how viable he is in his own party.
— Bernard Featherman is a business columnist for the Journal Tribune and former president of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce.
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