http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/mitt-romney-enter-race-save-gop-from-trump-213145 Can Romney Save Us From Trump?
Why GOP poohbahs are seriously thinking about asking Mitt back into the race.
By Matt Latimer
September 15, 2015
In a tastefully furnished conference room somewhere in the nation’s capital, leaders of the GOP establishment are popping antacids and shaking their heads. Donald Trump is the face of their party now — and there’s no stopping him.
In the latest CNN poll, his lead has grown, due to increased support among two groups they assumed would grow to hate him: Republican women and college graduates. Every candidate challenging The Donald has seen his numbers drop. Ben Carson may be next over his rather dubious decision to attack Trump on illegal immigration — the issue that propelled Trump to first place in the first place.
If only there were someone out there who could appeal to establishment voters, but also engender support from the rank and file. An outsider who has never worked in Washington. Someone with some “high energy,” without the need for caffeine.
Bet they all wish they’d been a little nicer to Mitt Romney now.
When the former Republican nominee first mused about entering the 2016 race, way back in January, he received a harsher welcome than the Apple Pencil. Nasty editorials. Anonymous quotes. Condemnation from pundits who used to champion him. Dismissive comments from donors.
Now these same Romney bashers would be the first to climb to the top of the tallest building on K Street and light up the Bat Signal for him. Or to use another analogy, Obi-Wan Ke-Romney, you’re their only hope.
Fortunately for them, there are vague stirrings in the Force that the former GOP nominee may again be toying with the idea of a late entry, even though a former aide (not Romney himself) recently denied it.
Romney’s certainly done just enough to keep himself in the headlines. Opposing the Iran deal, releasing adorable photos with his grandkids, tut-tutting over Republican candidates when they’ve crossed the line in their attacks, even filming a promo for Stephen Colbert’s new late night talk show.
Does any of this mean he’s running? Nope. But it does mean he is keeping a sliver of an option open. And might entertain entreaties from the GOP establishment — if it asks him really nicely.
And why shouldn’t he consider it? Right now, he’s the political equivalent of J.K. Rowling — a very rich person with nothing better to do but offer random musings as his days in the sun pass further and further behind him. (Rowling’s latest she-must-be-bored-out-of-her-mind observation — we’ve been mispronouncing Voldemort all along).
Could Mitt shake up the race? And, more importantly in their eyes, could he be the one to stop Donald Trump? The answers are yes, and maybe — if only he did the following:
1 Make them want you. Romney needs to pose as the reluctant candidate who only reluctantly would consider jumping into the race for king and country (and party). He needs people to come to him, to write op-eds asking him to run. In other words, to do what George W. Bush did successfully in 2000 and his brother tried — and failed — to do this year.
2 Avoid his advisers. We know what happens when Romney runs for president — he pulls together about two dozen “experts,” listens to dull PowerPoint presentations, and paralysis ensues. These guys cost him a fortune, while making a fortune, and guided him to a loss he could have avoided. They’re the types of guys (and gals) who first put the notorious 47 percent notion — the percentage of voters who’d never give him their support and therefore he could ignore — into his head in the first place. Romney won’t win with them. He doesn’t need them. More importantly, he doesn’t want to look like he needs them.
3 Laugh off his past. Romney spent much time in his past two presidential runs explaining his various policy reversals. Forget about them. You think Trump cares if he changes his position on something from one day to the next? He just moves on. Grownups can change their minds about things — if some journalists don’t like it, tough. Stick to one mantra: This election is about the future.
4 Trumpet (no pun intended) his own business record. Romney is a successful businessman and multimillionaire who, unlike Trump, seemed to spend much of his campaign trying to apologize for it. Romney should be proud of his record as a job creator and winner. He could even find a way to mimic my favorite Trumpism to date: “I’ll win so much, you’ll get bored with winning.” I, for one, would like to see that.
5 Be the guy in the documentary. 2016 is shaping up as the imperfection election — where guys with wild eyes, unorthodox hairstyles and impolitic remarks propel to the top of the heap simply because they do not look or act like the politicians who’ve disappointed everyone for so long. Romney is finished the minute he seems like Mitt Rombot — the type of spun candidate like Hillary Clinton who recently had aides declare to The New York Times that she will henceforth be funny and likable. Peasants, you may be amused by her now.
Not since the days of “Small Wonder” has anyone appeared as robotic and scripted on TV as Clinton — with the exception of Romney in 2012. The irony is that’s really not who he is at all. The Netflix documentary, “Mitt,” released after his loss to President Barack Obama revealed a witty, winning, self-deprecating man. A guy not afraid to make fun of himself and make mistakes. Which shouldn’t be too hard. Because that’s who he is in essence — a decent guy.
6 For goodness sake, pick a fight. Here’s the fundamental disconnect between Republicans and the voters: The GOP leadership is not fighting Obamacare. It is not stopping the Iran deal. It does not appear to be fighting at all. Trump is a fighter. That’s what people in the party want. Romney needs to show he’s a fighter too. Romney should take something he believes in — ideally something controversial and unorthodox — and fight like the dickens for that position. Without apology or retreat.
Just not with Trump. Anything but that.
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http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/mitt-romney-enter-race-save-gop-from-trump-213145#ixzz3lqijbiWF
