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Mitt Romney, the apparent frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination as recently as a month ago, has a bit of a problem. Just over the last week, three national polls show him trailing Rick Perry by double digits. The former Massachusetts governor, who’s been content to ignore his GOP rivals, is probably going to go on the offensive against Perry before the race starts to slip away.
But what’s the best line of attack? In a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention today, Romney has apparently come up with an opening salvo.
According to excerpts of the speech released by his campaign, Mr. Romney plans to say: “Career politicians got us into this mess, and they simply don’t know how to get us out!”
It is an argument Mr. Romney has made repeatedly on the campaign trail — that he is not a career politician, and is one of the few candidates, having spent 25 years in the private sector, with the know-how to create jobs — but never in such a pointed contrast to Mr. Perry, who first entered politics in 1984 and has not lost an election since.
It certainly makes sense for Romney to start throwing some rhetorical jabs, but if he thinks “career politician” is going to do some damage, his instincts are way off.
For one thing, as campaign attacks go, it’s just dull. Is anyone seriously moved by rhetoric like this? “Don’t vote for my opponent; he’s devoted most of his adult life to public service”? It’s weak.
For another, Romney’s reliance on his private-sector background is itself problematic — he got rich by putting thousands of Americans out of work.
But even if we put all of that aside, the “career politician” line seems especially odd given Romney’s background. Isn’t this the guy who ran for the Senate in 1994, ran for governor in 2002, ran for president in 2008, and is running for president again in 2012? Indeed, by most measures, he’s been running for the White House continuously for more than four years.
In other words, wouldn’t Mitt Romney be a career politician, too, if only voters liked him a little more?
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c u n d gulag on August 30, 2011 12:36 PM:
Poor Mittens,
And in the one election that you won, what did you do?
Come up with the model for Obamacare.
It's Perry's to lose...
Rich on August 30, 2011 12:37 PM:
Running against a "career politician" is about the oldest schtick in the book, esp. for GOPers. In a general election, he'd run against "Washington" which, of course, is the world he wants to run.
Romney has to be the least original politician in decades. He makes one nostalgic for the shameless desperation of Hubert Humprhey or the endless run of new Nixons. Bush I's professed love of pork rinds seems less contrived.
j on August 30, 2011 12:41 PM:
Romney knows nothing at all about security and the military, I would think he would not stand a chance against the man who got Bin Laden.
A Texian Observer on August 30, 2011 12:48 PM:
Perry doesn't like it being pointed out that he's held full-time, elective office (as Ag Commissioner, Lieutenant Governor and Governor) for TWENTY YEARS, since 1991.
Obama's a neophyte by comparison, holding full-time office only since 2005.
SadOldVet on August 30, 2011 12:50 PM:
New campaign slogan for Mittens:
Don't vote for Ricky Bobby Perry, he's a career politician!
Vote for Romney, he's a career want-to-be!
Peter G on August 30, 2011 1:00 PM:
Those who stand in glass houses wearing magic underwear shouldn't throw stones.
Live Free or Die on August 30, 2011 1:00 PM:
"Romney will also decry "career politicians," a subtle shot at Perry, who's held public office continuously since 1985."
Career Politicians? Does he think he is going to win the primaries with that lame message? Who does he have advising him? Obama's campaign advisers? If this is all he has, Mitt is toast. Seriously thought, I am a bit hard on the brotha, but that is just b/c I want him to succeed.
Live Free or Die on August 30, 2011 1:04 PM:
Unless Mitt throws down in the debate, he will get steamrolled by the Perry. This weak shit he trying on Perry will not work. These guys like their meat red.
Todd for VT House on August 30, 2011 1:10 PM:
Obama's a neophyte by comparison, holding full-time office only since 2005.
He was in the IL Senate 1997-2004.
Regardless, Mitt needn't be elected to be a politician. He is, by running, engaged in politics. So he's been a career politician since 1994...
RollaMO on August 30, 2011 1:10 PM:
You can smell the Mitts-peration.
Danp on August 30, 2011 1:14 PM:
“Don’t vote for my opponent; he’s devoted most of his adult life to public service”?
I must admit, if Romney said that, I would never in a million years think to associate that last phrase with Rick Perry.
Okie on August 30, 2011 1:28 PM:
Romney has been TRYING to be a career politician for the past 20 years, with his failures overwhelming his successes.
Rick Perry has held elective office for his whole adult life, and never lost an election.
Doesn't competence count for anything?
UncommonSense on August 30, 2011 1:57 PM:
Romney is panicking. In his panic, he is committing an unforced error.
He decided early on to adopt a front-runner strategy by ignoring his primary rivals and focusing his attacks on Obama. The obvious benefit of this approach is that it allowed him to appear presidential, floating above the fray while lesser candidates threw elbows at each other in the mud.
What looked like campaign discipline, however, was apparently just a by-product of his primary opponents' unwillingness, for some reason, to aim their shots at him. As soon as he feels threatened, he abandons his front-runner strategy and begins throwing a few elbows of his own.
The 2008 Democratic primary suggests Romney is making a mistake. During the drawn-out battle between Obama and Clinton, one candidate stuck to the original strategy and theme, while the other let events dictate, adopting a new campaign theme every couple of weeks. The one who demonstrated the most discipline and focus is president of the United States today.
Also notable about this change in tone is how hacky it is. "I'm a businessman, not a politician" is a cliche I expect to hear from a hardware store owner running for city council or state rep. It's a little down-market for a former governor trying to become president.
If Pawlenty had taken it to Romney in the first debate, he might have been the one to expose Mitt's glass jaw and could be the one trailing Perry by 20 points right now.
mellowjohn on August 30, 2011 3:46 PM:
mittens is a career politician.
he's just not a very good one.
Homer on August 30, 2011 6:21 PM:
Today NPR played a quote from a guy who said he didn't know much about Mitten's policies, but he was more in tune with Perry because Perry was more personable. Mitts seemed liked a career politician. The reporter pointed out in the voice over how many years Perry has been in office versus how many years Mitts was in office. Since Perry joined the race I have been hearing alot of talk like I heard in 2000: "I'm voting fer Bush, cause he seems like the kind of guy that would help you unload your hay wagon".
Shadow on August 31, 2011 3:32 AM:
Romney is also a career politician, just not a particularly successful one.