Mittology

Navigating the path between the Far Right voting bloc of the presidential primary process and the independent voters who will ultimately decide the 2012 general election requires deft skills in campaign marketing.  No tool in the politician’s tool box is more valuable and more quotable than the stump speech.  The stump speech delivery and its content come to define the candidate for voters.  Mitt Romney knows this, and has tailored his messaging to reach voters across the political divide.

Here are a few talking points gleaned from the Romney stump speech that demonstrate how adept he is at courting everyone simultaneously:

The taxes paid by Americans are too high and they should pay less; and not enough Americans are paying taxes and should pay more.

The GOP favors bold, decisive action; the GOP rejects the Democratic approach of bold, decisive overreaching.

Once elected, Republican leadership will eliminate uncertainty in the marketplace; this will be accomplished on Day One, when Republican leadership will change everything that has been done over the past 4 years with something different that will be negotiated with Congress.  "Of course the numbers add up."

Obama has not conducted enough covert and secretive actions against our enemies in Iran; the GOP covert efforts against Iran will not be made public - you will never read about those in the news.

Obama ran on a failed platform of change; Romney intends to win this election by ushering in a new era of bigger change back to the old status quo that Obama replaced with his new status quo that he is now defending as the change he promised.

Obama is not working enough, spending time on vacation with his family when the country needs him; the country needs a President who represents family values and sets priorities of family first.

Republicans understand that women require more flexibility to gain equality with men in the workplace; as Governor, Romney allowed for workplace flexibility so the women could get home in time to make dinner for their families.

Obama has acted like a dictator in his conduct of domestic affairs; and as President, Romney would follow these same policies. 
 
Obama has been a Do Nothing President; Obama has done too much to change the landscape of this great nation.

Obama has done nothing to help this nation combat the jobs crisis; Obama has drained our bank account trying to combat the jobs crisis.

Obama is a secret Muslim; he spent 20 years listening to a preacher in a Christian church.

Obama is anti-business; he is accepting too much money from Wall Street.

Obama is the most divisive President ever, and he’s proven that by acting like a community organizer.

Obama promotes class warfare.  The lazy underclass isn’t taking personal responsibility and wants the wealthy job creators to bail them out!  Romney will end the War on the Rich.  Class warfare will end once the rich have won.

Romney knows from his business experience that you need a plan.  He has a plan.  He will cut government spending, and once elected, he’ll provide those details.  He will cut taxes, and once elected, he’ll provide those details.  He will protect families and strengthen the military, and once elected, he’ll provide those details.  These are his values, and he will not allow the enemy to twist his policy prescriptions into something they are not.  He am smart enough to know that specificity is not what we need right now.

Romney disagrees with Obama’s approach to foreign policy.  Announcing a date of withdrawal from Afghanistan in advance was a mistake.  Instead, he fully supports the December 31, 2014 deadline. 

Obama’s use of drones is a dangerous consolidation of executive power that in the hands of a Romney administration, he fully supports.

We should never outsource our foreign policy to another international body or another nation.  There should be no daylight ever between what Israel wants and our foreign policy.

We cannot compete in this global economy without raising our scores in science.  We need more scientists to disprove global climate change, debunk evolution, and determine once and for all that nicotine is not addictive. 
 
Obama has offered no vision for the future; the Romney plan is clear and unambiguous.  We will be strong and free if he is elected.  Jobs.

We can no longer afford to live in the past of the last 4 years; we need to live in the more distant past of the prior 8 years.

Well, after reviewing all of this, Romney is right – I’m stumped.