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Mitt Romney is running for president, again, still
Mitt Romney announced today what most sentient Americans have known since August of 2008, the former Massachusetts governor is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.
This became quickly obvious long ago when John McCain's Hail Sarah pass was ruined by McCain's own backbiting staff and then completely blown up by the Wall Street meltdown, not to mention eight years of accumulating anger over George W. Bush policies and his lazy decision to keep Dick Cheney as political partner, instead of grooming a young heir apparent for four years.
So, with no Hillary Clinton pantsuits to mock, the country was doomed by its own self-proclaimed progressive news media to focus on the credentials of the female GOP candidate -- the important stuff, you know, her frameless glasses, alleged wardrobe desires, whether her hair was up or down on any given day, and, of course, red shoes or not. What deleterious impacts her political ambitions had on her poor, oddly-named children. And the possible divorce there rumored by no one trustworthy.
Instead of superficial campaign stuff like the Real Good Talker's blank resume, absence of reform credentials, bald ambition and Chicago machine heritage.
According to Republican tradition, next year's nomination should go to....
...Romney, the last-man standing last time who bowed out gracefully when McCain's pick becamed inevitable, instead of hanging in there stubbornly like the Baptist preacher-musician-TV commentator.
And the wealthy, handsome, well-spoken, father Romney has dutifully taken the traditional route, spending most every day since traveling the country doling out words and dollars to the grassroots, paying his dues for the 2012 nomination, as McCain himself did before 2008.
But these aren't traditional times in America, which is disappointed and frightened and worried and puzzled.
That's a volatile mix in politics.
The guy they elected with so much hope for change, the guy who ran so stoutly against the military conflict in Iraq, has instead ordered two troop surges into another war and casually started a third while visiting Rio and claiming it only involves airplanes and $1.5 million missiles and he can start such things without congressional approval.
The handing out of hundreds of billions of dollars by the Democratic adminstration to create jobs and keep unemployment below 8% failed miserably. D.C. partisanship is, if anything, worse than when the community-bringer-togetherer took office. Gas costs are now double what they were when the ex-state senator gave up driving his Ford for an armoured presidential limo.
Pretty much everyone knows someone who's lost their job, their home, hope and perhaps a spouse in this economic chaos. So they're hesitating on purchasing new refrigerators, cars and the like, so those companies hesitate on hiring too.
POTUS' foreign junkets and diffidence and celeb parties and anti-bullying summits and talk of windmill power someday do nothing zero zip nada rien to assuage those fears.
So, here come the Republicans wrestling for their party's leadership. It'll be a fractious show because the system dictates conflict to weed out the weaklings and temper the winner for the real fight after Labor Day 2012.
And the over-eager Democrats, who called the candidate "Mitt Roney" in one pre-emptive blast today, will do all they can to throw even expensive gas on the fire.
The hidden benefit of that is that it keeps public discourse and media attention off troublesome things closer to this White House, like a $14.2 trillion national debt, the crumbling fiscal foundations of sacred entitlements, rising food stamp usage and tomorrow's jobs report.
Romney is the media-proclaimed frontrunner because he's the most familiar. Ms. Charisma from Alaska will draw tons of attention for her own reasons.
And serious polls of grasping Americans show people like perennial ex-OB-GYN Ron Paul and pizza king Herman Cain doing really well. Other players like Texas Gov. Rick Perry watch for a possible opening.
It will be a tumultuous 523 days until Election Night. But two historical facts to keep in mind:
The last three presidents have been elected on their very first try for the Oval Office. Two of them then won two terms.
For the nation's most powerful Nicorette-chewer to capture reelection next year, he will have to overcome history again by pulling off a Jefferson-Madison-Monroe tri-fecta. Not for 191 years, since 1820, have Americans awarded two terms to three consecutive presidents.
Source: LA Times