Tuesday, January 12, 2010

If Romney Is The Nominee Then Palin is The Write In

I have been dwelling on Mitt Romney's interview with Greta 's "On The Record" (January 8th) and what it would mean if he became the 2012 candidate.

The general consensus on Race42008 (now updated to  race42012) was that he came across well and the Romney supporting sites thought that he was "on fire". It was that comment which led me to view the clip on Race42008 because I was interested to see if  there had been a change in what I recalled was his image from the 2008 primary campaign.There wasn't.

In 2008 Romney came across to me as intelligent, earnest and likeable.What I didn't see was that special charisma, fire in the belly, and common touch which Palin has. He is, at first sight imposing in a central casting way which, whilst initially a benefit is in the end a negative because what follows can't live up to what is expected by the exterior person. On the race42008 website Romney is all gray imagery-gray suit, gray hair and sadly a gray man-there is a spark missing.

This was brought home strikingly at his speech to the 2008 Republican convention which came across as flat and uninspiring at exactly the moment when a fired up speech in front of a fired up convention was required.Giuliani and Thompson both spoke well-who can recall the substance of their speeches-but the charisma lingers.

In 2012 I will vote conservative Republican straight down the ticket but if Romney heads it I will write in Palin. I would expect by that time Obama will be neutralized by a Republican majority in both houses, or at a minimum, such a small Democratic majority that it will be impossible to get a radical agenda through. I would rather take the chance of enduring another four years of what would be effectively be a restricted Clintonesque third term (after a hiatus of failed radicalism) than have four years of a non-conservative Republican.

We can wait another four years, by which time the Republican party will surely have learned the lesson about losing with candidates who are the favorite of the Dem's, liberal media and the Beltway Republican old guard, to get the candidate we and America need.

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