Barack Obama visited New Hampshire two days after a key appearance by Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney. On Sunday, Romney was endorsed by U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte at Nashua's City Hall. The following Tuesday, Obama delivered a speech at Manchester's Central High School urging the passage of his American Jobs Act.
New Hampshire hosts the country's first presidential primary on January 10, 2012. Both men finished second in the Granite State in 2008, Obama to Hillary Clinton and Romney to John McCain. While Obama turned his strong, second-place showing into the Democratic nomination, Romney remained a bridesmaid to McCain.
The Republican Party has a habit of nominating the runner-up candidate in the next open election year. So far, Romney has failed to capitalize on a solid core of support and emerge as the clear front-runner for the 2012 GOP Presidential nod. He has been tagged with the dreaded RINO label (Republican In Name Only) for governing as a moderate governor in liberal Massachusetts.
The two appearances in New Hampshire may be a preview of the November 2012 Presidential election.
The Manchester and Nashua events illustrated a substantial difference in style between two politicians, both of whom have been criticized by true-believers for betraying the core ideals of their parties. While Romney has been denounced by rock-ribbed Republican conservatives as a flip-flopping RINO, Obama has been scored by progressives for betraying the campaign platform he was elected on. Progressives think the President has been too friendly with Wall Street, too solicitous to the Pentagon, and too lax in fighting for tough environmental laws.
If the two are matched up in November 2012, it may all come down to a contest not of issues, but of style. Obama's appearance in Manchester, in which the President displayed a fire-in-the-belly that was perfect for prime time and showed him in full campaign mode, was in sharp contrast to the more subdued political pitch made by Romney in Nashua.
While Obama is cool, he can turn up the heat. The laid-back Romney, in contrast, comes across as cold. Most Republicans have not warmed up to him.
Obama roused an enthusiastic crowd with his rhetoric. He was back at being the master of the campaign trail. Romney, in contrast, was rather flat. To this observer, Mitt Romney's appearance in Nashua brought to mind Clint Eastwood's recent remarks about him: That if a movie-maker was looking for an actor to play the President, central casting would send over Mitt. Just what he stood for, Clint said, is anybody's guess.
Mitt Romney is a tall, handsome man with a friendly demeanor. When I first saw him campaigning in New Hampshire in 2008, I was struck by the fact that his good looks and carefully tailored appearance made him seem like a GQ Magazine model. At the Nashua event, he was paired with the tall and also good-looking Kelly Ayotte.
But there was something uncanny about the pair, something not quite human. Rather than fashion models, they struck me as two mannequins that had miraculously come to life and had escaped from Macy's. There was a plastic quality about both, and for a candidate for President of the United States going up against one of the great campaigners of modern times, Barack Obama, this could prove fatal.
western black rhino jefferson county alabama marine corps marine corps veterans day 2011 veterans day 2011 country music awards
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.