Tepid or Bold: I'll Take Neither

Mitt Romney (if this were the Middle Ages he'd be called Mitt Romney "the Meek") announced his candidacy and in his first major speech, when it was appropriate for him to head off criticism about Romney-care, he provided a tepid rationalization that sounded very calculated and not all that earnest. It may have resonated with a less politically educated electorate say from 3-4 years ago when bumper sticker bromides were sufficient to carry a candidate through the primaries and into the White House.

On the other end of the spectrum you have bold anti-party pronouncements being launched from the tongue of a Newt . . . Gingrich that is. Perhaps there was some calculation on his part too; with some pundits saying he was trying to ingratiate himself with the Medicare voters. Either that or he is just the stupidest politician of the 21st century. Regardless he has ended his run before it was able to somersault through the first five or six 24-hour-news cycles. The pained explanations and public and private apologies have done nothing but give more fodder to those who were already slightly or extremely skeptical about him.

On Monday, April 12, 2010 in So What Now?

I had written "Let's start by saying Gingrich is off my list for many reasons. God forbid he becomes our only alternative to Obama in 2012. He sounds good when he knows he's in front of a conservative audience but he has demonstrated poor judgment and an over-eagerness to coalesce with the Democrats on too many occasions."

And that means events of this past week return us to the question: So What Now?

I will continue to be on the lookout for that winning, Reagan-esque characteristics: Sincerety and Leadership. These two guys have been political animals for far too long and are completely lacking in those personality traits.