MITT'S PITCH FOR AMERICA

If, to paraphrase Mark Twain, “the clothes make the man” then the speech defines the politician. It’s the memorable speech that irradiates the soul of the statesperson lighting the way for the electorate to view their heartfelt ideals. The rousing speech paves the path for the politician and the constituency to finally bond as one toward a common goal.

In the annals of notable politicos they are known as much, if not more, for the resplendence of their speeches as they are for the legacy of their policies. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation would have been a naked presidential order without the adornment of his Gettysburg address. Would Churchill have instilled the confidence of the British to thwart Hitler’s advances without his stirring maiden address to the House of Commons claiming “It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival”? Perhaps John F. Kennedy’s creation of the Peace Corps would have fell flat as just another humanitarian bureaucracy without his infamous call to public service wherein he stated, “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Now it’s time for candidate Mitt Romney to deliver THE speech that will define his presidency--the speech that is his “pitch for America”.

Surging Gingrich claims top spot in new GOP poll - Washington Times

Surging Gingrich claims top spot in new GOP poll - Washington Times:

Quick notes: Mr. Gingrich received 26 percent, while Mr. Romney, received 22 percent, Herman Cain dropped from 30 percent to 14 percent. Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Texas Gov. Rick Perry were tied in a distant fourth place with 6 percent.

But this is what I really want to talk about:

The survey results also highlighted some potential problems for Mr. Gingrich. While he outperformed Mr. Romney when it comes to leadership, experience and foreign policy, the former Massachusetts governor received significantly higher scores when voters were asked who has “a strong moral character.”

My assertion is that if "moral character" were being interpreted in a social conservative view of Bill Clinton-way - Romney would have those votes now.  Those that DON'T care about abortion, biblical truths and social conservatism have been avoiding Romney like an MF Global nest-egg.  Those that truly CARE about "moral character" have already voted against Romney, and still Gingrich is in the lead.  A move by someone like Bachmann could change that, but only a sudden, unlikely "new" revelation about Gingrich would jeopardize his lead.  We all know who Gingrich is and what we are getting.  We really don't have to make up our minds and figure that out as we have with newer, national candidates.

And, as Rush Limbaugh mentioned yesterday, Romney really has yet to go through any real scrutiny.  It doesn't seem he will get it from Gingrich in debates, but Gingrich isn't hesitating (as the CBS debate moderators tried to goad them to do in the debate), what he said on talk radio and TV ads.

If Perry never re-surges, he has been critical in his initial ads about Romney exposing Mitt's radical left stances on global warming cap and trade and his declaration to NARAL and far left interest groups that he would act as a stealth candidate to "moderate" the Republican party.

In any event, unlike Bachmann, Cain and Perry, the chances of a "smoking gun" as Newt is already a national figure, having been fully vetted in previous races.  The country has already digested the worst about Newt - these aren't "new" revelations.  And as importantly with his last experience of being called "the Grinch that stole Christmas" and worse, he is undeterred by attacks and actually quite skillful in his own defense from decades of practice.

As Dick Morris said, the only player who really has a chance to challenge Newt now is Bachmann in a higher profile of the budget debate and if she should choose to finally start highlighting the darker Obama issues which have buried by everyone but Trump.

Mitt Romney Is Our John Kerry

I didn’t say this. My husband did. And it’s a good observation. Mitt Romney is the candidate that sticks out as the one that ‘fits the mold’ – the mold that Republicans so desperately need to break out of. When stacked up against President Obama, he doesn’t offer much “change” or “hope” compared to his primary opponents. And his message is bound to be lost in the media’s death-by-a-thousand-paper-cuts methods of tearing down boring candidates, just as they did with John Kerry.

Republicans are perfectly poised to have a sweeping victory, if only they would nominate a fresh, new face (literally) instead of a middle-aged white businessman/politician.

Let’s take a look at Herman Cain.

The pros:

• He’s got a plan. And more importantly, he’s got a plan people can understand. None of this “I have a plan – I can’t explain it on TV because it’s an extensive 7463935 point plan that makes everything 362740 times more complicated to understand than it already is – but trust me, I’ve got a plan, and it’s fantastic” crap.
• He’s a good communicator. With some professional support, he’ll be a great one.
• He’s not a politician. Thank God.
• He’s got a fantastic story. The man beat stage four cancer for crying out loud!
• He’s black. That takes away Obama’s worn out race card. If you think he’s not planning to pull that puppy out this go around, you are gravely mistaken, my friend.

The cons:

• He’s not a politician. It hasn’t really happened yet, but if they get desperate and he seems like a big enough threat, Cain’s primary opponents will call it a sin that he’s never held a political office before.
• He’s black. There are still bigots. Besides the crazies who are probably also felons and therefore not allowed to vote, there are old people who wouldn’t vote for a black man even if two black men were the only names on the ballot. They are dying off, thankfully, but unfortunately they vote more than any other age group. I’m hoping that most senior citizens are NOT those people.

Note that those cons are really only valid in the primary race, and become a moot point, for the most part, in a Cain v. Obama scenario.

It’s my personal hope that the GOP finally wrenches itself from it’s establishment fetish and jumps at the opportunity to join the 21st century.

See more at www.gopcampaigner.com