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Barack Obama Introduction

Mitt Romney Introduction

The Barack Obama juggernaut swept into office in 2008 under the banner of change and unity, two concepts that appeared to reinvigorate the blasé and jaded section of the electorate. He was armed with a war chest of the likes never seen before, accompanied by an army of politically outspoken glitterati and aided ultimately by a waning George Bush, his predecessor.

It would be unfair though to solely credit Obama’s ascension to the highest office in the land to merely external factors. Obama is exceptionally intelligent, articulate and possesses an old-school, hands-on approach to politics that harkens back to the days of Strom Thurmond, or even, the more contemporary Rudy Giuliani – albeit with infinitely more panache.

However, as the euphoria of his victory steadily dies down, the 50-year old has had to deal with a growing number of issues that have taken the shine of his presidency. Questions about his much derided health care plan, rising unemployment rates, the direction and perceived big government approach towards the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the Birther accusations (which many felt carries an unpleasant racial undertones) and more recently, the debt ceiling battle in the Capitol, have seen his stock plummet.

His supporters, nevertheless, claim that most of the issues that are weighing him down were inherited from the previous administration, and Obama is merely cleaning up the mess. They are quick to highlight his recent successes against Osama bin Laden, the jobs created in the two years of his administration that the Bush administration could not match in eight years, the recovery of the automotive industry following the Obama-led bailout plan two years ago – all proof of President Obama’s successful policies.

However, the biggest question among his detractors is whether Obama is capable of charting his own course and holding the country to it, as his concessionary approach is gradually being interpreted as a symbol of his indecisiveness and lack of convictions; which under the present socio-economic conditions and the Republican-dominated Congress, threatens to consign the nation into a rudderless second term of his presidency. Furthermore, the more liberal section of his support base is increasingly dismayed by his apparent shift to the center, perceived by many as capitulating to the conservative onslaught.

But Obama, in the continued absence of a credible Republican candidate, appears poised to claim his second term at the Oval Office. The resolution of the debt ceiling fiasco, the marginal success of his foreign policies in North Africa and the stabilizing crude oil prices may well give Obama the final push needed to secure his reelection.

Obama's Victory Speech

Willard Mitt Romney is a man who has it all. A vast personal fortune, a successful private career, a perfect family life, a sharp mind, a charismatic personality, and he is very easy on the eyes (heck, even his name has a touch of stardust about it). So why does 64-year old Romney continue to struggle to capture the hearts and minds of the Republican heartland?

His poll numbers have consistently hovered in the 23-25% region, and despite the short term hiccups caused by the mini-surges of Bachmann, Perry and now Cain, his support base seems to have held pretty solid over the past two years. His critics charged that his greatest strength, the ability to build a consensus from diverging factions, is also his biggest weakness. He appears to be intent on pleasing everyone, which lends an appearance of him being a flip-flop on his stances. This characteristic was used in devastating fashion in 2007/08 by Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson and John McCain to derail his campaign.

Perhaps a better way to look at the quarter billion dollar man is through his own eyes, that of a financial investor. Mitt hedges his position across a broad portfolio, which, while preventing the chance of a mega payday, also drastically reduces the chances of a catastrophic loss. In other words, he doesn’t believe in putting all of his eggs in a single basket. Instead, the grandfather of fourteen is intent on keeping hypothetical baskets of varying sizes to hypothetically fit as wide a spectrum as possible of the hypothetical egg demographics.

Cognizant of this perceived vulnerability, Mitt has adopted a very organized and low-keyed strategy for this nomination cycle. He has chosen to skip all the straw polls and remain in the shadows of his rivals, and only making controlled media appearances. Mitt remembers very clearly how brightly his star shone in the 2008 race, and how quickly it faded as well. He has revealed his hand only several times the past year, and Rick Perry unfortunately, appears to bear the majority of those excursions.

Former advisor to President George W. Bush, and 2008 Republican nominee John McCain, Mark McKinnon, concurs, stating,

"Romney is playing things very methodically and deliberatively. I think he understands the physics of this game very well now and is carefully calibrating his approach to 2012."

It's Mitt-hew! Mitthew Romney!

© 2012 obamaromney.com