Such a promise wound instantly change the tone of the campaign pitting a serious turnaround business expert against a big-talking slickster street performer whose record as president is abysmal. It would be such a blockbuster, even the thoroughly corrupted political media could not ignore it.

Mr. Romney could make the argument that with only one term, he would make all the tough decisions about Medicare, Social Security and runaway federal spending that career politicians in Washington are simply too wimpy and unprincipled to make. It would be a doubling down on his decision to pick Paul Ryan as his vice president.

The whole rest of the debate would be Mr. Romney making the argument for drastic action (not difficult given the massive unemployment and staggering debt). President Obama would be left standing behind his lectern playing small ball and sounding like a politician desperately trying to hold onto his job.