On the other side of the ledger, one can think of numerous ways that Romney has made himself less attractive. The obvious one is by losing. It is a political cliché that Democrats embrace their losing candidates while Republicans disdain theirs. This cliché may be a statistical fluke born of a low sample size, but it perfectly fits a party whose philosophical ethos in general venerates winners and savages losers. The post-election savaging of Romney was widespread and totalistic, ranging from his inept polling and campaign mechanics to his political philosophy. Even Jennifer Rubin, the the political commentator most consistently loyal to Romney in the last cycle, has turned against him.
There is no evidence that Romney has learned to suppress the traits that made him a figure of ridicule in 2012. In a room that turned out to be secretly recorded, he famously and devastatingly wrote off half of America as pathetic moochers. Supporters gamely argued that Romney did not actually believe the things he said and was merely pandering to their prejudices. Romney proceeded to nullify this defense by saying more or less the same thing again after the election…
There is also the messaging problem. And, of course, as a candidate, Romney warned that if President Obama was reelected, the United States would face chronic high unemployment and “fiscal calamity.” Accordingly, he promised to get the unemployment rate below 6 percent by the end of his term. That was a conveniently attainable target if Romney won. Unfortunately, since he lost, unemployment has already fallen below that level and continues to drop. Romney’s sole advantage, his self-styled persona as business guru who can get under the hood and fix the American economy, would seem to have little remaining credibility.
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