Mitt Romney Should Use The London Olympics To Showcase Himself
It's not worrrrrrrking.
Mitt Romney's strategy to topple President Barack Obama has been to make the race a referendum on the president's record. It's a reasonable approach—the president has failed to turn around the economy, build support for his healthcare legislation, or end Washington gridlock.
But Romney has gone about as far on this strategy as he can go. Polls have remained amazingly consistent for weeks. Not even the president's "You didn't build that" gaffe in Roanoke—or his clumsy attempt to clean it up—have moved the needle. Taken out of context? Ha. Charles Krauthammer is right. Let's run that speech on an endless loop right through Election Day. Americans need to understand precisely the context of those remarks.
All that's left for Romney is to tell voters more about himself. He doesn't talk about his many charitable acts because he wants the credit for those to come from God, not the electorate. Fine. He avoids discussing his Mormon faith to shield himself and his church from uncomfortable scrutiny. Fine again.
He doesn't want to discuss his time as governor of Massachusetts because then he'll have to explain the differences between his healthcare plan and ObamaCare. That can wait until the presidential debates.
But what he can discuss, what he absolutely must discuss, what the timing could not be more perfect to discuss, is his time as head of the Salt Lake Olympics.
The time to go for the gold is now. Obama's approval rating among undecideds is in the low 20s. Persuadable voters are looking for a reason to support Romney. He's unlikely to come across a better one between now and November.
Olympics Offer Mitt Romney A Fresh Backdrop
Mitt Romney saved the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics — and he has a golden opportunity now with the London Games to promote his work as an impressive reformer and turnaround artist, according to message experts and consultants.
Romney’s feel-good narrative from his time running the Winter Olympics 10 years ago is well-known: The original organizers were embroiled in scandals and controversies until Romney was brought in and transformed the troubled games into a stunning success. Now, in the midst of his campaign against President Barack Obama, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has a unique chance on this summer’s Olympic stage to burnish his reputation as a manager and Mr. Fixit.
The Olympics come in the middle of the summer campaign doldrums — a few weeks ahead of the national party conventions, when the election season shifts into high gear. While some experts say Romney has a prime opportunity to generate positive publicity from the London Games — which he and his wife, Ann, plan to attend — there’s also the possibility that the Republican hopeful’s bid to capitalize on the international competition could backfire, thanks to a dancing horse named Rafalca and a new attack on his Olympic record from the Obama camp.
Ford O’Connell, a GOP strategist who advised McCain-Palin in 2008, agreed. “If his son were on, say, the basketball team, he’d be in far better shape. Dressage isn’t something most people can wrap their head around,” he said. “When one of the goals of the opposite side is to paint Mitt Romney as out of touch, this feeds into it.”
But O’Connell said Romney can try to at least control the optics of his Olympics visit by making sure he poses for pictures with world leaders and Team USA athletes.
