Romney's policy positions are often vague and unrealistic, as with his 59-point economic plan and his call for undocumented aliens to "self-deport." This has proven frustrating, both to policy wonks and red-meat conservatives. But neither of those groups will decide the election. Romney doesn't want any of his own proposals to become the center of attention — that attention should all be focused on Obama.
SELF-CONFIDENCE
In short, there is a good chance that, barring dramatic developments, a slim majority of American voters will want to change presidents come November. The Republican nominee will need to keep all of those voters focused on why they want to make that change, instead of finding reasons to worry about what kind of president the new guy would be.
Romney minimizes those reasons for worry, as much as anyone can. And he is as good as anyone at keeping up the attack.
That adds up to potential trouble for Obama — which explains why the president and his campaign have never slackened their attacks on Romney. As other GOP candidates have risen, fallen, or disappeared, and as Obama has ticked upward or downward, Romney has moved in one direction — ever forward. Romney may not be the most likable politician on the national scene, but as far as Obama is concerned, he may be the most dangerous.
To read the Talking Politics blog, go to thePhoenix.com/talkingpolitics. David S. Bernstein can be reached at dbernstein@phx.com. Follow him on Twitter @dbernstein.
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