Tuesday, January 15, 2008

an interesting little op-ed on romney

Today is the big day in Michigan, and I am very interested to see how it plays out. This morning the New York Times had an op-ed piece, "Driving Mr. Romney", by Dean Barnett, a staff writer for The Weekly Standard, who has known Romney for years.

You should read the article as it's not very long, but basically Barnett says that Romney's campaign has left people not trusting him, when in fact Romney is a really good guy who has the skills to be a great president and who's motivation is very sincere. I don't know Mitt Romney, but I have met quite a few people who know him well, including the current president of BYU-Idaho, Kim Clark. For years Mitt Romney was the Clarks' home teacher in Boston. Mr. Clark had nothing but wonderful things to say about Romney, and this was back before he was running for president.

Even if Romney gets the nomination, I don't yet know if I'll vote for him. I am still undecided on a lot of things. But... I really want to see him do well at this stage of the game. I am disappointed that he has been portrayed as a flip-flopper (not without reason). I really admired Gov. Romney who was elected in the very Democratic Massachusetts and really got a lot done. It makes me sad that he has now come across as so insincere.

I just hope he can pull off a win today in Michigan. If he doesn't, I'm afraid he might be done. But if he does, this campaign will be all the more interesting. He has, after all, managed to get the most total votes in 3 states than any other candidate. I'd say that's consistency, wouldn't you?

4 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed that article, thanks for posting it.

    I'm not sure at this point who I'll be voting for, either. I'm next in line after hubs to read Obama's book and am going to try to educate myself as much as possible on the other possible candidates.

    I feel so amazingly lucky to be a part of what could be such a historical election - our generation will have great stories to tell our grandchildren, don't you think?

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  2. interesting. thanks for posting this!

    what I find most appealing about Romney is his business acumen. but then again, what I really like about Hillary Clinton is her intelligence too. mostly i just want a president who is not saying embarassingly made-up words all the time.

    that's not really a good reason to vote for someone, so I AM still doing my research! thanks again for posting this! one thing I love about your blog is all the "goodie links"--the ones I probably wouldn't have time to track down on my own! hurray for katrina's linking!

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  3. Well I'm thrilled with the results in Michigan! I think he still would have kept going if he didn't win the state though. I've heard it said that the media are explaining it poorly and saying that he (and/or others) should quit if they didn't win that state. But in fact, its about delegates, not states.

    Anyway, regardless of the party or person, I think it has to be really hard to run for office. Anything you say or do will be scrutinized. I think you have to look at the big picture and ask how you feel about the person and their issues. I've heard some things about Gov Romney that I hope aren't true. And yet, even if they are, and I wouldn't like those things-I still sincerely believe that he's the best candidate.

    It takes tough bones to be the recipient of criticism, true or false.

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  4. One more thing I meant to mention. The things I've heard about Mitt, the things that may or may not be true. I believe in the end I not only have to weigh the issues, but how I FEEL about him (or other candidates). This might sound ridiculous, but don't you normally follow the way you feel about people? For example-in choosing a spouse. Sometimes the facts about a person may all add up to say no, but your heart says yes.

    Even before I met Mitt, I felt good about him. He seemed sincere, true motives for running. That was also true when I met him. I didn't get the ickies. He didn't creep me out. There is a certain candidate who does. I truly get creeped out by this person, all other credentials aside, I can hardly listen to their positions.

    That being said, I'm not just pro-Mitt because "it feels good". I really have faith in this guy. His private fortune is a direct connection to his success in changing organizations. His record as Governor-outstanding. I could go on, but I'll stop. :)

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