Talk Elections

Whether it comes to his stilted personality, his sleazy past behavior or his overly conservative shift; the public's current perception on Romney looks absolutely bleak for his campaign. Can Romney shift this perception significantly over the next few months? If you believe that it's possible, in what ways can he achieve this?

Discuss.

Romney-hacks: please accept the reality about your candidate and don't explain it away with cliches. Thanks.

Of course he can, but he won't. He's not a skilled enough politician to do that. And if he tries, Obama's too skilled a politician to let him get away with it.

This.

Romney can certainly rehabilitate his political image. More people will be paying attention to the general election than the primaries, so he will be able to shift more to the center and successfully erase the "severely conservative" meme somewhat.

What I think is more important is rehabilitating his personal image, which I think he'll have a harder time accomplishing. He naturally comes off as awkward, aloof, and kind of slick to a lot of people, and no amount of money or campaigning can really change that, because it's part of his personality.

I dunno, I think he'll have a hard time shaking the "severely conservative" meme.

This.

Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton were/are skilled enough to do it.......but Mitt?

I am not a Romney fan, but I don't think he's quite as bad as you describe him. Although, he's still a damn poor nominee and lacks any real strengths as a politician. Contrast him with W, who was a very poor candidate in many areas, but had the whole 'folksy charm' thing down pat.
I think that the voting public's perception of him could be changed, but it's going to take a big change in how Team Romney does business.

So far, he won the nomination via heaps of money, establishment shenanigans, and rivals who could at best be described as lacking. None of these are going to be nearly as useful in winning the electoral college. I see very little evidence that Romney is willing or able to re-brand himself as a person. (As opposed to his political positions, which obviously change with the prevailing wind.) Only if Team Obama is foolish enough to let him reinvent himself on the national stage will Romney become a credible candidate for President. (Unless the economy is teetering on the verge of collapse again, in which case Romney has a shot simple by virtue of not being Obama.)

Romney's primary campaign has been the gift that's kept on giving for Obama, especially in terms of attack ads.

"I'm a severe conservative", "I like firing people", "Corporations are people" - look, i've just written an attack right there. Obama's media team have the easiest job in America right now.

Yes

His problem is not "severly conservative." People who've been paying attention already know for  whom they're going to vote. His problem is that he's not charismatic. The wishy washy middle has to be inspired by platitudes.  I don't think he has it in him.

This election is a referendum on the record of Barack Obama, not the personality of Mitt Romney. This election is about jobs and the economy, not American Idol.

Who knows more about jobs and the economy: A successful businessperson, or a "community organizer" best known for having a politician's tongue? If you don't know, ask yourself this: Are you better off than you were four years ago?

The above is how this election is going to play out, folks. It's not about personality, who is the more personable politician, so much as perceived strengths/weaknesses and how they play into the narrative of the election. Bush was perceived as strong on national security, which is why he won the 2004 re-election battle dominated by national security. It really had nothing to do with personalities. Obama is perceived as weak on the economy/deficit, which is why he will lose the 2012 re-election battle dominated by the economy/deficit.

I'm inclined to agree. Will Romney be able to rehabilitate his own image? Probably not. But will he be able to reframe Obama's? I bet he will. Romney may be unlikeable, but Obama is a bad president. Mitt can take advantage of that.

You need to work on your reading comprehension.  Even the WSJ has conceded that Romney is unlikely to win if he continues with his current tepid campaign.  The economic forecasts aren't dire enough for Romney to win based on his resume.

The US economy might not even matter.

If the eurozone falls apart, Mitt has a pretty compelling narrative, what with his whole "Obama wants to turn us into a European welfare state" schtick.

While the Europeans are likely to have one or more minor crises between now and November, a major collapse in that time frame does not appear likely unless it is caused by some external factor.  If Romney wants to win in November, he needs to get off his duff and stop hoping for an economic collapse between now and the election.

Trite platitudes...Reagan did them much better than you or Romney

If there's such a problem with his image, why isn't Obama defeating him in a landslide? The reason is there isn't a problem, and Obama is in incredibly weak standing going into November.

IMO, what's most frustrating about his "image problem" is that it doesn't seem nearly as prevalent and damaging as it should be.

People gave up their faith into the system. But Obama will be re-elected with 52-55% of popular vote when you would expect him to be re-elected with less than last election considering economy and all, so I am guessing it might not be as damaging as you would expect it to be, but it's still fairly damaging for such a polarized electorate.

Which of his images are we talking about?

Yup. Romney has some bumps and bright moments ahead of him, but he'll always be one gaffe away from reminding everyone what they already think of him.

That may be true.

But I honestly believe that for every vote Obama gains for giving a fluffy speech, he also loses one. I can't watch an Obama speech without cringing, because I know it's just all bullsh**t. Independents see that. Republicans certainly do.

And that's why, ultimately, Obama will be on defence, not offence.

I wouldn't assume that about Independents...

Remember Bill Clinton and George W. Bush having this effect? They had the same effect on the other sides. Clinton in particular drove Republicans crazy because he was so extraordinarily charismatic and yet could obviously flip it on and off like a switch. George W. Bush's "jes folks" demeanor turned off Dems. But Clinton in particular won over a majority of voters and Bush, well, you could say he failed to alienate enough independents as he did Dems to give Kerry an opening.

Keep dreaming. People believed Clinton's "aw shucks" schtick because times were good. The Obama Jobless "Recovery" is not the mid/late 1990s.

Of course he can, and now that the animosity of the primary season is behind him, and old primary foes are falling into line, the process has begun and is picking up steam.

Latest CNN poll?  Statistical dead heat.  Americans are warming up to Romney because of his ability to handle the economy, and that is what this election is all about.   

His speech last week on the economy was inspiring.

Did you people not see his victory speech the other night?  He's so much better as a candidate than he was 6 (even 2) years ago

It really was a brilliant speech. It shows that some of Obama's rhetoric can backfire. Obama may get short-term gains from attacking Romney's wealth, but it is gonna get dangerously close to class warfare. Mitt Romney will have an edge up on this issue by the time Obama is finished overusing his attacks on "rich businessman Romney."

I agree. I look at Romney and I see a clueless vulture-capitalist who will say or do anything to get the position he thinks he's somehow entitled to. Fortunately for Romney, this view of him does not appear to be widely shared.

I'm not sure folksiness (lack thereof that is) necessarily dooms Romney. He will sell himself as the guy who can get the job done and I think that and the perception of Obama will matter the most.

The only class warfare of these past 30+ years or so (though Clinton was a refreshing break from the Reactionary Party attack on the middle class given virtually all the gains in US median incomes since 1981 occurred during his presidency and he was able to constrain the GOP's ruinous anti-tax jihadism) that has been waged has been in favour of the plutocratic elite

Would any President Romney take America back to more Clinton fiscally responsible and slightly more progressive rates of taxation, especially on the wealthiest? Or will it more of that, frankly, unaffordable supply-side together with spending cuts that would be certain to have a more detrimental impact on the middle class and the poorest?