Demonizing Romney Won't Work

Demonize Romney!  If the first salvo fired by the Obama Campaign is any indication of the strategy that lies ahead; “Demonize Romney” has replaced “Yes We Can.”

The Obama Campaign released a new television ad, website and online video which portray the presumptive Republican nominee as a cold hearted corporate pirate who got rich by cutting jobs and ravaging companies.  The story focuses on a Kansas City Missouri steel mill that Romney’s former company, Bain Capital, failed to restructure.  Jobs were lost and those workers who remained saw their pensions reduced while Bain walked away with a handsome return on their investment. 

The problem with this “Demonize Romney” strategy is that it won’t work.  For every example the Obama Campaign trots out showing Romney and his Bain Capital buddies cutting jobs or closing factories, the Romney Campaign can produce a half dozen success stories where jobs were created and companies flourished.  Romney’s job through Bain was to make money for its investors; investors that included non-profits, foundations and pension funds.  By all accounts that we could find, Romney/Bain were extraordinarily successful and played by the rules.  The American people understand how capitalism works and they are not going to punish a guy for making money while following the rules.  Demonizing Romney is a losing strategy. 

The pundits say that Obama cannot win by focusing on his record.  We disagree.  We think saving Wall Street, saving the auto industry, saving the economy, 29 months of continuous job growth, declining unemployment numbers, a health care bill, that while flawed, improves the quality of life for 40 million Americans, ending the war in Iraq and killing Osama bin Laden are all aspects of a record for which the President can be proud…especially given the state the country was in when he took office.  Were their setbacks under Obama’s watch?  Certainly!  But returning the country to the very policies that got us in this mess is not the answer.

Romney’s solution for fixing the country’s problems is to cut taxes, increase defense spending and eliminate regulations.  For those with a short memory; these are the very same concepts that the Bush administration followed which resulted in the destruction of our economy and the instigation of the two longest wars in our history.  If Romney has any other ideas he has yet to share them with the public.

This is going to be a close race decided by 2-3 percentage points.  All of the polls indicate that this race is tightening with the candidates polling within the margin of error.  Long forgotten are the missteps and misstatements Romney made throughout the primaries.  Republicans are lining up behind their party’s nominee.  They may not like Romney but they will take him over Obama.

As Americans sit around their kitchen table trying to figure out how to make ends meet their focus is on the economy and their paychecks.  Romney’s success in making huge piles of money is something most Americans aspire to.  If Obama wants a second term he is going to have to convince people that his policies give them the best chance to attain that type of success.  He’s going to have to convince them that Romney’ plan will only continue their struggle or make things worse.

The President can win on his record.  Demonizing Romney just won’t work.