John Cassidy, who's been making a study of Romney for weeks... months is looking at all the possible reasons why Romney is probably a loser. Demographics? Campaign staff?
Maybe. But there's one key factor in Romney's candidacy that probably doomed him from the start.
He hasn’t mastered television. After more than ten years in politics, he has yet to develop the instinct for self-preservation that most politicians can rely on whenever they encounter a microphone. Rather than sticking to rehearsed answers, he has a tendency to wander off on tangents, saying things he hasn’t fully thought through. ...
... Being careful about what you say in public, being polite to your hosts while travelling, making sure you don’t insult the voters whose support you are seeking: these aren’t high arts. They are basic demands of the job of being a politician; most city councilmen have mastered them. Romney hasn’t. Each of his gaffes, by itself, might be overlooked. Taken together, they signify something larger. Mitt Romney isn’t a very good politician. And that, in the final analysis, is why he is losing so badly. ...New Yorker
But that begs another question: how did he get this far?
Oh, right.
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