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Wrong-man, wrong-time Romney: Column

Ken Rudin
The Republican National Convention nominates Mitt Romney for president in 2012 in Tampa. The 2016 one is in Cleveland.

The Romney-for-president boomlet that seems to be sweeping the Romney household is not hard to understand. Barack Obama remains deeply unpopular with Republicans, who argue that the president refuses to acknowledge the 2014 midterm election results, that his State of the Union message was little more than class warfare with no chance of getting through Congress, and that he is more interested in governing by decree than by conciliation.

Apparently, more and more people — beyond Ann, Tagg, Matt, Josh, Ben and Craig — are telling Romney that he would have made a much better president than the current occupier of the White House, and that he owes it to his party and his country to try once more.

But does he?

Bungled opportunity

That's an important question to ponder as the 2016 presidential election has gotten off to an accelerated start. The fact is, Romney had his shot, and he blew it. It's never easy to defeat an incumbent president. But when unemployment is near double digits, when most people think the nation is on the wrong track and when even Democrats are looking for an alternative, the incumbent is vulnerable.

Only Romney couldn't find a way to win.

Where to begin? The Republican mantra of 2012 was to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The author of Romneycare wasn't the most credible spokesman for that cause.

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The biggest problem, though, was his inability to define himself before the Obama camp did it for him. Boy, did they ever. Romney was an outsourcing, out-of-step rich guy who cared more about his mansions more than about regular people like you and me. An unfair caricature? Of course. But when a leaked tape showed him talking about the 47% of Americans who expected government to do everything for them, it only buttressed the Democrats' argument.

Republicans, as we know, like to reward candidates for the nomination who failed in an earlier bid. Think Ronald Reagan in 1980, George H.W. Bush in 1988, Bob Dole in 1996 and John McCain in 2008. In 2012, it was Romney's turn. Yet there was a problem, and Republicans knew it. If Romney was the party's choice, then why was everyone looking for alternatives as early as 2011? How did Texas Gov. Rick Perry become the front-runner the moment he announced? And when he faltered? Herman Cain — Herman Cain, for crying out loud!became the favorite.

This "anybody but Mitt" crusade continued through the primaries and caucuses in 2012. He lost Iowa to Rick Santorum, whom he outspent seven-to-one. He lost South Carolina to Newt Gingrich. No Republican who is about to be his party's presidential nominee ever loses South Carolina. But, with Republicans being Republicans, the anointed one did get anointed. Romney had money, organization and, when it came down to it, his opponents were not ready for prime time.

So what happened in November? Romney lost every single battleground state, save North Carolina. Every one.

Flawed opponents

The nation might not be especially fond of Obama, as the 2014 midterm elections attest. Even so, are Republicans willing to give Romney another shot?

Of course, there are strikes against most of the Republicans who hope to take on Hillary Clinton in 2016. Jeb Bush has positions on immigration and education that could cause him trouble. Marco Rubio and Rand Paul have to decide whether to seek the presidency or hold onto their Senate seats. Ben Carson somehow managed to put same-sex marriage and bestiality in the same sentence. Ted Cruz seems to despise Republicans as much as he does Democrats.

And let's not forget Chris Christie. The New Jersey governor got a lot of flak from Republicans for his embrace of Obama during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. You can hug the president and, perhaps, even shut down the George Washington Bridge. But Christie is still suspect when it comes to guns, and many are convinced that his New Joisey tough guy persona will wear thin by the Iowa caucuses.

Now we hear Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is considering running. At least nine local Republican organizations in the Palmetto State have refused to hug him in recent years, claiming that his support for Obama's Supreme Court nominations and cap-and-trade policy is unacceptable to conservatives.

Mitt Romney deserves hugs, and more, for making two valiant bids for the presidency. It might be time for someone else.

Ken Rudin is the former political editor at National Public Radio. He is the host ofKen Rudin's Political Junkie radio program.

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