Campaign Advice For Mr. Romney

August 12, 2012

Campaign Advice For Mr. Romney

Mitt, I am sure that you are up to your neck in well-intended advice from your campaign team. It seems these days that much of this conventional advice is based on the daily minute-by-minute voter's polls. It must be tempting to get caught up in believing that the only way to win voter's support is to then couch your campaign rhetoric in ways that pleases the largest number of voters, and offends the fewest. I believe this is referred to as being all things to all people.

To this ordinary citizen it seems clear that your campaign team has a three pronged strategy; 1. Strongly encourage you to find ways to come across to the majority of Americans as if you are an ordinary person just like them. They apparently want you to adopt colloquialisms and phrases and tell jokes intended to show that you are indeed just an ordinary, every day American that we can relate to...and more importantly like. 2. Denigrate Mr. Obama's ineffectiveness at every opportunity. 3. Describe what you intend to do to reverse Mr. Obama's specific failed actions.

The first tactic, this quest to become likeable, caused me to think back to former Presidents such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Can you, in your wildest dreams, imagine them even considering worrying about such an issue? These two knew they had strengths that had been proven by their life's actions that distinguished them from the average citizens...and they behaved accordingly. Clearly each of them was elected to lead our nation because they were perceived to bring a strong set of personal values, strengths, and judgement to this important job. Reading the many writings by third parties about these two, neither appeared to be particularly likable, or to much worry about it. As for tactic two, Mitt, you are wasting your time in constantly reminding us of Mr.Obama's failed policies. Don't sell us short. We all see the evidence of failed policies from both sides, and the broken economic system that is not creating jobs, and we are all worried about our's and our children's future. What we need to hear from you are your specific plans for fixing the problems. Lastly, harping on simply undoing the health care law may be your undoing...unless you have a clear and credible vision of what to replace it with. Going forward with the new law that so favors the health care industry's special interests is not acceptable, but neither is going back to the broken system we had before that did the exact same thing...but on a smaller scale.

Mitt, you know our nation is in very deep economic trouble. Our citizens are justifiably afraid for their family's futures. Most of us aren't desperate to elect someone we can relate to and like as a person. We don't need for you to pretend to be an ordinary American...because you aren't and cannot be that person. You are what you are; born into a wealthy family, highly educated, a successful capitalist, a former governor, and a person with proven strong religious and family values. You have demonstrated by your life experiences and results that you understand how capitalism and government works. You have shown that you know how to successfully make the difficult decisions needed to turn failures in both around, how to grow a company from inception, and how to control costs and when to cut your losses. These are the requirements for the type of leadership America needs today in order to improve our economy, create jobs, reduce our debts and deficits and, ensure that our entitlement promises are met.

In the process of becoming a successful businessman, you have become fabulously wealthy and have then done exactly what the majority of informed Americans (even St. Buffett) do every year in legally taking advantage of the laws and regulations available to protect that wealth from taxation. It isn't cheating, it's called tax avoidance not tax evasion, and to not do so, if not considered almost un-American, would have been stupid. I don't think the majority of Americans resent your success. They might envy it, but most would love to emulate it.

Mitt, in summary, you need to stop campaigning with the objective of attacking Mr. Obama and trying to portray yourself as a likeable ordinary American, and get on with telling us what you will do as the CEO of America to repair our many problems. Show us the confident strong leader that has been so successful in the private and public sector. Our nation needs an experienced capable leader with a credible plan today more then ever. You have those skills and, hopefully, are that person...now just get on with proving that to us.

As for the constant mudslinging from the opposition...leave the response tactics to the Super Pacs. The next time Mr. Obama accuses you of being non-transparent for not sharing all of your tax records; tell him this...Mr. Obama, you show the American people your transcripts, school applications, passports, social security card, and birth certificate...and I'll show them all of that and my tax records!!

To all voters, if you owned a large, formerly successful, company that had serious survival-threatening problems, who would you most trust to turn it around, Mr. Obama or Mr. Romney?

These are my opinions. What do you think?

Mike Tower