What It Takes

I have not read the book What It Takes, which chronicled a Presidential campaign way back in 1988, but I think I understand its premise -- that it takes so much to become the President of the U.S. that it makes one wonder, what kind of person signs up for being a Presidential candidate voluntarily?

After watching Mitt Romney's interview with David Gregory on Sunday, I have some idea why Mitt Romney says he is running for President, but I still don't have a sense of what drives him, nor can I take what he says at face value.  Here are some answers from the interview that address the question of why he's running:

"The reason I'm in this race is to help people.  I'm not in this race to slow the rise of the oceans or to heal the planet, I'm in this race to help the American people, and this is a commitment on my part, on Ann's part, on our family's part because...we care very deeply about this country...those people that try and minimize the feeling and the connection we have with the American people really miss the mark very badly, and they're trying to divide Americans based on who has money and who was able to achieve success and who doesn't have as much..."

This answer clearly shows that Gov. Romney does not care about the environment.  But more importantly, it exposes a weakness in Romney's argument as to why he should be President. When he talks about "helping the American people" in very broad terms, Gov. Romney exposes that he is coming at the Presidency from an almost patrician standpoint -- he comes from money, has always had money, and doesn't know what it's like not to have money.  In fact, his argument for becoming President is based on his economic success.  Pres. Obama is trying to make that strength into a weakness, and to a certain extent Gov. Romney can't get around it -- he doesn't have a rags-to-riches story, like almost every President since Abraham Lincoln has had.  It's not a requirement for the President of the U.S. that he come from nothing, but at least he or she ought to be able to understand what people are going through in a tough economy.

"It would have been very easy for me to just stay in business.  I like business -- that's fun, but when the Olympic request came along, Ann said you've got to do this, this is important...I think this comes in part from this Judeo-Christian ethic of service and commitment to one's fellow man"

This answer ties Gov. Romney to another very broad concept -- the "Judeo-Christian ethic of service" -- and I can't really take this comment at face value, either.  If Gov. Romney really intended to serve the people while he is in office, he would probably be more empathetic to the people who will suffer because of the cuts he is proposing.  His "pro-growth" agenda is really a giveaway to the wealthy, and though he tried to walk back from some of the more extreme positions he and his running mate have taken in another part of the interview -- saying he wants to eliminate loopholes at the top end of income earners and not decrease taxes on the wealthy, and that he intends to replace Obamacare with his own version of health care reform -- he does really see cutting taxes as a way to spur growth and cutting back on services like Medicare and Medicaid as a way to balance the budget.  It's the only way his math adds up if he promises tax cuts, increases in defense spending, and deficit cutting.

"I am running for President to get this country on the right track again.  America is at a critical crossroads.  We have to strengthen the foundation of our economy, of our values, of our principles, so we have a military that's so strong we can defend freedom for ourselves, and for others, we have to put Americans back to work, and politics whether I'm highly favored or not highly favored doesn't enter the equation."

This quote I really don't believe -- the first line is poll-tested political pablum, as unspecific as it gets.  Then at the end he says he doesn't care about politics.  If he doesn't care about politics, why is he even running?  Yes, I do believe we need to have a strong military and to put people back to work -- everyone believes that -- but what does that quote say about Gov. Romney as President?  Not very much.

Finally, there's this:

"I'm not worried about my life, my life's fine...I'm worried about the country."

Again, it's a patrician, almost smug place that he is coming from, and that is part of why he's not as popular as Republicans would like at this point.  It's vague, and it's almost condescending.

Overall, he seemed pretty relaxed in the first part of the interview, with his wife by his side.  I get the sense that in trying to be more personal, he let his guard down a little bit, but still not enough to really get to know him.  More importantly, does he have what it takes to be President?  I still don't think so.