USA: Everything’s Set for a Romney-Obama Showdown

There will be no more suspense, but this time it is official: the American presidential campaign has entered a new phase of direct confrontations.

After Newt Gingrich’s decision to throw in the towel, “in the coming days,” there is thus no doubt about it. Mitt Romney, the presentable ex-Massachusetts governor, will certainly be the Republican candidate facing off against Barack Obama. And there are no Ron Paul supporters (numerous on this blog) who will contradict me: the latter never had a single chance.

After his new victories in five primaries on Tuesday, Romney understood this well by announcing, “It’s the start of a new and better chapter that we will write together,” and, “It’s the beginning of the end of the disappointments of the Obama years.”

For the past few weeks already, Romney’s team has refocused his message on the president, notably starting off with an assault on his economic record. It’s a strategy a longtime in the making but which isn’t without risk, while America is slowly in the process of mending its health and sees a good number of indicators that point toward a rebirth.

Suddenly, Romney slightly polished his remarks and assured Tuesday night, “The last few years have been the best that Barack Obama can do, but it’s not the best America can do!”

For Romney, the months to come will be, in other words, devoted to attempting to convince Americans who at the moment say they “don’t like” or “aren’t familiar with” Romney. Romney has work to do within his own party, which has appeared largely divided during these primaries and without great enthusiasm for a candidate perceived as too dull and not “right” enough for the most conservative fringe.

Obama, too, has rolled up his sleeves. His team started to remobilize the base of young activists who had propelled him into the White House in 2008. And he started just this week a tour of the famous “swing states,” those states which could turn the tide of the November election.