Does Mitt Romney Have What It Takes?

Looking at Mitt Romney’s chaotic trajectory in the primaries, Republican experts have good reason to fear that the supposed Republican front-runner is losing ground. The New York Times and other media groups chalk it up to his “very poor” personal communication skills. People skills and talent for public speaking cannot be replaced by spending millions of dollars on campaign adds that cut down his competitors. But is Romney’s lack of charisma a real problem?

Romney is not a jubilant “hand shaker” or political personality, as were Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, who both loved the campaign trail. The voters can feel that Romney is more reserved, and they don’t seem to like it.

Romney’s convictions are neither deep nor innate. He has a lot of difficulty sticking with the Republican program and does not use the party’s typical battery of arguments. He often coats his language with a veneer of poorly thought-out concepts. As one analyst said, he doesn’t speak the current Republican language.

Romney’s slips of the tongue have become more frequent. He sorely hurt his campaign when he declared, “don’t worry about the very poor,” and “[I’m] severely conservative.” Many Republicans may hold similar attitudes, but would never dare voice them during election time.

Journalists understand Romney less and less. During the 2008 campaign, he was much more accessible and often voluntarily stepped into the limelight. Ann Coulter, a conservative journalist who supports his campaign, has never been able to meet with or speak to him. When she ran into him at a fundraising reception, she reproached him for his lack of initiative. His only response was to laugh and agree.

Conservative experts find him disconnected from Republican leaders, who have very little contact with him. An editorial in the Wall Street Journal recommended that he get together with Jeb Bush, Paul Ryan and Mitch Daniels to discuss ways to overcome his painful isolation. His case might make a good brief for a psychoanalyst. But if he wants Republican voters to put him on the ballot as their choice to beat Obama, that’s another story.