Time Mag: The GOP's New Rules

During the 2008 campaign, one could scarcely find a positive comment written about Mitt Romney by the writers of Time Magazine. However, the folks at Time Magazine during this election cycle appear to be warming to Mitt Romney. Here are a few examples from the most recent issue of Time Magazine entitled "The GOP's New Rules:"

-"The retooled edition of candidate Romney is much improved."

-Romney's answers during a Q&A in NH "seemed thoughtful and interesting-and far more nuanced than the conservative repertoire."

-During the NH debate, "Romney seemed comfortable in his own skin-the most important positive quality a candidate can display-a far cry from his sweaty robot impersonations in 2008."

-In regard to Romney's ads, Klein states positively "They seem the sort of ad that a Democrat might have run in a different cycle and effectively hammered home Romney's theme."

-Joe Klein even goes on to say when referring to Romney "He sort of looks like a Republican President should."

The article goes on to compare Romney with McCain in that they both were not particularly well-liked by the Republican establishment, and how they both authored controversial legislation (Romneycare for Romney and Campaign Finance Reform for McCain). And both believed in global warming, but yet McCain secured the nomination just as Romney stands a strong possibility of doing likewise.

Of course the Time article also had some critical things to say about Romney, but still, it is a large improvement from 2008. Perhaps the media is warming to Romney because they understand him better, or perhaps he is more moderate than many of his rivals. I have to admit that I am surprised by this turn of events, but glad to see it none the less.

Mitt Blasts Obama on Troop Withdrawal

Gov. Romney is blasting Obama for going against the advice of the Generals in Afghanistan. It appears that after consulting with his generals, Obama has decided not to take their advice. Obama seems to be motivated more by political arguments rather than American safety and success and Romney is blasting Obama for it.

I think this is a risky move for Obama to go against the advice of his generals. Romney is right to call him out on it.

Mitt Rolls Out a Ton of Endorsements in Michigan

In a key battleground state, Romney rolled out a long list of endorsements. Romney won Michigan in 2008 and has strong ties to the state.

By any account, that is an impressive list of endorsements this early on in the campaign.

Obama Administration Discontinues Waiver Program

Sensing a political fallout, or at least a political vulnerability, the Obama administration has announced that it will discontinue the waiver program that allows large companies to opt out of Obamacare's burdensome requirements.

The Obama administration will discontinue the waiver program in September, just ahead of the 2012 election cycle.

Debate Roundup

The GOP presidential contenders had their first serious debate last night in NH. Here's my thoughts:

1) Herman Cain lost big time. He had a great showing in the debate a few weeks ago which boosted his national profile considerably. But with good performances comes higher expectations, and Herman Cain didn't deliver last night. He committed a gaffe in his comments about "being uncomfortable" having a Muslim in his cabinet. Overall, he came across sounding like a novice. His inexperience has begun to shine through and I believe that he has peaked in this race.

2)Ron Paul - Dr. Paul's libertarian leanings are to radical for the mainstream public. Every time he is asked a question, he pontificates libertarian talking points about how the government shouldn't be involved in anything in the first place. Do people realize how radical and drastic Rep. Paul's beliefs are? Do people realize how impossible it would be to implement any laws Rep. Paul proposes due to their extreme nature? The Senate and House would never go along with most of his proposals. Ron Paul has had a good run in presidential politics for the last few cycles, but I believe his support has peaked as well.

3) Gov. Romney - Both Time Magazine's Mark Halperin, Politico and National Review Online all stated that Romney was the clear winner of the debate. His opponents didn't attack him on any of his vulnerabilities. Plus, Romney stayed on message about the economy and appeared to have a commanding control of the issues.

The media had hoped last night's debate would be similar to a "steel cage death match" between Romney and Pawlenty, with Pawlenty relentlessly attacking Romney on health care and abortion. But I think it would have been a mistake for Pawlenty and the other rivals to go on the attack so soon. It's early in the campaign process and the candidates don't want to go negative this early.

Health Care Skeletons in the Closet

A good summary of GOP presidential candidates and there past support for health care mandates and Romney's plan in Massachusetts is out today on Politico.

Most of the candidates running for president have expressed support for a mandate in the past.

Matt Drudge Favors Romney?

An interesting, though quite speculative piece, from Politico states that Matt Drudge, founder of The Drudge Report, favors Romney.

The piece notes that Drudge has had a number of positive articles on Romney in the last few months, but a precious few have been for other candidates. Romney's competitors have noticed as well and are quick to express their frustration with the situation. Of course, everyone knows that if the tables were turned, Romney's competitors would be more than happy to be the recipient of such treatment from Drudge.

Truthfully, I don't think Drudge is particularly favoring Romney. I think the reason Romney has gotten some favorable articles is because all other top tier candidates for president haven't been particularly noteworthy. Pawlenty has been "boring," unexciting and unable to gain traction, Huntsman hasn't even announced he is running yet and is very new on the scene, Gingrich' campaign took 29 days after his announcement to implode, Palin hasn't announced that she is running yet nor has she made any strong overtures that she will run. With the exception of Herman Cain, nobody in the race has made any significant strides. There is just not a lot of strong material to work with thus far for the GOP. I think that is real reason why Drudge has been putting up positive articles on Romney lately.

Of course, I am happy that Drudge has been using his incredibly influential blog to help out a great candidate.

I have also noticed recently that USA Today seems to be helping Romney out quite a bit. Just look at todays headline. USA Today is America's most widely read newspaper and a far bigger fish in the media world than Drudge. It appears as though Romney, who struggled in 2008 to get favorable press attention, may have the winds at his back this time.

On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal editorial board seems to have it out for Romney by frequently publishing negative characterizations on Romneycare. So maybe Romney has some friends in the media world, but it is nowhere close to the "slobbering love affair" that Obama had in 2008.