2. Formidable Romney? Yes. The President has had to work hard to pushback a tide of disillusion with his administration. A more humane, sensitized Romney would kick Obama's ass.
unicorn probably would as well... unfortunately no such mythical beast exists therefore inaccurate to describe Romney as "formidable". The obstacles presented by the President's record might be formidable... his opponent, not so much.
Let's try this:
Formidable Romney? Yes. The President has had to work hard to pushback a tide of disillusion with his administration. [end of separate and complete thought]
A more humane, sensitized Romney would kick Obama's ass. [end of separate and complete thought]
Clearly I recognize that no such animal exists, but the point of proffering that was to underscore that Mr. Romney has been more than a worrying chore for the WH, despite his deficiencies.
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While the polls (and reality) suggest that Romney is in trouble
today, his campaign has been fairly tight and challenging to the White House up until recently such that no significant presumption favoring the incumbent WH could be made. The wall he has hit is of his own making ... rather than of an illuminating Obama campaign that has exposed him. Having stated that, the President has been shrewd in his individual delivery and characterization of Romney without getting bogged down with electoral weeds around his stately, presidential ankles that would/could diminish his standing as POTUS.
I'm looking at Romney as a comprehensive candidate through the primaries and post-primaries. And, I'm including in my assessment his trajectory and accomplishments as a candidate over more than one election cycle ... because these factored into his projection as the presumptive Republican nominee way before he was named.
The WH has been running against him for a considerable period of time and his composite of a candidate has prevented the WH from paving a smooth path to re-election ... until more recently as perceived in some circles.
In a state like North Carolina, Romney achieved favorable movement that eluded others of his ilk. Again I say, he's made gaffes, but until the present ... none of his gaffes or obvious liabilities has served to derail or permanently undermine his candidacy. He's been persistent. And effective.
Today I heard of a 15% gap (favoring Obama) in one poll, but polling (internal and external) mere weeks ago showed no such distinction.
Perhaps we're using differing definitional lenses. To be formidable Mr. Romney need not be riding neck and neck with Obama in each poll. To be formidable he must have a frustrating impact on how the WH configures getting to the magic number in the electoral college ... and my contention is that Romney has challenged the WH in its calculus of the electoral college map more than has been conceded.
The # of visits by the candidates to certain states supports this ... think electoral college.
Other than that, I "see" why "formidable" could be perceived as too generous.