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So the projection is out, and Mitt Romney has won the New Hampshire primary, as expected. He'll definitely proclaim he's happy with this triumph.
He'll offend no-one in his speech, that's for certain; what's equally sure is that he'll excite no-one as well.
Oh, Mitt! On paper you're amazing. Successful businessman. Saved the Olympics. Happily married. Your kids adore you. So why are you so bad in person that you went to charm school in the middle of last year?
The first cyborg to do so. You graduated with flying colours, to what end?
This morning, while consuming the Free Breakfast at the Best Western Granite Inn in Nashua, New Hampshire, I watched a CNN anchor send an obedient reporter into a media scrum surrounding Republican candidate Newt Gingrich.
A media scrum is a beast with upwards of 32 legs, 32 arms, ten cameras, four microphones, and a gigawatt of nervous energy.
You know rugby scrums? They're orderly compared to the surging, roiling sea of reporters, cursing photographers, and clenched-mouthed TV news camera-operators that trailed the Republican candidates today.
Even Newt, with his self-regard, his sagging poll numbers, and his tottery campaign got a scrum.
As the reporter was doing his live shot, and talking, the scrum crab-walked away from him.
I want you just to go in there, live on TV, said the anchor Kyra Phillips.
Ha! I thought, eating my waffle, that's lame, she's torturing him, just because she's bored.
The reporter dived in. He spoke to Newt. Newt answered. The tentacles of the scrum moved and surged.
Some hours later, I was in my own scrum with Jon Huntsman.
Yes, Jon Huntsman. He's the other rich Mormon in the Republican, the one that you haven't heard of because he's too sane. In US politics, too much equilibrium will lose you votes.
Too much extremity will do the same thing. Think about libertarian Ron Paul. He wants a return to the Gold Standard. We can debate the merits of that later, but it's not a widely-held view.
Huntsman has been surging over the past few days. He's benefitted from the kind of last-minute volatility that pushed Rick Santorum within an inch (okay, 8 votes) of the more highly funded Mitt Romney in Iowa.
Because people are making their mind up, and because the media loves a late-breaking phenomenon, this scrum was bigger than Newt's.
Truly, it had 100 legs, 800 arms, 40 cameras, and the force of something enormous and not-to-be-crossed. I got jostled a little, no-one asked me to get a question from the candidate.
Watching Mitt Romney last night on the stump, I pitied the Republicans. They hate Obama. They believe he's destroying the USA. They find him smug, disconnected, and doctrinaire.
Does this mean they love Mitt Romney? No! No-one who's seen him campaign can love this guy. They don't believe him, because he doesn't seem to believe himself.
For example, he prefaces his promises with, "If I'm President." Um, sorry Mitt, it's "When I'm President"
I want to thank my cameraman Dado Carillo, by the way, for this observation.
Speaking further, Romney praised his wife with a riff that people say she should run for the White House. He thinks they're right.
I think they're right. Memo to Mitt: Love your wife, don't imply she'd be a better President than you. (PS, Dado told me this, too).
People in Romney's audience clapped.
Sometimes they cheered. The above, and other tepid remarks, were delivered with a fraction of the energy I felt in Jon Huntsman's scrum today.
That's Mitt Romney's problem. He's got what it takes to be a candidate. He needs more of what's required to be President.
What do you think? Have your say on the messageboard below.
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Post new commentRonDotCom said on 2012-01-12 @ 16:29 NZDT: Report abusive post
The Gold standard not a widely held view? You need to pull your head out from your bottom Tim. There is very much a desire held buy a large number of people to pin currencies to something real-such as gold. Have you heard of fractional banking? Currently our dollars are pinned to debt. Have you heard Ron Paul speak? If he to get into office and made good on his promises, the World would be a better place. His name is mentioned once? A balanced view from you and tv1? I think not. Shame on you.