Friday, February 3, 2012

The Repentance and Recovery of Mitt Romney

Reach out, to the ones you've offended, Mitt. Come up with an earnest, meaningful way to help them, something that says, "I do love you guys. I do care, immensely, for the very, very poor. And, I do have a way to make things better."

Say it. Mean it. Do it.

And, it better be good. Whatever you come up with, had better be good, something that will, indeed, improve the lot of the poor.

Mitt, we've reached the point of critical mass. Your "I'm not concerned about the very poor" comment might have been taken out of context, but it falls into a now-lengthy line of happenings that have you well painted as an elite, uppity, snob-at-the-top, separated-from-the-masses rich man.

There was that offer to bet Rick Perry $10,000 on who was right about what you said about health care. Who, but the rich, has that kind of money to toss around?

There was the accusation that Bain Capital was making money while Georgetown Steel was losing money and people losing their jobs. Other similar accusation came with the Bain Capital issue, too. Didn't they.

There was the issue of your taxes. People didn't like it that you, as a rich person, paid 14 percent while they, the common folks, were paying 25 percent. Graduated income tax? For whom?

Oh, and what of the statement about liking to fire people? It, too, was taken out of context, but it didn't go away.

With all these things painting you as an out-of-touch Richie Rich, that endorsement from Donald Trump might have done as much harm as good. You needed that like a black eye needs another bleeding blood vessel.

Mitt, do something. You might survive this for the moment, but if you don't do something big, to turn your image around, it is going to haunt you. Whether it is in August against Obama, or when you get to the White House and the pundits think to remember all this, it is going to haunt you.

A little repentance is in order, even if the repentance is of no more than how much attention you are giving to the poor, how much care and how much love.

Saying you're sorry is not enough. Saying you misspoke is not enough. If you are going to shelve the rich-man-doesn't-care image, you must act decisively. Being the nation's leader requires a decisive person who recognizes moments for decisive action when they come up. This is one of those moments. Start with a speech lamenting the needs of the poor, sympathizing, and offering hope. And, build on that by offering a plan -- a real, workable plan.

Offer love. Offer hope. Say it. Mean it. Do it.

What will that plan be? More government entitlement won't work. You've already taken a stand against that.

Just to be suggesting something, I say you call for jobs for the poor. You come back tomorrow, Mitt, and I'll tell you how this suggestion works. Don't let it go unnoticed that you are also being hammered on jobs, the opposition pointing out that Massachusetts was 47th in the nation in job creation under you.

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