Dorothy Rabinowtiz thinks that Voters Might Appreciate the Serious Romney:
It would help, finally, if Mr. Romney proved himself the first candidate in years to grasp that aspirants to the presidency who appear on late-night comedy shows invariably end up looking like buffoons. That's in addition to denigrating their candidacy, the presidency itself, and looking unutterably pathetic in the effort to look like regular guys.
Most voters with any sense—this will perhaps exclude a fair number of the screamers in the late-night studio audiences—will understand that the candidate isn't one of them, not even close. That voters in their right minds don't choose a candidate for president because they've had the privilege of seeing him look unspeakably absurd while engaging in obsequious exchanges with late-night hosts.
Americans have good reason these days—count the behavior of the Secret Service as the latest—to value a candidate who not only knows but feels the meaning of the office of the presidency of the United States, its symbolism and of all that's connected to it. Standing up for that symbolism against the showbiz convention of political campaigns today wouldn't be a bad way to begin Mr. Romney's run for the White House—if his handlers allow it.
Amen. This pandering by candidates to pretend that they're just like the guy next door needs to stop tout suite. I don't want the guy next door to be president, I want someone who can fill the role of leading the country through a difficult time when the decisions we make (or decide not to) will have long-term repercussions on the future state of the nation.
I also like the idea of the Romney campaign theme revolving around him being the serious choice. And wouldn't that choice be even more clear if he had an equally (or perhaps even more) serious running mate? Romney-Ryan: It's Time to Get Serious.
