From the outset of this campaign season, Republican presidential hopefuls have sought to capture support from the disgruntled Republican base.
Mitt Romney appears to have adopted the strategy of hiding his true values and opinions in an effort to appease the GOP base, but his time would be better spent making the case for a new direction for the Republican Party.
Romney's business background ought to be a strength in an election season in which many Americans are looking for a president who knows how to balance a budget, improve efficiency, and reinvigorate a stagnant economy. Instead, it has made him an easy target for his critics, who cast him as a perfect example of the growing socioeconomic divide in a country that scarcely resembles the land of opportunity on which it built its reputation.
Romney has helped provide additional fodder for these critics through his insensitivity to the harsh economic realities faced by a significant portion of the electorate. Though his comments were taken out of context, no campaigning politician should ever be quoted as saying "I'm not concerned with the very poor." Nor should he pretend that $374,000—his reported income from speaker fees last year—is a trivial sum, as he did when he said, "I get speakers fees from time to time, but not very much."
With an estimated net worth somewhere between $190 and $250 million, Romney should never try to empathize with truly unemployed Americans by saying, "I should tell my story. I'm also unemployed."
Romney will never be able to convince struggling Americans that he can relate to what they're going through because his life has been remarkably privileged. He is, by all accounts, exceptionally intelligent and his track record suggests that he should be able to capably assume the presidency. But while Romney's career has been marked by numerous business successes, he's always struggled to win elections.
In order to win this election, Romney needs to shift his campaign's focus from securing support from the Republican base to convincing Americans that he has a vision for a better, stronger future. What President Obama did so well in 2008 was present an alternative to a tired political scene, inspiring millions of people to vote. He represented hope and change at a time when this country was desperately in need of both.
Romney's calculating personality makes him come across as insincere, and the contradictory opinions he offers only serve to further this reputation.
While serving as governor of Massachusetts, a socially liberal state, Romney signed into law a healthcare plan not dissimilar to the heavily criticized Obamacare. Championing this legislation in his book, "No Apologies," Romney wrote, "We can accomplish the same thing for everyone in the country."
Now, Romney claims the plan was intended only for Massachusetts and shouldn't be implemented at a national level. His abortion platform has also shifted dramatically. While running for governor in 2002, he said he supported abortion rights. Now, Romney says that he's always been pro-life and intends to cultivate "a culture of life" in America.
The truth is that Romney is a businessman who views every decision in terms of risk, and makes every statement trying to appease exactly whom he needs to at that particular moment.
Unfortunately, these traits that made him so successful in business are the same ones that prevent him from being successful or inspirational on the campaign trail.
Romney should stop trying to appeal to an increasingly irrational and polemical Republican base and start trying to present what he actually believes in and explain how he intends to govern. He may have a good idea for how this country should best handle a constantly evolving economic and political world, but his inability to express it will cost him his chance at the presidency.
If Mitt Romney has any hope of being the 45th president, he and his staff need to re-evaluate his campaign strategy. He needs to figure out what values he truly believes in, what policies he really believes will make America better, and why he wants to live in the White House.
Until he answers these questions for himself, it's unlikely that Americans will trust him enough to put him in office.