Election 2012

Romney Fever

John Boehner has Romney Fever.

“Can you make me love Mitt Romney?”

“No,” Boehner said. “Listen, we’re just politicians. I wasn’t elected to play God. The American people probably aren’t going to fall in love with Mitt Romney. I’ll tell you this: 95 percent of the people that show up to vote in November are going to show up in that voting booth, and they are going to vote for or against Barack Obama.

“Mitt Romney has some friends, relatives and fellow Mormons ... some people that are going to vote for him. But that’s not what this election is about. This election is going to be a referendum on the president’s failed economic policies.

Other than his fellow Mormons and his closest friends, no one is going to cast their vote for Mitt Romney, according to John Boehner. Thanks for that.

The last time an election became all about dislike for the incumbent, the incumbent won. It's not a winning strategy. The only advantage Romney has over the incumbent in 2012 that Kerry didn't have in 2004 is that the current president is black. Kerry and Bush were both white guys.

I don't believe that alone is enough to delivery a victory to Team Romney, but it would be naive to dismiss it as irrelevant. Because if the president were white, the election probably wouldn't be as close as it currently is.

It's a depressing thought, but if there's one thing I've learned for certain over the past four years, it's that America is still very racist. And not just on the Right side of the aisle.