“I seen my opportunities and I took ’em,” was the guiding philosophy of the Tammany politician George Washington Plunkitt. Mitt Romney seen his opportunity today and he’s taking it, going after Rick Perry on Social Security. The GOP will be “obliterated as a party” if it nominates someone who opposes Social Security rather than someone who wishes to save it.
He’s absolutely right in that no one who opposes a guaranteed income for seniors could be elected in the United States in 2012. Where he may be wrong is the presumption that Social Security as it is currently constituted is sacrosanct. Perry’s challenge is to demonstrate that he can attack Social Security in its present form and advocate its gradual replacement by a better system. It appears we are going to have a real-world test of this in the months to come.
But there is something else to be said here about Mitt Romney. Some, like my colleague Pete Wehner, were disturbed by Perry’s somewhat aggressive manner last night, and think his combativeness may wear poorly. But the Perry challenge is now clearly forcing Romney to get aggressive right back, so there are going to be two openly combative guys going at each other.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this. Far from it. When the candidates are willing to draw distinctions with each other, voters can better determine who would a) be better as a leader and b) be more electable. Angry Mitt may be the side of Romney the GOP voter needs to see, because it’s the side he hasn’t shown. And that’s a problem for him.
Romney has been running for president now, non-stop, for four years and nine months. Republicans who pay attention to politics know who he is, have heard him speak, and have a real sense of him. And the key fact about him is this: Nearly five years in and probably $100 million spent, and Romney hasn’t made the sale. Period. Perry’s instant rise to the top in a matter of days spoke less to his natural advantages than to Romney’s inability to achieve a real connection with GOP primary voters.
If he does so by finding a voice in attacking Perry, then Romney will have to thank the Texas governor for getting in. But, and this is a big “but,” if he goes after Perry big-time over the next two weeks and Perry’s numbers don’t start sinking as a result, the case that the GOP really doesn’t want Mitt Romney to the nominee will have pretty much been made. They may settle for him if Perry really does prove impossible to vote for, but they will be settling.
