Conventional Thinking

The meme of the Republican Convention now taking place in Tampa, Florida is that, in his acceptance speech on Thursday night, Mitt Romney needs to "connect" with the American people.  He has already connected with me but not in the way that the media is touting.  These scribes and talking heads, following the narrative so deeply ingrained in the American people, want an emotional appeal from a man who is clearly the antithesis of the current resident of the White House.  Barack Obama was swept into the Presidency in 2008 pretty much entirely on emotion (and fainting females) ... and we have seen the unfortunate results ... a nation mired in economic malaise, crippling unemployment, staggering deficits, and intrusive government.  So much for the fruits of emotional choices.  I can't see that another four years of this reign of incompetence will improve things one iota.

I have connected with Romney much more on a cognitive level.  I see what he has been able to accomplish time and time again ... and I find it very easy to extrapolate this performance into the next four years of what would be his first term in office.  That is ... if the American voters will just realize how emotional appeals can be dangerous.  Mitt Romney recently said, "I am who I am," and I think that this is just the right tone for what I would like to see in his Thursday night oration.  I think it would be a mistake for him to genuflect to the media and try to "humanize" himself.  All he needs to do is present, in broad-brush terms, how he is going to fix the mess we are currently in.  He needn't go into gory detail ... for many of these details will be unpalatable to various sectors of the voting public (probably including myself).  But, clearly, we will not dig ourselves out of our current problems without some shared pain.  If Romney tells us that some sacrifice all around is necessary, then I think he will have hit just the right note.

Then the traditional balloon drop should inspire a more sober and, perhaps, a more somber crowd.