Five Reasons Mitt Romney Is A Much Worse Candidate Than John McCain Was
Biography
John McCain had one of the most compelling biographies of any candidate for president in recent history. A decorated pilot who was a prisoner of war and went on to serve his country in the Senate for decades, often bucking his own party to support bipartisan reforms. Mitt Romney's biography has been much more problematic. A draft-avoiding, private equity maven with a record conforming his views with the orthodoxy of his party. Romney's one great accomplishment -- health care reform -- almost cost him his party's nomination.
Five Reasons Mitt Romney Is A Much Worse Candidate Than John McCain Was
Down-ballot Fears
No two words strike more fear in a Republican candidate in a swing district than "Ryan Budget." When Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan, he may have picked someone who is more experienced on the public stage than Sarah Palin, but he also picked a candidate many voters will vote against for his plans to slash Medicare, Medicaid and education.
Five Reasons Mitt Romney Is A Much Worse Candidate Than John McCain Was
The Race Card
John McCain's finest moment in the 2008 campaign came in a town hall meeting where he defended Barack Obama as a "patriot" to a cantankerous questioner who called the future president a Muslim. McCain also refused to run ads focusing on the comments of Reverend Wright for fear they would stoke racial resentment. In contrast, Mitt Romney's relentless repetition of a debunked charge about welfare reform reeks of racial innuendo.
Five Reasons Mitt Romney Is A Much Worse Candidate Than John McCain Was
There Aren't Enough Lifeboats
Who quits a winning campaign six weeks before election day? No one. But Romney's national co-chair Tim Pawlenty did just that on Thursday. In the wake of Mitt Romney's comments disparaging 47 percent of Americans, many Republicans have distanced themselves from the GOP nominee. This is the first sign that Romney recognizes that his campaign is as badly in need of a revamp as the Salt Lake Olympics was.
Five Reasons Mitt Romney Is A Much Worse Candidate Than John McCain Was
Money
Mitt Romney has already raised more money than John McCain did in his entire presidential campaign. Super PACs and nonprofits have at least doubled that amount, most of it going to defeat the president. Not only is the president leading Romney at this point at a margin larger than he led Romney, but Romney has the worst favorable to unfavorable ratings of any candidate for president since Pew started measuring such things.
