The New York Times made an amusing editing decision today. Wednesday, February 21st, 2007 pg A19; take a look and the bottom right hand corner. The headline reads, “Romney Mounting an Early Add Campaign.”
Along with the story there is also a large photograph smack dab in the middle of the story. It’s a picture of a crowd of people holding campaign signs in the air. The first time I read the story I didn’t even give the picture a second glance supposing it was a picture of Romney supporters.
But if you look at the picture closely, it’s obvious that it’s not a picture of Romney supporters at all! Right in the middle of story on Mitt Romney’s add campaigns is a huge picture of Barack Obama supporters! What, is the New York Time so excited about Obama running that their even going to find ways to post Obama pictures in stories about republican canidates!
My guess is it was a mistake and those they recognized it at the last second and didn’t have any time or anything to replace the Obama picture so they left it there.
But regardless of why they put Obama and Mitt together, there is an even bigger irony here and that is just how much Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have in common. Now follow me on this one just for a minute:
*Both have spent only one term in political office in the public eye, Romney as a governor of Massachusetts and Obama as the Senator from Illinois. (A difference may be that Obama was involved in politics on the local level in Illinois, he was a senator in the state senate prior to being voted to US Senate.)
*Both will have served 4 years in their offices when they run for president in 2008. (Romney from 2002-2006 and Obama from 2004-2008).
*Both are passionate, persuasive and inspiring orators.
*Both use optimism as a tool in their campaigns.
*Both are young looking and energetic in their approach.
*Both try to portray themselves as Washington outsiders and the alternatives to the partisan politics as usual which currently rules the day in the capital.
*Both have short record in public life and as a result most people really don’t know all that much about them.
Now in listing these similarities I’m not trying to down play their differences. I’m only trying to illustrate that Mitt Romney too many is the Barack Obama of the Republican Party. If you don’t like John McCain or Rudy than whom do you vote for? Gingrich perhaps, but most would agree that he’s unelectable. Romney comes in to save the day.
Obama is the same figure in the democrat party. Every other candidate that is running for president this time in the democrat party has ran at least once! And they’re all losers. Hillary, though she’s currently undergoing a serious make-over she would be to the left what Gingrich is to the right, too controversial for mainstream America. So Obama is the man. He’s new, you don’t know much about him, but all trust is invested in him because, hey, could he be worse than your alternatives?
However, both men are and will continue to run into the challenge that their critics are going to try to define them and from the get go of the campaign. Though being the new boys on the bloc has its perks, if either of them want a realistic shot at the White House they will need to define themselves. Judging by the Times story “Romney mounting an early presidential add campaign” Mitt has gotten the memo.
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