Quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
As Yglesias says:
- Romney's a pathetic liar and he's running on a shitty agenda, but in a pinch you can say that the man has a track-record of managerial competence that Huckabee and McCain distinctly lack.
|
Romney's managerial competance is vastly overrated, and the stuff of sound-bites rather than substance.
Romney was a wretched manager of the Government in Massachusetts - talented people fled his administration, he was known for a random approach to budgeting that led to sudden shifts out of left field, he was unable to get his legislation through because the first thing he did in office was alienate the key legislators. He spent much of his time grandstanding, placing higher priorities on his public image in Texas than on how the state was managed. He did not run for a second term and probably would have lost had he run. When he left office, his unfavorables exceeded his favorables
among Republicans. I will be shocked if he breaks 50% in the Republican primary here - he may eke it out because the others are so divided, but he couldn't win it in a one-on-one with almost anyone.
Ask the guy what his greatest achievement in government is, and you'll complete wishy-washiness. Taxes and Revenues? Both went up - to a great extent because he used executive powers to raise fees where he could, and because he couldn't negotiate effectively with the legislature. Balanced budget? The legislature overroad almost all his vetos - they drafted the budgets and passed them despite him. Social Conservativism - well, we have Gay Marriage in Massachusetts. Education? It was the area that took the steepest hits in funding during his administration. Ask Hillary the same question, she'll have twenty items to line up.
Yes, Romney showed that when you start out in life bankrolled by a father who leads one of the biggest companies in the country, you can be successful as a financier. This should not surpise anyone. But he hasn't shown that he can run a large, complex organization like a government.
