Mitt Romney’s chances

Mitt Romney’s chances

The changing man

He has many factors in his favour. But to win the presidency Mitt Romney will have to reinvent himself once again—this time as a likeable, sympathetic guy

GEORGE ROMNEY, father of the present Republican presidential nominee and himself a candidate for the White House in 1968, used to joke that his campaign had been “like a miniskirt: short and revealing”. By analogy, his son Mitt’s bid for the presidency has been more of a crinoline: long and cumbersome.
The younger Mr Romney has been running for president for six years at least, since the waning days of his governorship of Massachusetts. He has proved doubters wrong by progressing as far as he has, in spite of his flip-flopping, his woodenness, his wealth and his Mormon faith. Yet he has not made it look easy, and is currently behind in the polls in an election that many pundits think is the Republicans’ to lose. Mr Romney, who will officially be anointed the Republican nominee at the party’s convention in Tampa on August 30th, is still very much in contention—but more by virtue of doggedness than flair.

Mr Romney has run for public office three times before. He won one of those races (for governor, in 2002) and lost the other two (for the Senate in 1994, and for president in 2008). He came third in the Republican presidential primaries last time round, measured by number of delegates won, or second, if you go by his share of the vote. He conceded to John McCain just over a month into the race.