MARION, Iowa — Mitt Romney’s “Christmas Caucus Extravaganza” at
Linn-Mar High School ended up a bit lighter on the “Christmas” than
planned after school administrators made it clear that any overt
Birth of Christ decorative overtones would violate the school’s No
Christmas Parties policy. So the Romney campaign was forced to bid
adieu to their Christmas tree and Santa Claus, and say hello to the
appellation holiday party.
No matter. If neither the teenage string quartet performing “The
Infant King” in the cafeteria corner nor the bright red poinsettias
and punch clued the several hundred revelers in to the fact that
this was an event designed for the Jesus is the Reason for the
Season crowd, Romney’s persistent invocation of “heartland values”
and his own commitment to family likely did.
“I didn’t get in this race because I am a lifetime politician,”
Romney said. “I’ve only been in politics four years — not long
enough to get badly infected. I’m in his race because of five sons,
five daughters-in-law, eleven grandkids, a wife I love and
Americans I’ve met across this land.”
Even as Romney covered other bases — taxes, national defense
and the necessity of following “the course Ronald Reagan outlined”
— he circled around again and again to the “family values” theme.
Outlining how he intends to achieve his “pretty straight forward”
foreign policy goal of keeping America “the strongest nation in the
world,” Romney put the military at the end of his list. (“We do it
with strong homes and families and values, we do it with a strong
economy and then we also invest in our military to protect
ourselves.”) Romney prefaced his plan to strengthen the economy,
kill the death tax and fight spending with an acknowledgment, to
great applause, that, “The most important work that goes on in
America is the work that goes on within the four walls of the
home.”
It’s a variation on the three-legged stool speech, a Romney stump
standby wherein the former Massachusetts governor posits the
conservative movement, in his view, is based on the trifecta of a
“strong military, strong economy and strong family.” (Occasionally,
Romney even breaks a stool for emphasis.) Romney has become
more enamored of this particular “family” leg since Mike Huckabee
became intent on prying it off his stool. The concern is real: “Do
something people don’t expect,” Romney pleaded at one point, “which
is give me a victory.”
Fiscal conservatives such as I no doubt wish Romney would let
his inner business master off its leash more often and speak to the
competency and foresight that allowed him to help successfully
launch national mainstays such as Staples, Domino’s and Sports
Authority in the mid-nineties. Romney can dazzle and inspire when
he touches on the historical “inflection points” he sees ahead or
muses about the shift to a philosophy of inalienable rights (“the
citizen became the sovereign and the state became the servant and
that, as they say, has made all the difference”). Unfortunately,
these days those once integral flourishes are all too brief asides.
Romney, frankly, is better than the box he’s placed himself into
for the primaries, something that will become apparent should he
make it to the general election.
Nevertheless, perhaps more on his game than at any time since he
began his run, Romney delivered this “values” speech with
near-flawless timing and pacing, as well as real verve…Only to be
shown up by his wife, Ann. Showcasing a grace and authenticity
which can only indicate either an Oscar-worthy performance or a
complete lack of political pretense, the woman Mitt introduced as
“My sweetheart, the boss” imbued the typical, trite sappy stuff
(“We met in high school. There’s not much I don’t know about this
guy”) with warmth, but truly shined as she delved into her “dark
days” after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998.
“I remember this one point when I had about given up and felt
like my life was over, that I was going to pretty much just be an
invalid for the rest of my life,” she recounted quietly, pausing to
glance back at her husband. “Him looking at me and saying, ‘You
know what? I don’t care if you’re in a wheelchair. I don’t care if
you never make dinner again’ — I was moaning about how difficult
it was for me to do things — ‘I’ll eat cereal for the rest of my
life, but together, we’ll be okay.’ And that gave me the courage to
go on and to battle.”
THERE ARE MOMENTS WHEN Romney takes the “family” theme a bit too
far. Lines such as, “We will always remain the strongest nation on
earth as long as we have leaders that will tell us the truth, who
lay out the pathway we have to follow,” for example, can sound
disconcertingly as if he’s running for National Daddy. The
Massachusetts health insurance mandate doesn’t
reassure, although a Romney pamphlet argues it was an example
of Conservative Ideas in Action. “Washington politicians
make promises…” it reads, “Mitt Romney gets it done.” Similarly,
planning Ann Romney’s First Ladydom, Mitt promised she would “speak
to people who carry a burden.”
“You recall, in the case of Nancy Reagan, she made ‘Just Say No
to Drugs’ her theme,” Mitt elaborated. “And the Bush first ladies
have both focused on reading. Well, Ann’s going to help kids make
good decisions, staying off of drugs and finishing high school and
getting married before kids and before babies.”
So it really does take a village?
Aside from a couple of swipes at Hillary Clinton, Romney
sheathed his political knife on stage. He kept things general,
avoiding the overt assaults on illegal immigration and gay marriage
that oftentimes feel strident and mean-spirited. Out in the foyer,
however, the Romney campaign literature was considerably more
barbed. A full-color oversized brochure asked, “Have you joined
Mitt Romney’s Iowa Marriage Task Force?” before reminding readers
inside who hasn’t joined. Specifically, Mike Huckabee
(“Supports Civil Unions”) and Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Fred
Thompson (“Opposes Federal Marriage Amendment”). Another piece
attacks the Log Cabin Republicans (“a pro-gay marriage political
organization”) before declaring, “Mitt Romney has done more to
protect traditional marriage than any other candidate for
President, Republican or Democrat.”
AS MITT ROMNEY SIGNED autographs and snapped pictures with a
seemingly never ebbing deluge of supporters for more than forty
minutes, American Conservative Union President David Keane kept a
low profile off to the side of the stage, but smiled widely,
clearly pleased with the enthusiasm before him.
“Tonight leads me to believe I did the right thing,” Keane said,
alluding to his recent endorsement of Romney. “At times in the past Romney has
seemed more like the management consultant working to sell the
candidate than the guy actually running on feeling and conviction.
Tonight we saw a man with feeling and conviction that could connect
with people in a very real way.”
Keane, in Iowa primarily to share his wealth of accumulated
campaign knowledge with Romney precinct captains and caucus
organizers, soon seemed validated by the scores of “commitment
cards” quickly piling up in Romney staffers’ hands.
“I might have been leaning toward Mitt before this, but I
definitely wasn’t committed,” Jennifer Hovis said, as she jotted
her personal information down on one such card, providing the
Romney campaign the tools, should it be necessary, to wrangle her
on caucus day. “Seeing him in person just solidified everything for
me, though. I’ve heard the complaints and the other candidates are
nice and all, but Mitt just has a wonderful spirit. I trust
him.”
A few paces over a middle-aged man asked, “Is there enough to go
around or should I grab a sign now?”
“We’ve got thousands of them so…” the staffer answered,
trailing off as the man nodded and plunged into the fray of
autograph seekers and well-wishers.
This scene represented the absolute best case scenario for
Romney. The question then becomes how many undecided voters’ hearts
did the former Massachusetts governor turn his way standing before
those bright red poinsettias that night? And in front of how many
other wavering voters can he perform this well over the next two
weeks?
Time is of the essence, in other words. And what Romney probably
wants most for Christmas — cue Mike Huckabee innocently wondering
aloud whether Mormons celebrate Christ’s birth — is a
few more holiday parties.
American Spectator Contributing Editor Shawn Macomber is
writing a book on the Global Class War. His profile of Mitt
Romney appeared in the March 2006 issue of
TAS.
