‘World News’ Political Insights: Mitt Romney’s Own Empty Chair
Things haven’t been going Mitt Romney’s way since roughly the moment that Clint Eastwood dressed down that empty chair.
It isn’t simply that the stunt distracted from an otherwise solid Republican National Convention, overshadowing a big introductory moment for the Romney campaign.
It’s that Romney has struggled to fill the leadership chair himself, despite several high-profile opportunities handed to him by national and international events.
Yes, President Obama got a convention bump. Yes, the fact that this race has a frontrunner for the first time basically since it began can change just as quickly in the other direction.
But a static campaign is suddenly on the move. That movement is throwing Romney off his main campaign message; a candidate who has long calculated that the only issue that matters is the economy is chasing headlines, with varying degrees of success.
The questionable timing of Romney’s response to anti-American unrest in the Middle East — violence that would include the death of four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya — constituted a missed opportunity for the Republican nominee.
The campaign seems conflicted at times on what other opportunities to pursue in taking on Obama. Recent Romney messaging has focused on welfare policy, the administration’s stance toward China, and even mentions of “God” on U.S. currency, to mention just a sampling.