Why Mitt Romney is Leading in the Polls

I never thought I'd see the day when I cite a Michael Douglas movie in support of a claim, but these are strange days.

I watch this campaign in partial bewilderment of the the recent successes of the Romney campaign. Fortunately, some new polling data show that McCain and Giuliani are breathing down his neck and my next-best-hope, Fred Thompson, is not losing much by sitting on the sidelines waiting for the call to step in and save the game.


The American President is a movie that always kind of chokes me up. While it makes buffoons of the GOP (what else can we expect of Richard Dreyfuss?), it's dramatic, patriotic and inspiring.

Towards the end, the Douglas and Michael J. Fox characters are arguing about whether to get in the mud with Dreyfuss' character. While Romney is not a mudslinger, he's an empty suit, speaking the script, but bringing nothing real to the table.

I probably sound incredibly Pollyana-ish, but I really hope something better comes along. I can't stomach seeing this guy as our representative for the next howevermany years.

SHEPHERD (Douglas) Look, if people want to listen
to Bob Rumson--

LEWIS (Fox)They don't have a choice! Rob Rumson's
the only one doing the talking. People want leadership. And in the absence of genuine leadership, they will listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership, Mr. President. They're so thirsty for it, they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand.

SHEPHERD (Douglas) (evenly)
Lewis, we've had Presidents who were beloved, who couldn't find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. People don't drink the sand, 'cause they're thirsty, Lewis. They drink it 'cause they don't know the difference.

Script from The American President