When GOP political consultant Mike Murphy wrote his latest TIME column, Mitt Romney was still leading most South Carolina polls in the presidential primary battle that Newt Gingrich eventually claimed with a convincing win Saturday.
Still, Romney might be interested in Murphy’s recommendation to “use the next two months to better position himself for what will likely be a tough general election,” rather than simply pursue a business-as-usual course through the remaining primaries.
[H]e might consider using those months to triangulate a bit and put himself in a stronger position for the general election.
To the swing voters, who hold the real power this fall, Paul, Gingrich and Santorum all serve as effective foils for Romney. Each takes positions that are troubling, at best, to many of the independent voters who will ultimately choose the next President. By contrast, Romney is a grownup, and he could pick a few final intraparty fights to prove it.
For example, he could tell the truth about Paul’s cartoonish budget proposals and his lunatic foreign policy. He could remind Santorum that a Romney presidency would focus first and foremost on creating good jobs and restoring national solvency. The battle to protect the unborn would begin with respectful and gentle persuasion, he might add, as no pro-life legislation will ever become law without a far wider national consensus. And he could let Gingrich know that scorched-earth tactics and rhetoric may win the occasional election, but they also guarantee gridlock in Washington for four more years. Romney could say he is not running for President to call people names, bicker endlessly with lawmakers and get absolutely nothing done for the next four years. Independent voters would listen to that.
