Finally, Mitt Romney decides not to throw his name in the hat for 2016

Mitt Romney.

After three weeks of deliberating, Mitt Romney has decided he will not run – again – for the presidency of the United States.

Though some will undoubtedly be saddened by that news (let’s not forget Romney took 47 percent in 2012), most people will feel he has made the right decision. With Hillary Clinton a clear frontrunner for the Democrats, perhaps a ‘new,’ fresher face is a better option as her rival.

Dan Balz and Philip Rucker, writing in the Washington Post, say that sources inside the Romney camp believed that while he could win the GOP nod, a “bruising” nomination contest may have damaged him too severely to recover in a presidential ballot. They also suggest it was Jeb Bush’s early move, targeting Romney’s coalition of donors that prompted Mitt to analyze his chances.

So who will benefit most from this decision? Bush or New Jersey’s Chris Christie? Scott Walker? Or perhaps Marco Rubio – who made local headlines this week after Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich told the US senator to stop “meddling” in Argentina’s affairs, following his comments on the Nisman case. The best guess in Bush, who certainly looks like the heavyweight, the man to beat.

Yelling about “Obamacare,” immigration, tax cuts and big government over and over again may play well to the party base but it’s failed to convince the electorate.

But the Republicans, of course, aren’t exactly a unified group (as evidenced by this week’s congressional spats) and we can expect plenty more fireworks to come. But these are names. Perhaps policies and rhetoric should be under discussion too.

After all, yelling about “Obamacare,” immigration, tax cuts and big government over and over again may play well to the party base but it’s failed to convince the electorate.

@urlgoeshere

An edited version of this column was published in the Buenos Aires Herald, on Sunday, February 1, 2015 as part of the ‘Perceptions’ series.

Link: http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/180892/over-and-over-and-over-again.