By Fraser P. Seitel
Biding my time before the big Cardinals-Rangers World Series, I chanced to land on the spirited CNN Republican debate in Las Vegas, to catch a glimpse of our next President.
Lo and behold, it was a veritable "Monday Night Raw," with Rick Perry playing the role of "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, poised to do mortal mayhem on arch-enemy Mitt Romney, as soon as the former Massachusetts governor looked crosswise at him.
Sure enough, Romney, his manhood (and illegal immigrant hiring policies) challenged, sprung to the bait. And the jaw-to-jaw battle that ensued, as ratings-conscious "referee" Anderson Cooper gloated mumly in the background, proved fascinating television.
And if Romney is smart, that’ll be the end of it. If not, the waaaay-out-in front, front runner may just seize defeat from the jaws of a victorious nomination that ought to be a shoo-in.
Stated another way, the Republican campaign has reached an early crossroads. And Romney must be careful not to blow it, in the face of Perry’s head-on confrontation.
Indeed, in the next debate three weeks from now and going forward through the primaries, here’s the public relations strategy, if he wants to win, that candidate Romney must embrace.
Romney, Counter-puncher.
Mitt Romney, this time around, has run an Obama-like campaign; meaning, it’s been near perfect. He, more than any opponent, has realized that Presidential campaigns in the 21st century are marathons not sprints.
Accordingly, as the front-runner, he has stayed back, collecting money and strengthening his organization for the primaries, while others – first Michele Bachman, then Perry, then Herman Cain – paced the field with episodic bursts.
In each case, predictably, the public quickly grew tired of the new "flavor-of-the-minute" darling, and Bachmann and Perry descended just as quickly as they zoomed to prominence. (Cain’s 9-9-9 moment in the sun is also about to end, soon.)
That leaves Romney, whose challenge has been to "be seen but not particularly heard," to maintain his lead in this marathon, while others sprinted to the front. When challenged directly, he has, counter-punched, but always with reasonableness and decorum.
Until Las Vegas.
There, Perry got him mad, and so Romney leveled an aside that infuriated the Texas governor, nearly it seemed to the point of fisticuffs. "I understand that Gov. Perry has had a rough couple of debates," sniffed Romney, after Perry challenged him about employing an illegal lawn boy.
It was an uncharacteristic low blow for Romney – his first of the campaign. What no candidate has uttered, as Perry skyrocketed to the front and just as quickly dissembled, is that the Texas governor is painfully-inarticulate on the debate stage and glaringly-wanting in terms of depth on the issues.
Romney exposed Perry’s fatal weaknesses in Vegas. He made his point and should now drop it. Indeed, his campaign’s release this week of a mocking, anti-Perry video is a mistake.
The video will only further infuriate Perry and his hopeful advisors. As opposed to Romney, their candidate’s only chance to get back in the action is to continue to bully the front-runner. Go after him. Goad him. Challenge him on everything from healthcare and taxes to immigration and toughness.
The point is that Perry is a shooting star whose going nowhere and has nothing much to lose. He is no match for Romney. And Romney must resist getting in the gutter with his desperate challenger. Rather, he must continue to counter punch – answering each Perry criticism with fact and good humor – and keeping his focus solely on beating the Democrat incumbent.
Stated another way, Romney must stay "above the battle" and stay civil with the flailing Perry. Ultimately, he needs Perry’s Tea Party supporters -- whether they like him or not -- so for the moment, continuing to "play not to lose" has to be the Romney public relations course, first, to get him to and through the primaries and then, to win him the nomination.
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