Politics: Because I Said So Politics: Because I Said So

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Politics Because I Said So Romney is the "assertion candidate." But if he is going to beat Obama, he needs to do more than repeat himself. By John Dickerson Posted Tuesday, Feb 14, 2012, at 01:15 AM ET William Buckley famously said that a conservative was someone who stood athwart history yelling stop. Mitt Romney, who says he is "severely conservative," would presumably point at history with a shotgun.  The ad-libbed phrase in Romney's speech to CPAC last Friday was new, but the style was familiar. Romney is an assertion candidate rather than a persuasion candidate. He declares something and voters are meant to believe that it is so. If they don't, his instinct is to say it more—he used the phrase "conservative" 25 times in that same speech—or with greater emphasis—in this case adding the most extreme antonym to the word weak that can be found in the thesaurus. (Remember when he tried to match Gingrich's Obama-bashing by promising he'd stuff capitalism down Obama's throat? Dreadful.)  Anyone who has used a raised voice with a foreigner in the hopes it will make them understand can sympathize. But this hasn't worked with movement conservatives who have consistently been suspicious of Romney. Romney is working hard to connect with this group, but the challenge doesn't end there. Romney's inability to persuade is a threat to his claim that he has the skills to beat Barack Obama. Even if Romney can win the Republican primary, as the smart people in politics assume he still will, he'll have to rely on more than forceful assertion to woo independent voters who are looking for a good reason to cast their ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Romney Thinks Saying, "I'm a Conservative" Makes Him a Conservative Pentagon Calls for More Big-War Weapons. What Happened to a Leaner, Meaner Military? How Digital Roses Could Solve Internet Dating's Biggest Problem	Advertisement
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