Noonan: Romney campaign is a "rolling calamity"

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(CBS News) Peggy Noonan, the Wall Street Journal columnist and former speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, hasn't been shy about voicing her concerns about Mitt Romney's campaign, but in a Friday column she stepped up her critique.

"The Romney campaign has to get turned around," she wrote. "This week I called it incompetent, but only because I was being polite. I really meant 'rolling calamity.'"

Noonan is one of several conservative pundits who in recent weeks have spoken out about the Romney campaign's perceived missteps, such as its response to the crisis in Libya and the lack of policy details put forth. The Romney campaign has largely dismissed the criticism, telling the conservative National Review that being unpopular in Washington is more of an advantage than a disadvantage.

In her column, Noonan said Romney has the opportunity to gain momentum during the presidential debates. The month between the first debate and Election Day is enough time for a "healthy spiral" to begin, she said.

Ann Romney to critics: "Stop it. This is hard"

The columnist suggested the campaign should look to James Baker III, who served as chief of staff in both the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, for inspiration and insight into how to run a campaign.

"Mr. Baker's central insight: The candidate can't run the show," Noonan writes. "He can't be the CEO of the campaign and be the candidate. The candidate is out there every day standing for things, fighting for a hearing, trying to get the American people to listen, agree and follow."

[Nesnej007]

I think the debates showed Romney to be far more intelligent and sincere than Obama. The problem Obama had is that he has accomplished nothing as President except damaging our national security and economy. Obama was not tired or distracted, he simply has no answers for the state the country is in right now. The new job report may help him on the surface but within those numbers are more unemployed people who gave up looking for work. They still will vote. Like the 1948 and 1980 elections, the polls were not showing an invisible force that caught the media off guard. Nobody was shocked by the landslide Reagan won in 1980 that voted for him.
Romney is the most conservative candidate since Reagan and with similar conditions, and that is why he will win.

[mikesfilms]

Romney's coattails are walking Repubs for office like lemurs into the sea. They should gag him. Reasons of your Nov defeat: You had good candidates: Paul, Santorum, Gingrich, etc but you picked a loser who won't show his offshore accounts and 10 tax reports. He allowed his money smash party democracy, and each time he opened his trap he tripped. Yet, Rom can't buy the WH. Hope you've learned your lesson.

[sjc_1]

Noonan was the "thousand points of light" writer for Bush Sr. Organizations will tell you there is absolutely NO way that charity can handle all the people that need help.

If this trickle down voodoo economics worked, there would be NO need to any assistance. The big is 50 million people are just "lazy". That is NOT true, but Wrong Whiners love to lie to themselves.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

The republican party is a "Rolling Calamity" hopfully voters will remember that fact election day.

[audemus]

kndn....by "scam", are you referring to the Republican lies and misinformation ? Or the scam about convincing fruitcakes like themselves that half of their fellow citizens don't really matter ? Maybe the one about knowing how to create jobs, but truth be known, the only experience that Romney has is in destroying jobs and pensions and health-care and sending what's left of those jobs overseas....there's just so many Republican scams to choose from, I'm not really sure of just which ones you were referring to.

Maybe you meant the scam the Republicans have going to do away with Social Security...or that voting-rolls purge they're trying to pull off...perhaps that whole voter ID con that's sweeping the nation ('cause when you try to steal an election, that's kinda like a scam). I suppose you could have been talking about the Republican Medicare scam...that's a good one. Anyway, have a good night.

[jailforbanksters]

Romney is still the character challenged bore that bullied gay kids at his privileged Cranbrook Prep School in Bloomfield Hills, Mi. Beware the chicken hawk that doesn't mind sending other folk's kids off to fight in trumped up wars.

[tsigili]

Actually when all of the media, are in the back pocket of the Democratic Party, it is hard to get a fair hearing, now isn't it?

[T_Velocity]

Ah, so how did Bush get elected? And Bush1 and Reagan? Oh, that's right, the Media is only in the back pocket of the opposition when he's not "your man"...I see...ok, carry on.

[LastGirl2009]

Is Faux News in the back pocket of the Democratic Party?

"hard to get a fair hearing, now isn't it?"

Hearing? Are we in court?

[GossamerWings]

Peggy Noonan is correct. He should take her advice. She is an excellent speech writer.

[TimeToEvolve]

Robbed Me Ryan is a slow motion train wreck. The best thing they are doing though is convincing a lot of Americans to stop voting to destroy their own jobs, careers and families by blindly voting for Republicons.

The Democrats have their issues as well but at least they have some compassion for someone other than the Top 1%.

[bbglow]

As one Republican campaign veteran said, "I felt like when I was watching that (47%) video that it was the first time I'd ever seen the real Mitt Romney."

More and more of US feel that way ...

[DaveFe]

I think Mitt should tour the country with George Bush. He can talk about the economy under the last Republican President.