Roundtable: Romney must do more than share his resume
(CBS News) As Mitt Romney prepares to officially accept the Republican presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention this week, the candidate must re-introduce himself to voters, but a roundtable of political experts said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday that Romney should do more than simply tout his resume.
"It's easy to make the case he's a highly capable man, he's a profoundly decent man, a family man, a man of faith," said Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative magazine The National Review. "What they need to do is connect all those qualities to his program because, at its worst, the Romney campaign has just seemed to believe that the resume is enough.
"I believe the choice of Paul Ryan [as Romney's running mate] says they know the agenda is important, too."
A presidential election comes down to two questions, added Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan: "One is, 'Do we want to keep or get rid of the incumbent?' If you decide get rid of [him], the second question is, 'Do we want to hire this guy?' This week is about the reasons you want to hire this guy."
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Republican Convention 2012: complete coverage
The optics of the main stage at the Tampa, Fla., convention blends modern technology with warmer, more familiar decor - a mix the Republican Party needs to accomplish for Romney himself, said CBS News political director John Dickerson. So far, polls show that voters find Romney hard to relate to.
Romney, Dickerson said, is "kind of a cool, stainless steel candidate." Can the GOP, he asked, "wrap him in this warmth, or will there still be this disconnect?"
CBS This Morning co-host Norah O'Donnell said Romney needs to use the convention not just to connect with the Republican base, but with voters across the board.
"Obama still leads nationally in the polls. Obama still leads in all the key swing states," O'Donnell said. "I think, quite simply, Mitt Romney's got to change the dynamics of this race."
