What Must Romney Do at GOP Convention? Watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS

On the eve of the Republican Convention in Tampa, what must Mitt Romney do next week to catapult him into a commanding position in the race to occupy the Oval Office? And to what extent next week will the Obama Team go to distract the American people from the Republican convention?


This – and more – will be discussed by the CAMPAIGN INSIDERS – Pat Caddell, Doug Schoen and John LeBoutillier – live - on Fox News Channel this Sunday afternoon – at 5:25 PM ET.

CAMPAIGN INSIDERS is the only show or segment anywhere on TV that features people who have actually run campaigns and done politics for a living. And there is no spinning, no Talking Points and no hidden agendas – just straight analysis.

So tune into the Fox News Channel at 5:25 PM ET on Sunday and watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS.

(We will not be on Foxnews.com the next two Monday mornings due to the conventions – nor will we be on Sunday September 2 because of the Labor Day weekend.)

And you can read more political analysis at www.johnlebout.com

Has Ryan Caused the Race to be Re-Set? Watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS

One week after the Veep selection of Paul Ryan, has the Presidential and Congressional races been re-set? Has Ryan made any difference – yet – in the race? Who has he helped – and hurt? Or has it made no difference?


This – and much more – will be discussed by the CAMPAIGN INSIDERS – Pat Caddell, Doug Schoen and John LeBoutillier – live - on Fox News Channel this Sunday afternoon – at 5:25 PM ET.

CAMPAIGN INSIDERS is the only show or segment anywhere on TV that features people who have actually run campaigns and done politics for a living. And there is no spinning, no Talking Points and no hidden agendas – just straight analysis.

So tune into the Fox News Channel at 5:25 PM ET on Sunday and watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS.

Then on Monday morning at 10:30 AM ET, you can see another, full 30-minute live version of CAMPAIGN INSIDERS by going to http://live.foxnews.com/ - with an inside look at the presidential campaign and the week ahead.

And you can read more political analysis at www.johnlebout.com

THE RYAN PICK: THE HAND OF GOD?

Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan to be his running mate will not help Romney win the election. Romney has run such a poor campaign that it is now doubtful he is going to win – barring an economic collapse – even though this is an entirely winnable election.

Romney has run one of the worst challenger campaigns in the modern political era. From his poor, message-less speeches and empty interviews to the self-created mess of Cayman-Swiss bank accounts/un-revealed income taxes/Bain/offshore jobs, he has sabotaged his own chances of ever being President.

He now realizes this; a month ago he was basically tied with Obama and thus refused to gamble with ideas or a positive message. Then, beginning with his fiasco of a trip to Europe, his poll numbers have begun to collapse. His staff has been in panic since early July.

Thus, the Veep pick. Instead of a safe choice, i.e. Senator Rob Portman, with a chance to help electorally in Ohio, Team Romney knew it had to throw a Hail Mary pass and hope it re-jiggers the entire race.

Enter Paul Ryan, an ultra-serious heavyweight on the exploding budget and debt issues. The Ryan Budget is his baby – and it is indeed controversial. It will soon become a central point in the Presidential – and Congressional – races.

Here is where The Hand of God may now be in this campaign: the underlying governmental problem we face is our inability to get ahold of federal spending – especially Social Security and Medicare.

For decades candidates have been told not to talk about these two programs. They are “the third rails” of American politics. So both parties have avoided the reality of exploding debt and bad demographics aiming to bankrupt us all – fairly soon. Instead, all these candidates care about is saving their own skin and getting re-elected.

Paul Ryan has had the courage to not only talk about them but to offer future solutions. Maybe they are not the right solutions; that’s for the American people to decide. But the first step in saving/fixing these entitlements is to talk about them. The American people deserve a full airing of the financial situation. Then, an informed electorate can decide.

Mitt Romney, for the political reasons articulated above, needed a game-changer and selected Paul Ryan. The result may very well be that it does not help the GOP win this year; in fact, the controversial Ryan Budget will now certainly become an issue in several key Senate races and we may not re-gain control of the Senate for that very reason.

But – for the future of America – at least the key budget issues are going to be put front and center into the public sphere.

We need to air it all out. Can we afford to keep Social Security and Medicare as they presently are? In an aging population, can these programs be saved? Or, as Ryan believes, they need to be fundamentally changed.

For the next 2 ½ months these things will be front and center in the campaign.

Mitt Romney – without even realizing it – has been God’s conduit here. Picking Paul Ryan and thus changing what the campaign will be all about has done a huge service to our country. And for that he should be congratulated.

It has taken us more than 30 years to create this Debt Bomb that threatens us all.

We are not going to reverse this mess overnight.

But we now begin.

The Republicans may not win the 2012 election. Romney and Ryan may be defeated precisely because they have the courage to speak the truth. But there are bigger stakes here than winning one or two elections.

In the long run, America has already won by the injection of these issues into the 2012 campaign.

We Americans always face up to our mistakes – and eventually correct them. Sometimes it takes too long, i.e. slavery, race relations and Vietnam are good examples.

We will eventually fix the mess of federal spending. But it is going to be a long, tough road.

What Does the Paul Ryan Selection Do to the Campaign? Watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS

What is the effect of the Veep selection of Paul Ryan? Is this a good game changer for Team Romney? Or is it a Hail Mary from a deteriorating campaign? How does this choice impact the race to control the U.S. Senate?


This – and much more – will be discussed by the CAMPAIGN INSIDERS – Pat Caddell, Doug Schoen and John LeBoutillier – live - on Fox News Channel this Sunday afternoon – at 5:25 PM ET.

CAMPAIGN INSIDERS is the only show or segment anywhere on TV that features people who have actually run campaigns and done politics for a living. And there is no spinning, no Talking Points and no hidden agendas – just straight analysis.

So tune into the Fox News Channel at 5:25 PM ET on Sunday and watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS.

Then on Monday morning at 10:30 AM ET, you can see another, full 30-minute live version of CAMPAIGN INSIDERS by going to http://live.foxnews.com/ - with an inside look at the presidential campaign and the week ahead.

And you can read more political analysis at www.johnlebout.com

What Is the State of the Campaign Today? Watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS

What – exactly - is the state of the presidential race today? Is President Obama ahead – as so many public opinion polls tell us – or is the race in effect tied? Is there a built-in bias in some of these polls? What of Harry Reid’s charge that Governor Romney has paid no taxes for 10 years? Is Romney handling this well? And what about the Latino vote – in key swing states like Nevada?


This – and much more – will be discussed by the CAMPAIGN INSIDERS – Pat Caddell, Doug Schoen and John LeBoutillier – live - on Fox News Channel this Sunday afternoon – at 5:25 PM ET.

CAMPAIGN INSIDERS is the only show or segment anywhere on TV that features people who have actually run campaigns and done politics for a living. And there is no spinning, no Talking Points and no hidden agendas – just straight analysis.

So tune into the Fox News Channel at 5:25 PM ET on Sunday and watch CAMPAIGN INSIDERS.

Then on Monday morning at 10:30 AM ET, you can see another, full 30-minute live version of CAMPAIGN INSIDERS by going to http://live.foxnews.com/ - with an inside look at the presidential campaign and the week ahead.

And you can read more political analysis at www.johnlebout.com

IS ROMNEY BLOWING A WINNABLE ELECTION?

With 97 days to go, the 2012 presidential election remains Romney’s to lose.

The deteriorating economy is President Obama’s albatross – and should be enough to defeat him on November 6th.

But – and it is a significant “but” – Mitt Romney has yet to convert this inherent advantage into an asset. Why not? Because Romney seems to be a step slow politically. It is alarming to see a few things:

• The President – as a candidate – not as a president – is a far superior political candidate than Romney.

• He is hungrier.

• He switches tactics on a dime.

• He and his campaign are setting the tone and terms of each week’s debate.

• Overall, Team Obama is playing a weak hand much better than Team Romney is playing their far stronger hand.



Now, let’s look at what is wrong with Romney:

• He is a wooden, stiff, stilted candidate;

• On the stump and in TV interviews, he cannot connect with anyone;

• He has clearly lost sight of who he really is: a non-ideological problem-solver;

• Instead he has twisted and turned himself into trying to sound like something he clearly is not: a true-blue conservative;

• This turn-into-a-pretzel maneuver is forefront in his head at all times; he is constantly afraid to deviate from the Right – even when the Right is wrong, i.e. on Simpson Bowles, taxes-on-the-rich, and Pentagon spending cuts;

• Team Romney is awful. They are the single worst challenging campaign team – ever – in the modern era;

• They are slow; they are sloppy and un-disciplined – just look at the horrible behavior of the Romney travelling press secretary in Israel and Poland;

• They are stupid, i.e. the Etch-A-Sketch and “It’s not a tax” pronouncements of Eric Fehrnstrom;

• On the ObamaCare ruling by the Supreme Court, it took Team Romney six days - six days!!! – to agree with the Court that the penalty was indeed a tax??? What is so hard about this?

• Now comes the Veep selection. There should be worry over this choice as the Romney High Command seems lost at sea. It is possible they will pick a dud like Pawlently who gives them absolutely nothing. He proved to be an ineffectual campaigner in 2011 when he ran for president. He probably does not put Minnesota back in play. And he does not help in any other states.

• His sole claim-to-fame is that Romney likes him in part because Pawlenty refused to really tear into Romney over “OBomneyCare” in the Fox debate last spring.

• There are not the reasons to select a running mate.



In sum, Romney and his staff better get their act in gear – and soon.

They are blowing – slowly – this election.

Yes, the economy could still slide downward and perhaps make Obama un-electable.

But Romney needs to get out there with a positive, inspirational message about why the country should turn to him.

So far he has been woefully lacking as a candidate – and as a leader.