The Romney Conundrum...will he listen to his "best and brightest"? Or to his party base?
Mitt Romney pitches himself as the sort of guy who surrounds himself with the smartest people he can find. He’s the consummate corporate executive: He listens to smart people and puts their best ideas into play. Sure enough, in his presidential campaign, Romney has assembled a team of conservative economists whose smarts and star power, academically and politically, outshine that of any of his Republican rivals. Last year, Romney’s economic advisers advocated policies that, if a candidate were to package them together, would amount to the most creative jobs plan in the GOP field….
Romney issued a 59-point economic plan with fanfare last September. The platform contradicts landmark findings on monetary and housing policies published in 2011 by his top two economic advisers: Glenn Hubbard, the dean of Columbia University’s business school; and N. Gregory Mankiw…. Mankiw and a coauthor called last spring for the Federal Reserve Board to goose consumer demand by easing monetary policy…. Hubbard and two collaborators argued for reducing the interest rates on 30 million home mortgages….
But in both cases, Romney has vowed to pursue the opposite course. He has said he would replace Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke with someone who would tighten monetary policy… let the housing market stabilize on its own….
This, then, is the Romney Conundrum—for conservatives, liberals, and everyone else. Even on the economy, Romney’s signature issue, it’s hard to know where his heart lies—and how he would govern in the White House. Would the former Massachusetts governor listen to his best and brightest? Or to his party base?…
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2012/01/the-romney-conundrum-jim-tankersley-nationaljournalcom.html
I'm not sure that "best and brightest" the republicans have to offer are much of either, but it's pretty obvious that Romney is listening to the base anyway.
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