Despite his not having spent much time or money in Iowa, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney received the Des Moines Register’s official endorsement for the Republican presidential nomination on Dec. 17. The Register is the largest newspaper in Iowa, and this endorsement gives Romney a leg up over his opponents ahead of the first-in-the nation primary vote in January.
Romney was praised by the paper’s editorial board for his ‘sobriety, wisdom and judgment,’ which offers qualities and experience beyond anyone else in the field. While praising Romney, the paper had little but unkind words for others in the race, calling Newt Gingrich ‘an undisciplined partisan who would alienate, not unite . . .’ and stating that the libertarian ideology of Ron Paul would lead to economic chaos and isolationism.
The goal of the endorsement, printed in the Dec. 18 edition of the paper, is to ‘provide a perspective for Iowans beyond what they read in regular news coverage and see in debates.’ Romney failed to get the Register’s endorsement in the 2008 race. It went then to John McCain, who even though he lost the Iowa caucuses to Mick Huckabee, went on to be named the Republican nominee. The editorial board said that the 2012 field is different, though, and that Romney has matured. With rebuilding of the economy the top priority for the nation during this election cycle, Romney ‘makes the best case among the Republicans that he could do that.’
Whether or not the Register’s endorsement will translate into success for Romney in the January caucus remains to be seen. The paper has been endorsing candidates since 1988, and only one of its recipients, George Bush, went on to become President. Romney has also received an endorsement in North Carolina, but it appears unlikely that his nuanced positions on social issues will win him votes in that conservative state. The same could be said for evangelical Republican voters in Iowa.
Romney has not spent much time in Iowa, and this endorsement will raise expectations, and put pressure on his campaign in the run up to the January caucus. He is currently trailing Newt Gingrich in Iowa polls, but has been inching up. Gingrich lags behind Romney in New Hampshire, but won the endorsement of that state’s largest newspaper.
While Romney was criticized by the Register for what has been termed ‘flip-flopping’ on issues, he was given credit for being able to see all sides of complex issues. He was commended for taking a even-handed, nuanced approach, in contrast to his opponents who have been accused of pandering to extreme elements in their public appearances.
Nuance is what leading a country like the United States is all about, but whether this will appeal to voters as they stand in the booth and decide which lever to pull, when many sense the economy going into the toilet, is the X-factor that makes putting too much faith in media endorsements problematic. The large newspapers have significant impact on local opinion leaders and major corporations, and this could have impact in the general election – maybe. But, the ordinary voter, in the privacy of the voting booth, uses a different calculus to decide, and it’s not at all certain that the pundits have deciphered that code. Do voters appreciate nuance, or do they vote on the basis of emotions or fear? The first test will come in January during the Iowa caucuses, and in subsequent primary races, and then finally, on the second Tuesday in November, 2012.