Romney rumblings

Mitt Romney made a sudden splash over the weekend, appearing on “Meet the Press” and getting coverage on Politico.com, in the L.A. Times and elsewhere.

The basic story line for pundits is that the moral meltdown of Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford put the squeaky-clean Romney in a sweet spot. He can carry the Republican “family values” banner with some credibility.
But the biggest issue seems to be the economy. Here’s what Politico’s Jonathan Martin wrote:
“After the national security-dominated Bush years, the recession has brought the importance of economic issues into sharp focus.
“Following a primary spent trying to navigate the politics of Iraq and a vigorous — and sometimes cringe-inducing — courtship of social conservatives, the issue matrix now favors Romney’s background as a turnaround specialist.
“It’s not just the economy in general where Romney finds himself working from a position of strength, but more specifically on issues like health care and the auto industry where Romney can voice informed opposition to President Obama in a way few others in his party are equipped to.”
My take? It’s way too early to be talking about Republican standard-bearers in 2012. But Romney wouldn’t be on “Meet the Press” if he wasn’t interested in building toward that end.
If the economy remains the main issue in 2012, I do think it could be kismet for him to rise as the only credible GOP candidate.
If not, his shaky credentials as a late-comer to conservative issues still give him big problems.