Romney not as eager

I posted below about Romney's exceptional handling of several Ron Paul assertions in last night's debate (as a long-shot candidate he too often gets a kid glove treatment).

But Romney's performance in general was much improved it seems to me. Romney struck me as someone who might be tired of the eager beaver routine, by which I mean the unique job interview quality of a political campaign: seeming eager, energetic and yet competent and capable of leading. There's a fine line between demonstrating energy and brown-nosing primary voters, and Romney has seemed--to date, to be on the wrong side of that line.

That being said, the big story coming out of the 1/5/08 GOP debate is how Romney was targeted by all the other candidates, and Romney fared well I think. Perhaps it was the smaller number of candidates on stage, or the fact that they were seated next to each other, or the way it was moderated, or something else, but personal barbs (particularly the scripted ones) really fell flat in this debate (even though at least one person on the stage--it seemed like McCain, generally laughed at Mitt's ox being gored). And because Romney was on the receiving end of those barbs, he was able to seem like the adult in the room--he was too busy taking punches to jab back. He certainly could have laughed off the attempted cut downs, but I think it was better for him to highlight how superficial, petty and unproductive a zinger-based debate is. I think the average voter cannot believe that candidates are not "stung" or at least miffed by attacks or negative campaign rhetoric.

I believe that Romney--as an over-achieving, super-talented, pedigreed fellow--had made it his mission to become President, and once you hire a slew of political consultants you get all kinds of input intended to tweak your personality and presentation. You don't accomplish what Romney has in life by being an eager beaver. While I think that Romney had to "evolve" on certain policies in order secure the GOP nomination, I also think he must strive for authenticity in the remainder of this campaign.