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Did Mitt Romney really want to run for president?

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    All-Star panel weighs in

  • Duration 8:00
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A remarkable piece in the Boston Globe over the weekend yesterday -- which examines why Mitt Romney lost the 2012 election and why Barack Obama wanted to and that it does it with us some incredible insights from people.

Who were very high up in the Romney campaign and very high up I should -- in the Romney family something that we haven't really seen report concludes that.

The campaign made a remarkable series of costly financial strategic and political mistakes -- in retrospect all but assured.

And the candidates defeat and I wanna bring up on the screen now couple of quotes from attacking -- remarkable quotes he says quote.

He wanted to be president less than anyone I've met in my life he had no desire to run and another quote.

If he could have found someone else to take his place he would have been ecstatic to step aside.

He's a very private person who -- systemic deeply and wants to be with them but he has deep faith in god and he loves this country but he doesn't -- The attention.

Let's bring in our panel now Stephen Hayes senior writer for the weekly standard Nina Easton from fortune magazine and Charles.

Krauthammer syndicated columnist you know start with you full disclosure -- the your husband was a strategist for the Romney campaign so.

Maybe have some special insight you'd like to share -- -- to avoid fraud.

I think having my interpretation of the -- -- with it it it was that Mitt Romney didn't need to run for.

Office -- run for president after everything he's done in his life you know Sydney Olympics -- aimed -- becoming.

Making all the money he's done he's made.

Being governor of Massachusetts is more than he did need to.

But I would also say that Mitt Romney.

Didn't underestimate how hard this was going to be.

You had a very crowded primary field going into it first of all he had already lost in a primary in 2008.

And secondly when you get to the general election people forget how hard it is to unseat incumbent in fact fourteen in the last sixteen attempts have failed.

And with it when they've succeeded why have they succeeded it's because the incumbent president had.

Had to go through grueling primary so let's go back to 1980 when Ronald Reagan won.

Jimmy Carter hit a bad economy -- he also had a primary challenge from -- very eloquent charismatic Ted Kennedy.

Flash forward 1992.

George H.

W.

Bush was unseeded.

By Bill Clinton with only 42% of the for 43% of the vote by the way but that was Ross Perot with and there are so that made but he also.

HW bush also face a primary challenge from Buchanan.

And one could argue.

That Barack Obama's smartest political move was putting Hillary Clinton in his cabinet -- that she wasn't outside with Bill Clinton causing this just.

Me do you do you buy that that there was a primary process Steve that that helped to defeat Mitt Romney.

Well I think it's in the made his job more difficult I don't buy a new look I understand -- tag -- said -- -- said you know I think you want to protect is that there's been very noble.

In doing that I don't buy his claim that his dad didn't want to run for president and ran for president in effect for six years you don't do that if you don't want to run for president I think.

You know Mitt Romney for -- with the good qualities that he -- one of the qualities that he that he black in my view was authenticity and this is somebody who seemed like he wanted very badly seemed like you wanted to run sort of showed through in in virtually everything that he did now.

One could argue that that's good one could argue that that's bad but it's it's a stretch for me to believe -- he didn't really want to run.

If this race and -- -- -- who was said that Mitt Romney and in some respects and I think this was meant as a real compliment was -- Ward Cleaver.

Where -- knows best kind of a guy in -- Lindsay Lohan world.

One and according from the from the piece in the Boston Globe now.

Romney's eldest son trig -- a list of twelve people whose lives have been helped by his father in ways that were publicly unknown.

But -- been deeply personal and significant such as assisting.

A dying teenager in writing a will require every helping families in financial need.

Such compelling vignettes would have been welcome material in almost any other campaign.

But Romney strategists worried that stressing his personal side.

Would backfire Charles.

I think that's sort of nuts and I think the single worst tactical error was for -- fourth.

Day the Republican Convention.

When everybody's watching and Romney makes his speech at the 10 o'clock -- no other networks are tuning in.

They had shown these parents who -- these really heartwarming stories about how Romney cared about their child died of a cancer.

How we showed concern was involved in there.

Who lives and then there was also video.

Over on the extremely effective -- the -- biographical work.

And they were shown in the 9 o'clock hour and instead you get twelve of minutes of that Clint Eastwood skid which dominated everything and essentially wiped out the Romney's speech there's anybody who even remembers -- on the speech older members Eastwood.

But that I think is what tag is talking about I don't think you mean he didn't want to run for the presidency -- -- run for six years.

In such an exhausting essentially degrading exercise which is what Indians.

You want the president but I think what he -- is there aspects -- -- which is showing leg showing your past showing you.

In her life which he really did not like he can't get out of the campaign and it hurt him because he was demonized mercilessly.

By the other side.

That that convention staff who sort of exacerbated by the fact that the Obama campaign front loaded a lot of advertisement and advertise to attempt to label Romney he's states might have been here because I think a lot of this is is fairly you know particularly at peace this week it was kind of superficial is that they -- differently run campaign.

Could overcome a lot of the Republican problems.

And I was at the Harvard Kennedy school this semester we just had a debrief of both campaigns but the Romney and Obama campaigns not -- with the Obama campaign people think.

They thought that the approach to Hispanics -- the idea of self deportation.

Where's where's the killer.

They thought -- that they had had a very good strategy being out in the field for four years getting to know every voters that they were able to not only bring out voters.

That came -- 2008 they're able to find new voters.

And the third thing they said with Mitt Romney's 47% comment and that that actually that played into a narrative about him that was building.

And then that they thought that was that was a real killer form but I think you have you can't look at.

The campaign without looking at the broader.

Problems of the Republican Party keep in mind the senate candidates who have failed in 2012.

Respect -- of the broader issue I mean it's unimaginable that somebody would run against the president.

With the worst and recovery since the Second World War highest unemployment since FDR's second term.

And who is piling up.

Trillions of dollars of debt and lose and we thought.

A year ago that this was on lose -- race one of the reasons why we're in the fiscal cliff is because a deal that was made in the summer of 2011.

Further sequestered all that on the assumption it was basically an assumption that Republicans would win and they wouldn't be an issue.

I mean it was so if you look at the Brothers.

With the broadest vision of this this is a registered Republicans should -- but I agree in the primary.

Process twenty debates we've degraded and -- the Bryant.

It was not the best -- candidates who did not.

Put shining good light on the party certainly hurt the brand but.

That was erased it should have been won in Washington there were lots of tactical and strategic here.

-- even 5050 seconds going yeah I'd say arguably the most important moment of the point twelve race from the Republican side came up for a vote was cast before much -- was -- -- was.

The series of them.

Potentially very good candidates who didn't end up running when it was John governor Jeb Bush for Mitch Daniels or Paul Ryan -- mark rubio on this group of candidates.

And might have been able to carry a stronger message without being burdened by what what he has -- -- Lesson for the -- state.

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