Presidential Contender Mitt Romney, gearing up for the 2012 election on the Republican ticket, faces major obstacles to his candidacy:
Poseur: Romney the elite, effete businessman is shopping at Wal-mart and dispensing with business suits and ties, appealing to every man as an everyman with the same problems and hardships. But will anyone buy this contender's attempt to sell himself as one of the people?
Mormon: His religious views still bother mainstream Christians, a significant block of the Republican base. Recall Governor Mike Huckabee's snide aside: "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and Satan are brothers?" Romney also fared poorly with the South, another critical voting block, where he failed to overcome prejudice against his distinct religious views.
Statist: As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney proudly shepherded and endorsed a health insurance mandate similar to the controversial federal mandate "Obamacare". In an election year where many Republicans and the crucial independent vote want to retire government control over people's lives, including their medical needs, his extensive endorsement of the program will be a major set-back, not just because of its fundamental dissonance with the values of his party; but the schizophrenia of a successful businessman enabling failed state control over an industry now languishing under such anti-free market regulation.
Flip-Flopper: Romney the 1994 U.S. Senatorial Candidate supported gay marriage and opted to protect women's right to terminate a pregnancy. He stumbled on these issues during the 2008 campaign, when fellow rival Senator Sam Brownback exposed his support for abortion in a recorded voice mail during a 2007 debate. Beyond that, consider Governor Romney's anemic self-defense in the 2008 New Hampshire debates. John McCain's repulsive jabs against Romney's change of heart on social issues stung everyone, but Romney barely rebuffed the slights on his integrity.
These concerns about Romney's character, policies, and perception among likely voters outline why I do not endorse Romney as a viable Republican nominee for President of the United States.