Whiff, whiff. (That’s the sound of me smelling, by the way). What’s that smell? It’s oddly familiar, but distant, and rather unpleasant. Whiff, whiff. Gross. It sort of makes me want to puke. But what is it?That’s right. It’s the garbage smell of presidential politics!Even though we’re not yet halfway through Barack Obama’s second term, rumblings of the 2016 presidential campaign are beginning. Most people won’t care for at least another year, but politicians and pundits have started to gear up. Want an e-mail every time I write something new? Type your email address in the box and click the "create subscription" button. I'm not going to send you a bunch of junk, and you can ditch me any time you want.
The big news from this past weekend is that Mitt Romney is considering another run at the presidency. You remember Mitt don’t you? He ran for president in 2008, but lost the nomination to John McCain, and in 2012 he won the nomination but lost in the general election.And now he’s ready to do it again! Maybe.If you believe the New York Times—and if you’d vote for Mitt, you probably don’t—there’s a fair amount of reluctance by Republicans toward a third Romney campaign. They say he doesn’t connect with voters, ran a bad campaign, is too stiff, isn’t likeable, blah, blah, blah.But if Mitt called and asked me for my opinion (I won’t wait by the phone), I’d tell him to run again. Go big or go home. Run a better campaign. Make yourself likeable. Since your real name is Willard Mitt Romney, stop calling yourself Mitt and go by Willie. It’s impossible for people not to like someone named Willie.Others will say something like, “You’ve run for president before and you lost. Time to move on and give someone else a turn.”Let’s be honest though. People who run for president are among the most self-absorbed, egotistical, confident people in the world. It’s probably impossible to convince them to just step aside and give someone else a chance. They only stop running when it’s clear they’ve lost.History tells us Mitt can win though. Quite a few people have run for president, lost, run for president again, and won.John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and Richard Nixon all lost presidential elections before they won. And FDR lost an election as a vice presidential candidate twelve years before he won the higher office.And how about Grover Cleveland? That dude won the 1884 election, served four years and lost re-election in 1888. I’m sure some people told him to retire and take up fishing. But four years later he ran again and won the presidency again. He didn’t let someone else have a chance. He did it himself.In the process he got a Sesame Street character named after him, which I would argue, is cooler than being president. I mean I’m sure more people know the furry blue guy from Sesame Street than know the 22nd and 24th president.Millard Fillmore and Teddy Roosevelt both ran for president after being president and they lost. What a blow to the ego that must have been! Speaking of a blow to the ego, Gerald Ford was president until 1977, but by 1980 he was willing to be Ronald Reagan’s vice president. It almost happened, but Ford backed out at the last minute.Speaking of Ronny, although his disciples would have us believe that his presidency was a never-in-doubt gift from God, he actually ran for the White House in 1968 and 1976 and lost both times. Good thing he didn’t listen to people who told him to give someone else a chance. Otherwise that awesome video for the Genesis song Land of Confusion wouldn’t exist.So I think Mitt should go ahead and run again. Sure he’s lost twice, but the third time’s a charm, right? However, it might be helpful for him to remember that the last time a Republican won a presidential election without someone named Bush on the ticket was 1972!Whatever he chooses to do, he better decide soon. The stench of presidential politics grows with every day, and anyone who wants to be taken seriously has to start stinking. And Mitt Romney can stink as much as anyone.Note: I am not encouraging Willie to run just because I think he’ll be easy for a Democrat to beat. And it’s surely not just for entertainment value, as Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Ben Carson will provide all the entertainment we can handle if they choose to run.PREVIOUS POST: A Breakup Letter to my First CarIF YOU LIKED THIS POST I BET YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: Interesting Elections from American History+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Hey, how 'bout you Share this post on Facebook and Like my page Brett Baker Writes.