How Would President Romney Govern?

Ross Douthat raises an interesting question: What does Romney's campaign-style reveal about how he might govern? Do we know the "real" Romney?

"Sincerity is everything - once you can fake that, you've got it made."

There's Mitt Romney's problem in 1 sentence. He cannot fake sincerity. His insincerity is blatant, inescapable, clumsy and off-putting. Ross Douthat phrased the indictment very well in a blogpost yesterday, replying to an earlier blogpost by me.

I believe that Mitt Romney is a more serious person, and would probably be a better president, than his campaign style suggests. But issue by issue, policy by policy, that same campaign style makes it awfully hard to figure out where he would actually stand when the pandering stops and the governing begins. In the last couple years, Romney has taken high-profile positions that I agree with (opposing the G.M. bailout), high-profile positions that I disagree with (opposing the START Treaty), and high-profile positions on issues I’m uncertain about (the current tax deal). But because everything he does feels like a pander, I don’t know where he really stands on any of them. And freak show or no freak show, base or no base, that’s no way to run for president.

I'll concede the truth and power of this. Based on Mitt Romney's campaign book (quite good if you discard the first 1/3 and the final chapter) - and some of his speeches to business audiences - I think I know what Romney would like to do as president. But faced with opposition, or a rebellion from his base, or some other difficulty: who knows?

I sometimes imagine that Romney approaches politics in the same spirit that the CEO of Darden Restaurants approaches cuisine. Darden owns Olive Garden, Longhorn steakhouses, and Red Lobster among other chains. Now suppose that Darden's data show a decline in demand for mid-priced steak restaurants and a rising response to Italian family dining. Suppose they convert some of their Longhorn outlets to Olive Gardens. Is that "flip-flopping"? Or is that giving people what they want for their money?

Likewise, the "pro-choice" concept met public demand so long as Romney Inc. was a Boston-based senatorship and governorship-seeking enterprise. But now Romney Inc. is expanding to a national brand, with important new growth opportunities in Iowa and South Carolina. A new concept is accordingly required to serve these new markets. Again: this is not flip-flopping. It is customer service.

You may say: But what does Romney think on the inside? Which of his positions is the "real" Romney? I'd answer that question with another question. Suppose an Olive Garden customer returns to the kitchen a plate of fettuccine alfredo, complaining the pasta is overcooked. What should the manager do? Say "I disagree"? Explain that it's a core conviction to cook pasta to a certain specified number of minutes and seconds, and if the customer doesn't like it, she's welcome to take her patronage elsewhere? No! It doesn't matter what the manager "really" thinks. What matters is satisfying each and every customer who walks through the door to the very best of the manager's ability.

Ross Douthat fails to understand that meeting customer expectations is itself a principle!

More to come…