[Update] Romney campaign reiterates, "No, we’re not declaring ‘cease-fire’ on Obamacare"
Conservatives are riled up at reports that Mitt Romney is going to focus on the economy and jobs in the months leading up to the November elections but I see it differently.
This is a very smart game plan, a two-pronged attack, where Mitt focuses on one set of issues while Congressional Republicans, superPACS and the RNC use their resources to continue to remind American voters that the only way to replace Obamacare is to replace Obama in 2012.
Here's why:
Barack Obama's and Democrats' huge mistake was focusing on health care and the passage of Obamacare for his first full year in office, while unemployment rose and stayed above 8 percent to this day, and the economy continues to stall and in the 2010 midterms they suffered the biggest loss of House and state legislature seats that hasn't been seen for 70 years.
In every priority poll conducted, the economy and jobs are listed as the number one priority of Americans, health care a distant second or third.
Romney would be a fool to take his eye off that ball for any stretch of time.
Secondly, and just as important, reports claiming Romney is "declaring a cease fire on health care" are not accurate either. A cease fire is where everyone is asked to put down their weapons and Romney has not even implied he wants superPACs, the RNC or conservative supporters to stop their campaign of #fullrepeal.
The last thing Romney needs is to be bogged down constantly being asked to explain the difference between a state plan that he implemented in the very liberal state of Massachusetts while he was Governor and the federal Obamacare law that was forced down the throats of every American by Obama and Democrats.
Obamacare will be a defining issue in the November 6, 2012 presidential election as will the economy and jobs, but the individual battles fought until that day must be divided up accordingly where Romney's strength in business can be utilized by his campaign and his weakest area, health care, can be utilized by other sources.
Thinking about the endgame here, heading towards the debates between Obama and Romney, the economy is a weakness Romney can use effectively against Obama since Obama is presiding over the worst recovery since the Great Depression, yet by allowing others to battle the Obamacare fight, Obama cannot effectively attack Romney on healthcare without reminding everyone that he, Barack Obama, passed Obamacare, where 75 percent of the $501 billion in taxes associated with it will hit families making under $120,000.
Quick analogy: If you were right handed, would you tie your right hand behind your back and fight with your left hand?
And still expect to win?