Every candidate that runs for president has a transition team whose job it is to determine the best way to proceed when and if their candidate wins the presidential election. Romney's transition team is named the "Readiness Project" and the Politico article details the direction they are heading in preparing for a possible Romney presidency.
Via Politico, page one:
The aides and advisers insisted on confidentiality because they wanted to avoid seeming presumptuous and don’t want to be seen as measuring the drapes, even though that is the precise mandate of the transition crew.
One Republican official who talks frequently to top campaign aides said Romney doesn’t plan “an ideological crusade — he wants to come across as a problem solver, primarily on the economic side.”
“That’s very different from [George W.] Bush in ’01,” the Republican official said. “Everything Romney does is going to be focused on bringing down barriers to economic growth and providing certainty to businesses on taxes and regulation. He realizes that until you do that, you can’t make a lot of sweeping, revolutionary changes.”It isn't surprising that the majority of the preparations deal with economic issues, the economy and jobs have been the major focus of the whole Romney campaign to this point.
Romney's strength is the economy and after being Governor of a state, Massachusetts, which has a Democratic majority, 87 percent, he also touts his ability to work with members on both side's of the aisle, which is something the last four years under Obama, the country has not seen.
Page two of the Politico piece shows Romney is not simply handing over authority to the transition team but is staying very hands-on.
Each Monday, often on the road, he shuts out his campaign staff and meets with the confidant who is heading his transition and is likely to be his White House chief of staff — Mike Leavitt, the former Utah governor and secretary of Health and Human Services.
Romney's transition team is also studying Bush and Obama's first few months to avoid many of the mistakes both made and also preparing to immediately reach across the aisle to Democrats whether Republicans take control of the Senate or whether Democrats maintain control.
Shortly after the Nov. 6 election, for instance, a President-elect Romney would begin reaching out to House and Senate Democrats for discussions about challenges facing the economy as the opening step in trying to figure out a grand bargain to reform taxes and entitlements.
Ryan's job is also detailed, on page three of the Politico piece:
Ryan is also seen as the key liaison between Romney and the Hill because of his knowledge of the fundamentals of budgeting. “Paul Ryan understands the appropriations process, the role of reconciliation and how to accomplish a new president’s objectives,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a top Romney ally and critical link to conservatives on the Hill. “It’s Paul Ryan’s mastery of the process that will make a major difference for a newly elected president.”
All in all, the details in the Politico piece show a candidate preparing to start off his possible presidency according to the promises he made on the campaign trail.
Jobs, the economy, getting things done by reaching across the aisle are not just campaign rhetorical promises but are being factored into the "Readiness Project's" ultimate goals.
As governor of Massachusetts, Romney had his staff document every campaign promise so that voters could hold him accountable. It appears Romney has instructed his transition team to use his campaign promises in this campaign cycle as a guideline for preparations for a possible Romney presidency.
Hardcore conservatives may not be 100 percent happy with what Romney has to do to keep those promises, but should be realistic enough to understand that turning the economy around is more important than "an ideological crusade."