Newswise — Professor James B. Millikan, Jr. of Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., says Governor Mitt Romney's fund-raising talents—and his ability to reinvent himself to appeal to different segments of the electorate—could make him a good candidate for a White House run in 2008. Millikan, a political science professor at Stonehill College calls Romney's recently revealed presidential aspirations "timely" and says his plans will "no doubt become clear by the fall" given the cycle and time-frame that serious candidates follow in testing the political waters.
In a presidential bid, Millikan says, Governor Romney may choose to move "a bit to the right" early on in the eyes on Republican Party conservatives. However, the Stonehill professor adds that the Massachusetts governor's record as a political moderate may ultimately help him gain interest and support among the moderate voters that make up much of the general electorate during presidential election years.
"Recent surveys reveal that public approval of political conservatives like President Bush and the GOP-dominated Congress is down," says Millikan. "This feeling among potential voters could provide a boost to a moderate candidate like Governor Romney," he says.
"The United States is largely a moderate country," notes Professor Millikan, "a nation of moderate liberals and moderate conservatives"¦and both parties need to appeal to the center during a campaign." While the political pendulum does indeed swing back and forth over time in America, Millikan maintains that "there's still some room for it to swing a little further to the right" before it eventually moves back toward the center or toward the left.
"It all depends on the mood and on events," he says. "We saw what happened just after September 11 and the dramatic rapid shift in public opinion," notes Millikan. An event such as another domestic terrorist attack could push America's "political pendulum" even more toward the right, he says, just as other events overseas, economic developments, sudden changes in the political landscape, could result in a more rapid shift in the opposite direction.
Mitt Romney's potential as a candidate will hinge on how favorable he seems both to conservatives and moderates in the GOP, says Millikan. "His ultimate success, should he indeed choose to run, will depend on how he conducts his campaign, on who else runs--and on whom the Democrats nominate as their candidate for the White House in 2008."
Professor Millikan notes that Romney's talents as a fund-raiser are a crucial part of the formula to be a successful presidential candidate. "He's certainly in a favorable initial position right now"¦but a lot can happen between now and the nomination."
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