Romney: How would he govern?

Planning for a Romney presidency “is well underway,” said Eleanor Clift in TheDailyBeast.com. But even his supporters have no real idea about how he would govern. Would Moderate Mitt “drag his party toward the center,” or would he capitulate to the powerful Tea Party conservatives who run the House and the social conservatives he so ardently wooed during the primaries? A Romney victory would trigger “an explosion of expectations from the Republican faithful,” with demands for an overhaul of the tax code, new restrictions on abortion, and stepped-up belligerence toward Iran. When Romney is confronted by the rabid Right, he folds, said Ezra Klein in WashingtonPost.com. That’s how his proposed tax cut grew to $5 trillion, and why he became an immigration hard-liner. If you want a glimpse at how Romney will govern, don’t listen to what he says. “Look at who he has reason to fear.”

Romney will need to fear no one, said William Kristol in The Weekly Standard. If he wins, he’ll have vanquished a once-popular incumbent, and will rightly enjoy a honeymoon period with both his party and the nation. He will have “a broad field in front of him on which to lay out a reform conservative governing agenda.” The challenge will be to steer between “a cautious and mushy moderation,” and falling into “the pit of small-minded and petty politics.” Nevertheless, Romney will be forced to start the payback process to conservatives “in the first 48 hours,” said Mike Allen and Jonathan Allen in Politico.com. Expect to see immediate waivers to red states that want to opt out of Obamacare and a repeal of the “Mexico City” policy that permits federal funding for international family planning groups. Moderation will have to wait.

In the end, Romney will probably govern as a hybrid, said USA Today in an editorial. He’ll give the social conservatives their Supreme Court judges, roll back Obamacare, and push for lower tax rates for individuals and businesses. But his background in business and Massachusetts politics suggests a “pragmatic streak and an ability to work across party lines.” The former management consultant might see governing as a “series of concrete problems to be solved,” said Michael Kinsley in Bloomberg.com. “And he might even be good at it.” Already, he’s reverted to a more moderate stance on economic issues and taxes. “In short, maybe a President Romney wouldn’t be so terrible.”

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