Why are all these conservatives beating up on Mitt Romney?
鈥淲ith friends like these,鈥� Mitt Romney must be thinking, 鈥渨ho needs enemies?鈥�
Probably not, because it looks as if the Romney clan is having too much fun boating and barbecuing at their vacation compound up on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.
But the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has been taking flak from some prominent sources among his normally supportive fellow conservatives.
On 鈥�Fox News Sunday,鈥� it was Weekly Standard editor William Kristol. He said Mr. Romney needs to do more than just cite the nation鈥檚 economic woes as reason enough to oust President Obama. He needs to articulate a plan, Mr. Kristol said, not only on the economy but on other key issues including health care.
Mitt Romney: top 5 attacks on President Obama
It worries him, he said, that Mr. Obama is 鈥渉olding his own鈥� in polls despite three months of disappointing jobs figures. More to the point, Kristol pointed out, only 27 percent of those polled by Fox News think Romney has a clear plan for improving the economy.
鈥淚 don't think you can beat an incumbent president even if the economy鈥檚 slow if 27 percent of the voters think you as the challenger don't have a clear plan for improving the economy,鈥� he said.
Earlier in the week, Kristol was more explicit in his Weekly Standard blog.
鈥淰oters聽want to hear what Romney is going to聽do聽about the economy,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淗e can 鈥榮peak about鈥� how bad the economy is all he wants 鈥� though Americans are already well aware of the economy's problems 鈥� but doesn't the content of what Romney has to say matter? What is his economic growth agenda? His deficit reform agenda? His health care reform agenda? His tax reform agenda? His replacement for Dodd-Frank?鈥�
Kristol isn鈥檛 the only one poking Romney.
The headline on a piece by Forbes columnist John Tamny (which was mainly critical of Obama) reads 鈥淚t's Time For Mitt Romney And His Economic Team To Grow Up.鈥�
"When is Romney going to look like a聽challenger? Seems to play everything safe,鈥� conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch recently tweeted. Obama 鈥渨ill be hard to beat unless [Romney] drops old friends from team and hires some real pros.鈥�
Former General Electric chief executive officer Jack Welch concurred, tweeting, 鈥淗ope Mitt Romney is listening to Murdoch advice..playing in league with Chicago pols..No room for amateurs.鈥�
Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham wondered why Romney was taking time off for a vacation when 鈥渨e have a country to save,鈥� suggesting that he should 鈥済et out there on the trail and聽get off the jet ski.鈥�
In its response to the question of whether the health care mandate penalty is a 鈥渢ax鈥� on those who chose not to have health care insurance,聽The Wall Street Journal charged, 鈥渢he [Romney] campaign looks confused in addition to being politically dumb.鈥�
In a tough editorial that startled many observers, The Wall Street Journal echoed the criticism of Kristol and other conservatives that Romney needs to get more specific about how he鈥檇 be a better president than Obama.
鈥淭he Romney campaign thinks it can play it safe and coast to the White House by saying the economy stinks and it's Mr. Obama's fault. We're on its email list and the main daily message from the campaign is that 鈥極bama isn't working.鈥� Thanks, guys, but Americans already know that. What they want to hear from the challenger is some understanding of why the President's policies aren't working and how Mr. Romney's policies will do better.鈥�
鈥淢eanwhile, the Obama campaign is assailing Mr. Romney as an out-of-touch rich man, and the rich man obliged by vacationing this week at his lake-side home with a jet-ski cameo,鈥� the editorial continued. 鈥淢r. Romney promised Republicans he was the best man to make the case against President Obama, whom they desperately want to defeat. So far Mr. Romney is letting them down.鈥�
