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Given that George W. Bush, our country's first MBA President, has been an experience most of us would like to forget, is Mitt Romney's background, including co-founder of Bain Capital, something that voters should celebrate?
According to a piece in Portfolio, it isn't: "... does a successful business career equal a good presidency? No. Most presidents have been lawyers, generals, and professional officeholders. Only a few have had big business careers, and this cadre of executives does not exactly inspire confidence. By contrast, the most successful presidents never ran big businesses."
But, as Matthew Cooper points out, saying Romney and Bush are in the same category as MBA Presidents because they were in the same B-school class isn't fair: Romney has always been a hard worker, and Bush was a party-boy. Bush has an MBA, but business could hardly be called the defining element of his background. Nepotism? Perhaps. Romney's attention to detail, as evidenced by his work in private equity, contrasts nicely with Bush's tendency to rely on his own terrible instincts.
During the general election (if he gets the nomination), Romney is likely to find himself vulnerable to attacks from labor groups, just as he did when he challenged Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in the 1990s. If we end up seeing Romney run against Edwards, it could be the most divisive campaign in history, breaking down perfectly along class lines. Edwards is one of the only candidates to talk frequently about poverty, and is seen as very pro-union.
Romney is probably a great candidate for anyone yearning for a return to the time of Ronald Reagan, a man Romney talks about frequently. His pro-business policies and charisma come across on TV a lot better than, say, John McCain. But will his business background help him or hurt him in the general election, especially with all the controversy surrounding private equity?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-20-2007 @ 10:06AM
Kim Hopper said...
I agree that comparing Romney to Bush is like comparing apples to oranges. Romney has gone out and atleast added to his cofers whereas Bush seemed to have little to show for it. Even though both of these men had fathers who ran for president, Bush has been running his or supporting other's campaigns most of his adult life. Romney on the other hand was not even home when his father was running for president and has only been in three elections, devoting most of his adult life to the private sector. I beleive that both men are good men and have worked hard to make this country great, (I sure enjoyed those tax cuts put forth by Bush), but I think that Govenor Romney will steer this country in the direction it needs to be going, away from our dependance on foreign oil and illeagal immigration.
8-20-2007 @ 11:49AM
Nate said...
You may recall the leaked powerpoint slide from the Romney campaign. On the slide about what differentiates him from Bush there was one word: Intelligence.
8-20-2007 @ 12:51PM
David Aust said...
Kim,
I absolutely agree with your analysis on Mr. Romney.
8-20-2007 @ 3:11PM
Jay said...
I think if Romney and Bush had similar management styles then there could be something to the MBA argument, but the differences are astounding. Bush redefines what it means to lead with a golden gut, whereas Romney is a master of research and data based decision making.
If you think about it Romney has made a successful career correcting mistakes made by uninformed MBA's. Who better to take the Nation in a new direction?
8-21-2007 @ 3:03PM
jaryileka said...
The MBA argument is a joke. Mitt Romney and George Bush could not be more different. While Mitt's professional career has been amazing, his time as Governor speaks for itself. He's proven a great leader (which Bush is not) in so many scenarios. He's also proven he can solve complicated problems and is crazy smart. I hope Americans will open their eyes and ears and vote for Mitt, the most qualified candidate.
8-21-2007 @ 11:22PM
lorigalv said...
Do we need another lame, barely literate moron spouting inane cliches & incoherent nonsense on bloggingstocks? I sure hope Zac Bissonnette isn't getting paid for this. If he is, though, that'd be a leading indicator that it's time to sell Time Warner stock.
8-27-2007 @ 10:12AM
Mad Jayhawk said...
Woo-woo. A two-fer.
Another chance to bash President Bush while linking a potential GOP nominee to a president down in the poll numbers. What could be better?
And such absolutely brill-o logic. Your professors at the community college are probably beaming.
And you call President Bush stupid?