Can Mitt Romney viscerally connect with the electorate's upset over Obama?  That is what it will take to begin to succeed against a deceptive yet charmingly adept adversary who still, despite Obama's dismal performance, has kept many by his side.  How does Romney change this dynamic? 

It seems obvious that the public will relate to a candidate who can identify how they feel and tell them with credible assurance how things can improve.  We need a candidate who can stridently describe our rooted Obama fears and infuse that kind of confidence.

So why doesn't Romney start to speak up about ObamaCare usurping our freedom?  He makes clear his willingness to abolish it but doesn't seem to emotionally connect with our upset.  He seems too homogenized and removed with regard to the many issues that concern Americans.

ObamaCare scares many of us to death, as does the deficit, Obama's treatment of Israel, his failed foreign policy, and his energy reliance on OPEC, among other things.  Romney should not ignore the obvious advantages that could finally obfuscate the "anyone but Romney" theme that has dogged and demeaned his candidacy from the beginning.  You would think he would want to bury it, put it to bed, and run with it.

Romney is smart and likeable, but he doesn't impart passion or the kind of rosy promise that engenders excitement.  He lacks the dynamic that gives hope and creates a synergy that suggests that things can change.  Perhaps our battered view of congress and this president has hurt our sensibility about what may be possible.  Obama, despite his poor performance, which he charmingly denies, still levitates many on the left who are either ideologically driven or not enamored of anything the GOP is showing them.

So what can Romney do?  For one, he can choose a very dynamic VP candidate, who can help close the popularity gap and who might inspire what Sarah Palin could not.  We need a VP whose second-to-the-presidency closeness boosts the ticket for all the right reasons.  A candidate who can make up for what Romney lacks and can attract more of the demographics that the GOP has effectively turned off.  Romney needs a charismatic running mate -- it's a crucial make-or-break dynamic. 

And what of the powerful adage "change we can believe in"?  Those five words captured the people.  They promised not just change, but a new dawn, a time of renewed hope and concern for the people.  It was a brilliant slogan that impressed most of the voting public.  That it was based wholly on a candidate who had nothing substantive to offer hardly mattered.  Obama seemingly had it all after his resounding election.  He was an articulate black American who won both houses of Congress, the White House, and America's hope for a new beginning. 

Another similar opportunity can now be adopted for the opposing GOP team.  It is a natural approach for a win, but it will take a very creative and innovative campaign strategy to carry it out in reverse.  It bears repeating that Obama assumed U.S. leadership with no experience and some very dubious associations with radical individuals I wouldn't cross a room to engage.  Still, with the right combination of words and messages, a man can win the presidency solely with the ability to beguile, charm, and deceive.

Imagine what can be accomplished by a candidate who actually has what it takes to lead our country out of this botched chaos.  Romney is such a man.  His personal accomplishments, love of country, and understanding of how to make our economy run inspire a belief that things can improve.

For now, the chaos we see is caused by inexperience and an out-of-step far-left ideology.  This result developed out of what appeared to be an unbeatable platform that thrilled the American electorate, those who got suckered into its implausibility.  That it failed to produce a modicum of beneficial change is an American tragedy, but one that should be utilized powerfully to replace a president who has proven he is not up to the job.

An effective Romney campaign can transform this mess into something truly illuminating.    We know that the Obama campaign did exactly that with G.W. Bush's foibles, which grew beyond all reason with the liberal media's full approbation.  It's our turn now to do the same, but this time with a candidate who can deliver and move our country to a far better place.   It's also largely dependent on Romney's campaign and the Republican Party to find those who have the clarity and practiced skills to effectively run a seamless campaign that can convince the American electorate that we need change, for real.  These are grave times.  No second-best will do.

Romney can be an effective leader.  He has the experience and intelligence to get America percolating.  He understands the Islamic threat, our profound need to support Israel and fight anti-Semitism that grows exponentially, our growing deficit that now seems incalculable but will force our next generations into indenture to foreign creditors if unaddressed, the tools with which to grow our economy, and the awareness that continued energy dependence on Middle Eastern countries that feed and foster terrorism is a fool's game that must be terminated now.  His strengths lie in his accomplishments, but he can succeed only with the right formula that can resonate with a battered electorate who have been deceived and abused.  We know that victims of abuse often continue their association with those who continue to deceive them.  It is essential to offer them a viable alternative -- one they can recognize and embrace.

We are at a crucial crossroads.  A place of confusion  and a seeming inability by the GOP, thus far, to identify this depression with  powerful messages of their own that might begin to give more of the  disillusioned  the passion to rally behind the GOP ticket.  Those empowered to capture this pressing imperative, Romney's campaign machine, must do it or pass the torch to those who can.

I am hopeful that one day we will look back on this time with relief, considering that it finally passed.  I suspect once Obama's leadership is objectively measured, books will emerge on this topic along with Obama truths that may have remained buried far too long.  They will spring up and flow when Obama is a cautionary presidential figure from the past.