Romney a Republican Dukakis?

Peggy Noonan has a persuasive column which, among other things, berates Mitt for his "listless" response to being called a murderer. She doesn't mention it, but the memory of Dukakis's weird silence when asked whether he would want the death penalty for a criminal convicted of killing his wife comes to mind. And after being accused of murder and letting it ride more or less...

Conservative critics are correct that the Romney campaign's pushback was weak. When someone suggests in the public arena that you are a killer you do have to respond with some force. Since media outlets have already pointed out the ad's claim is false, no one would think it out of bounds if Mr. Romney hit back with indignation and disgust.

Noonan goes on...

I suspect some conservative used the Romney campaign's listless response as a stand-in for what they'd really like to say to Mr. Romney himself, which is, "Wake up, get mad, be human, we're fighting for our country here!" Romney is not over-managed by others—he isn't surrounded by what George H.W. Bush called "gurus"—but he over-manages himself. He second guesses, doubts his own instincts. Up to a certain point that's good: Self-possession is a necessary quality in a political leader. But people don't choose a leader based solely on his ability to moderate himself. They're more interested in his confidence in his own judgment, or an ease that signals the candidate has an earned respect for his own instincts.

In the past, I've noted that Romney's beatific basking face while he is being cheered and applauded is an odd tic that needs to be corrected. Too much sunny complacency seems to seep out of his visage while he bathes in adulation from an adoring [but still a minority] parcel of the American people. I hope he gets his pecker hard and hits back like Reagan did when confronted with outright lies and insinuations.

Lord knows that the First Prevaricator provides Mitt with enough ammunition.