Contributed by Shell Suber
Governor Romney, quit now. End your campaign today. You’re a smart guy. You can read a poll and you know when a political campaign over. At this point even a huge crisis (Eurozone / Middle East) probably will not change things by Election Day. This political campaign is over.
Just as well because – let’s be honest – you are not a professional politician like your opponent. You’ve been good enough to get this far but now you are up against a career professional – something you are not. You are a businessman. In fact, you are a legendary businessman. So stop running a political campaign and start applying for the job as Chief Executive of the US Government.
This isn’t a political campaign. It’s a job interview. Stop giving the same tired political stump speech over and over – changing a line here and there to fit that day’s news cycle. Change everything. You are one of the world’s most accomplished CEOs and you are addressing the shareholders of the largest company in the world. Convince them to hire you. Sell them on why they must hire you before it’s too late.
Something like this:
I am Mitt Romney and I am applying for the job of Chief Executive of the US Government. They bring me in to fix big companies when nobody else can. No matter how big or how complex, I have gotten it done. I am the best in the world at it and you need to hire me to be your Chief Executive.
The US Government is the largest, most successful “company” in history. But it’s also the most complex company in the world and it has huge problems. America is drowning in red ink. Employment is down and the salaries of those who are working are too low. To fix this, your Chief Executive must make big changes. This means he is going to have to work with the Board of Directors. [Hold up a picture of the US Capitol]
At most companies a Chief Executive can force through any changes but not at the US Government. Here, he must persuade the Board of Directors [hold up picture again] to make most of the changes. And this is the most complicated Board of Directors in the world. It’s divided into two entrenched and powerful camps with multiple factions within those camps. For years it has been stuck in gridlock and nothing tried has broken it.
I’ve dealt with this before. I’ve lead companies to solutions when no one else could. I do it by being loyal to one thing: Solutions that Work. I don’t care who “wins” or who gets credit or whose name is on the door. My only goal is solutions that work. The Board [picture again] is bogged down in infighting because they care who wins, who get’s credit – the next election. In my experience, when things get this bad the only way to get workable solutions is to put everything on the table – EVERYTHING – and let everyone have a little of what they want so no one loses completely. I know that’s not what hardcore conservatives want to hear. Hardcore liberals won’t like it either. But that’s the woods you are lost in and of the two choices, only I will lead you out. You already know he can’t. Or won’t.
The US Government has lots of challenges but most of them grow out of a basic cash-flow problem – revenue vs. overhead. The American economy is limping along because of a terrible tax code. It’s why the jobs aren’t coming back and why private companies won’t hire more workers. The US Government’s balance sheet is a bloody mess – losing money faster than it can be counted with no end in sight. More revenue must be brought in. You don’t need to raise taxes but you will have to get rid of some big tax breaks – both individual and corporate ones. That means one side is going to get some of what they want. But, without all those breaks, you are going to be able to drop the overall tax rates and still bring in more money – which means the other side is going to get some of what they want. Half the country doesn’t pay income taxes at all and that is going to have to change, too. Everyone needs to put in something, even if it’s just a little.
The US Government’s largest overhead expense is – by far – Medicaid / Medicare and Social Security. Solutions will not come easy but both sides are going to have to put emotion aside and get and give to keep these programs alive. My partner, Paul Ryan, knows the US Government’s books better than anyone in the world. We know it won’t be easy and sometimes it won’t be popular but this may be your last chance to implement solutions that work.
I realize that up to now I have been running a political campaign. I have been giving political speeches advocating one ideology over the other and I’ve done pretty well so far. But now the shareholders of the largest company in the world – that’s you – have to decide if you want to hire a new Chief Executive or renew the contract of the current one. This is a job interview so, starting now, I’m going to treat it like one.
You have two candidates for the job. If you renew his contract for another four years, you are going to get exactly what you have gotten for the last four. Nothing. He cannot work with the board. He has given up trying. He wants one side to win and the other side to lose and that is never going to happen. He is a professional politician driven by ego and ideology. I am a Chief Executive and I am driven by solutions. Real. Workable. Solutions. I don’t care who wins in Congress as long as American wins in the end. Now I am a conservative at heart and will move things in that direction but finding solutions is my #1 goal.
If you renew his contract you won’t get another chance to bring in someone like me for another four years and by then it may be too late. Now I’ll freely admit he’s more entertaining than I am and if that’s what’s important to you, you should stick with him. But if you want solutions, I am your only hope. Ask yourself – and be honest – do you really see any hope of him changing things if you re-hire him?
I promise I will get this done. I have never failed to get things on track – no matter how big – or how many problems – or how many moving parts – or how impossible it seemed – I have gotten it done and I will get this done. Everyone will win and everyone will share the credit and America will prosper.
I am Mitt Romney and I want to be your Chief Executive.
Governor Romney, what have you got to lose? You are a CEO – not a politician. Just tell America you are the man to run the largest company in the world. God knows we need you to be.
