CNN runs a profile of Mitt Romney, titled "Romney builds political capital while biding time on 2012 run".
"Biding" seems to the operative word for Romney these days, as he's become famously noted for picking and choosing his battles.
Ironically, while he might be biding his time on big issues, he's been the opposite of biding on building an organizational structure and political capital for a 2012 run.
All of which is to say that, so far, he's been the most disciplined of the major 2012 front-runners.
No nightly Obama slams on Fox (like Newt, and if you wonder, just check out Newt's ranking on Mediaite, #1), no occasionally histrionic Facebook posts, and no radio shows on 450 affiliates.
The disadvantage is that it sometimes seems like he's missing. He was relatively quiet on NY-23 and when's the last time you saw him at a tea party? So he's losing out on the zeitgeist of conservative times.
The flip side is also that he's losing out on the zeitgeist of conservative times, which might have a sell-by date. Especially if the party makes big gains in 2010 and the Democrat agenda is pared down, and consequently, the rhetoric and passion in the grassroots also quiets.
We'll see. But one more thing stands out in Kevin Bohn's profile -- Romney attacking Obama on Afghanistan.
And it's an attack that's similar to the one he levied on November 3rd's Early Show.
November 3:
"The President has been President for nine months. Afghanistan was a centerpiece of his campaign. He's been speaking about it as President. He's had The McChrystal report for four months and during the same time period, by the way, he's had enough time to do 30 campaign trips around the country.
Look, with men and women dying in U.S. uniforms, the President ought to be focusing on getting them home safely and stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan, rather than trying to re-elect his friends."
And today, in Brodin's profile.
"This president says he needs some time. Four months? Nine months? We have men and women dying in Afghanistan. They need to know if they're going to get reinforcements and the support they need, or is this president going to take a different course?"
Here's what might be going through Romney's mind.
Right now, Obama's very vulnerable on the economy, but if things start to turn around, then that line of attack might be mitigated.
On the other hand, Obama, in particular, and Democrats, in general, are always susceptible to questions about their mettle on foreign policy.
So Romney's focus on foreign policy could be a bit of a hedge. If the economy's not Romney's route to the White House, maybe foreign affairs is.
