HALPERIN€™S TAKE: TEN THINGS MITT ROMNEY COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY

1. Could have run less as a social conservative and more as a can-do technocrat. 2. Could have delivered his religion and faith speech earlier in his campaign. 3. Could have run negative ads against McCain (backlash and ire be darned). 4. Could have recognized that his biggest problem was a perceived lack of humanity, and addressed it with humor, purpose, and authenticity. 5. Could have put his wife and sons more front and center in the campaign. (just kidding) 6. Could have taken a risk and separated himself more from President Bush. 7. Could have identified Huckabee as a genuine threat before it was too late to stop the Arkansan’s momentum — in Iowa and beyond. 8. Could have consistently presented his own personality—disciplined, ambitious, take-charge, impersonal, passionate about his family and his religion—rather than tried to fit himself into a series of established Republican templates. 9. Could have insisted his warring advisers either make peace with each other or quit the campaign. 10. Could have regularly addressed one or two policy issues and/or themes that he really believed in — like change, anti-Washington, the economy.