Last week, the Wall Street Journal editorial board directed some harsh criticism at presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney for his campaign’s lack of direction and miscommunications on the policy front. New York Times columnist David Brooks has some advice for Romney: Lay your cards out on the table, and do it fast.
On Friday’s “NewsHour” on PBS, Brooks said the Romney campaign suffered not from a lack of direction, but instead gun-shyness and a desire to avoid criticism.
“If I were Romney, I would probably err on the side of, ‘I am going to say something unpopular, but this is what I believe,’” Brooks said. “I think his primary challenge right now is to show the country that he actually believes in stuff, [and that] he’s consistent.”
Brooks, who has previously used his “NewsHour” platform to demonstrate he has some inside knowledge of the Romney campaign’s strategies, said Romney definitely has some important policies to show off — particularly his health care platform, which Brooks said Romney should have fleshed out immediately after the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare two weeks ago.
“So after the health care decision, Romney could have come out there,” Brooks explained. “He has a health care plan. And it’s pretty detailed, at least within, I would say, this little box he keeps in the subbasement of his 12-car garage, in deep secret. He’s not letting anybody know it, but it is a secret plan, and it’s a pretty good plan. And I would like him to say what it is, in part so he can say, ‘This is what I believe.’”
Brooks acknowledged Romney has released an outline of his health care policy. However, the unreleased details of the plan will score Romney big points with the public, he said.
“Well, he has announced the outlines of his plan,” Brooks said. “That’s public. I also know that he has the private details of the plan, which is in secret. But it’s just fleshing out the plan he has announced publicly.”