Romney taps Reagan’s optimism and gives himself hope

OUT of the ring for four years and off form, a tired US President Barack Obama lost last Wednesday night’s debate to republican nominee Mitt Romney.

There was no knockout blow, but Romney clocked up points as the ponderous president failed to confront his opponent or convince his audience. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, and older than President Obama, looked fresher and was more to the point.

Agility, instinct, and street smarts are the life forces that win politicians elections. High office, the reward for these gut instincts, can also become the quicksand they disappears into again. A political beast on form, and on the hunt, is one of the most formidably instinctive of animals. But the jungle has laws. In Denver, on Wednesday night, President Barack Obama forgot that. Politicians sell hope. They enjoy power only so long as they give hope. When they run out of hope, they run out of road.