The College Fix

Surely there is no one President Barack Obama and the Democrats would rather run against this fall than Rick Santorum. And the Santorum campaign seemed to acknowledge as much when it started sending out robo-calls Monday asking Michigan Democrats to vote for their man in the state’s Republican primary the following day.

Mitt Romney feigned outrage and said his opponent was up to “dirty tricks” and seeking to “kidnap” the primary process.

John Brabender, Santorum’s senior strategist, defended the effort to woo Dems. “Nobody registers by party in Michigan,” Brabender told National Review. “So we had to figure who was going to show up and vote. That’s why it’s funny Romney is criticizing us for calling Democrats. We’re just calling people who consider themselves, most of the time, to be Democrats — because they vote in Democratic regions — but who also vote in Republican races.”

There is evidence that the Romney campaign was onto something with its complaints of primary kidnapping. The Detroit Free Press ran a story Tuesday about Democrats who crossed party lines to vote for Santorum, mostly because they thought Romney would be tougher for Obama to beat in November.

“My father is probably rolling over in his grave,” said Elisabeth Steegman, a lifelong Democrat whose father was a union steward at General Motors. “It’s one way to get a vote for the person you want to win. It’s a little stinky,” she said, but worth it.

All this subversive primary voting calls to mind Rush Limbaugh’s effort four years ago — dubbed Operation Chaos — to recruit Republicans in open primary states to cast votes for Hillary Clinton in an effort to prolong the Democratic primary process and, hopefully, weaken Obama ahead of the general election.

We all know how that turned out.

Conventional wisdom says a protracted primary campaign is damaging for a candidate. For one thing, it forces him to spend money fighting his fellow partisans rather than his ultimate opponent. In hindsight, however, many political experts believe that the prolonged primary battle Obama faced in 2008 actually toughened him up and made him a stronger candidate in the general election.

I have a feeling the same thing is true for Romney this year. If there is anything we’ve learned about Millionaire Mitt during this campaign, it’s that his ability to communicate and connect with everyday voters is sorely lacking. But the longer he spends on the campaign trail (and it’s been a looooooong time already, hasn’t it?), the more chances he has to mitigate his weaknesses.

In his bid to become CEO of America, Romney must move beyond his familiar boardroom/country club banter. Betting 10,000 bucks on a whim and a handshake, or saying you don’t really follow Nascar but you have several “friends who are Nascar team owners”– these aren’t really good ways to connect with the Joe six-packs out there.

As that latter remark shows so clearly, Romney’s worst gaffes seem to come when he tries, and tries, and tries to present himself as a man of the people. Fact is, Romney isn’t the guy next door. He grew up in exceptional privilege, and he has accomplished extraordinary things.

Americans love to vote for politicians with the common touch. But in reality the guy who lives next door to you probably wouldn’t make a good president. And if you are going to give someone the keys to the White House, your ability to relate to that person on a human level isn’t nearly as important as judging his intelligence, capability and character.

You might not be able to imagine yourself standing around the barbecue with Mitt, guzzling beer, and talking about Dale Jr. But can you imagine him as commander in chief? That’s the more relevant question.

Whatever one thinks of his politics, there is no question Romney is a capable leader. And the longer the primary process goes on, the more the kookiness, shallowness, and downright unpreparedness of his challengers has become evident.

Santorum is certainly the most serious and viable challenger Romney has faced. Between Romney and Santorum, I don’t know which candidate has the best chance of beating Obama this fall. But I do get the feeling that David Axelrod would love to turn the entire election into a referendum on birth control. I also get the feeling that the longer the primary stretches on, the more battle-hardened and formidable candidate Romney will become.

So, all you Democrats for Santorum: You want a protracted Republican primary? Be careful what you wish for.

This article originally appeared in the International Business Times and is reprinted here with permission. Follow Nathan on Twitter @nathanharden