The race is on and the primary complaint about the presumptive Republican candidate is that he is a wildly successful business man.  He has been described as stiff and not particularly charismatic and rich and un-cool.  All of which are descriptions I personally think are fairly accurate.  And, mostly, appellations I hope someday can be applied to me.

And, furthermore, I wish every time Mr. Obama’s minions attempts to denigrate Mr. Romney as an out of touch rich guy, he should grin and nod along.  He should take every opportunity to remind folks that he took the strong start given him by his father’s success and multiplied it through the use of his intellect and work ethic.  He should remind everyone every day that his goal has never been to be “cool”.  He should remind everyone that hard work is what pays for “cool”.  That intelligence understands “cool” to be an entertainment value but not a core value.  He should remind everyone that he is not running for Class President but President of the United States and “cool” is not part of the qualifications for the job.  Intelligence is.  Acumen is.  Ability to manage and make a hard decision is.  “Cool” is for getting dates and being popular on the playground.

We have a “cool” President who maintains his “cool” by doing anything and everything to look “cool”.  Mostly, for this President, that means failing to make hard decisions and face problems head on.  How many times does this President have to kick the can down the road for people to understand that even he knows he is out of his depth?

Mr. Romney needs to show a little of the arrogance that makes a man a man.  When he is called rich, he needs to say, “No, son.  I am not rich.  I am really rich. And I know how to help you get rich, too.”  When he is faced with the claim he is out of touch he needs to say, “Out of touch?  Nobody who makes the kind of money I make is out of touch.  I make the kind of money I make by knowing what the public wants to buy and what the public needs.  The fact you don’t understand that is why you need me as President.”  In short he needs to brag about his success because it is brag-able.  And, it is a marked difference between his history and that of the current occupant.  He has been there and done that.  Mr. Obama has read about it, seen the film strip and called it racist.

It is time for a candidate like Mr. Romney to stand up and take control of the process.  He needs to shout from the mountaintops that he is applying for a job of work not a part in a movie.

“Cool” does not count.