John Hinderaker of Powerline makes an excellent point:
"...on whether the Reagan coalition has irretrievably splintered. I don't think the conservative coalition has fallen apart, by any means. But the relative emphasis that should be given to each component of the conservative philosophy varies from time to time and from candidate to candidate. Ronald Reagan himself gave different weight to different aspects of conservatism in different races. He was elected Governor of California largely on the basis of his stout opposition to the counterculture that was infecting California's universities and other institutions at the time. When he ran for President, his emphasis was on the economy first, foreign policy second, and the social issues a distant third, if they were on the radar screen at all. Those priorities were dictated by the Carter administration's disastrous record on economic policy and by Reagan's own decades-long study of, and opposition to, Communism. Governor Romney should take a lesson from Reagan's political history and adapt his campaign to the needs of the moment. The time has come to talk, not just expertly but passionately, about the economic issues that are rapidly taking center stage. The jury is still out on whether Mitt Romney can be a formidable enough campaigner to capture the White House. I'm certain, though, that the more he focuses his campaign on the issues to which he has devoted his life and his career, the better his chances will be."
And I would add: this has always been the case with post-World War II political conservatism. Take Barry Goldwater in his 1964 campaign for the presidency. He too placed different emphases on the different pieces of conservatism. He focused on foreign policy and the battle against communism first; the economy and the dangers of government spending and over-regulation, second; and social issues third, and not very loudly (mainly there he talked about crime).
Note also that Hinderaker, perhaps without knowing it, explains also why Rudy Giuliani can still easily be a factor in this race. For what Hinderaker urges Romney to do above--is what Giuliani has been doing all along.
