WASHINGTON – In the 11 days since Mitt Romney tried unsuccessfully to leave the rest of the GOP field behind in New Hampshire, the presidential race has served up a scattershot cast of angels and demons as the candidates try to strike a chord with different slices of the electorate.
Capitalism was in, then out, then in again. Insurance companies got a sideways sympathetic nod. Mike Huckabee and Betty White proved to have some cachet. The press was an ever-popular whipping child.
Europe and entitlements, felons, food stamps and French: All were on the outs with one candidate or another.
Newt Gingrich even ran an ad faulting Romney for his language skills: “Just like John Kerry, he speaks French,” it warned ominously.
The GOP challengers went after Romney’s venture capitalist credentials with a vengeance — most memorably when Texas Gov. Rick Perry rebranded him a “vulture capitalist” — then eased up somewhat when they caught grief from the defenders of free enterprise.
For a little while, even insurance companies — typically a popular target for politicians of any stripe — got a little love after Romney said he liked the idea of being able to fire them for poor performance. The other candidates summoned a
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