A Winning Strategy for Romney

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- With the Republican nomination virtually wrapped up, polls indicate voters are inclined to give Mitt Romney a serious second look.

No wonder. The economy is in a sorry state -- young graduates without hope for a decent first job, older Americans without hope for a dignified retirement, and too many folks in between hopelessly stuck in jobs with shrinking paychecks.

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Yet, despite a general feeling among voters that the country is headed in the wrong direction, the president leads in the polls, especially among women. Simply, Romney has not convinced enough voters he can do better -- at least not yet.

Merely offering stock Republican remedies -- lower taxes and deregulation -- is all-too remindful of George W. Bush, who, through irresponsible spending and neglect of Wall Street shenanigans, nearly wrecked the American economy for good.

Mitt Romney

Romney must beat Barack Obama at his own rhetorical grounds -- fairness and hope -- or the president gets four more years.

Obama presides over an abusively unfair tax system. More than 40% don't pay any income taxes -- mostly folks in the lower half and among the truly wealthy who don't have much wage income but have lots of tax sheltered investments. Yet many middle class Americans -- who work 60 hour weeks -- fork over 30, 40 or closer to 50% to Uncle Sam, and that kills incentives to invest and take risks among entrepreneurs.