Romney must risk to win

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Roosevelt was a President cowboys could be proud of. He had extraordinary personal energy and was not afraid to take risks. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney needs to find some of the spirit and gumption of his predecessor if he is to make it to the White House, argues Daniel Finkelstein in the Times.

"What about an audacious appeal to the centre?...Mr Romney may be more Smooth Rider than Rough Rider and it is hard to imagine him in the bush with pistol in hand, but he could cast himself convincingly as a man of action."

"He could say that while he believes in smaller government, he also believes in an active one that takes on vested interests on behalf of the people and is committed to American greatness. He could show that the Republican successes of recent years - fighting crime, reforming welfare, winning the cold war for that matter - have come from such an approach. And that now he would apply it to the economy."