"Our economy is on the move and we are creating thousands of new jobs, but we need to keep our foot on the gas pedal"
About this Quote
Romney’s line is a classic piece of campaign-engine optimism: the car is moving, the road is open, and the only real danger is letting up. The metaphor does quiet rhetorical work. “On the move” signals momentum without specifying who’s moving it or where it’s going; “creating thousands of new jobs” offers a digestible metric that feels concrete while staying conveniently un-auditable in the moment. Then comes the pivot: “but.” Progress is acknowledged just long enough to justify urgency.
The intent is twofold. First, claim partial credit for good news (or at least align with it) while refusing the political vulnerability of sounding satisfied. Second, inoculate against complacency: if the economy is a vehicle, any easing off the pedal becomes negligence. That frames Romney’s preferred policy posture as simple common sense rather than ideology. Keeping your foot on the gas doesn’t sound like deregulation, tax cuts, or austerity; it sounds like responsible driving.
The subtext is anxiety management. Economic recoveries are psychologically fragile: people want reassurance and also a reason to stay angry. Romney offers both. He validates improvement while preserving the stakes, implying that opponents would “take their foot off the gas” and risk a stall. It’s also a subtle positioning move for a politician associated with business competence: the economy becomes machinery, and leadership becomes operational skill.
Contextually, this rhetoric fits the post-recession era’s political grammar, when growth statistics could rise while wages and security still felt stuck. The gas-pedal image turns that messy mismatch into a single, actionable directive: push harder.
The intent is twofold. First, claim partial credit for good news (or at least align with it) while refusing the political vulnerability of sounding satisfied. Second, inoculate against complacency: if the economy is a vehicle, any easing off the pedal becomes negligence. That frames Romney’s preferred policy posture as simple common sense rather than ideology. Keeping your foot on the gas doesn’t sound like deregulation, tax cuts, or austerity; it sounds like responsible driving.
The subtext is anxiety management. Economic recoveries are psychologically fragile: people want reassurance and also a reason to stay angry. Romney offers both. He validates improvement while preserving the stakes, implying that opponents would “take their foot off the gas” and risk a stall. It’s also a subtle positioning move for a politician associated with business competence: the economy becomes machinery, and leadership becomes operational skill.
Contextually, this rhetoric fits the post-recession era’s political grammar, when growth statistics could rise while wages and security still felt stuck. The gas-pedal image turns that messy mismatch into a single, actionable directive: push harder.
Quote Details
| Topic | New Job |
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