His friends over at the Wall Street Journal had a front page piece about Mitt today, desperately trying to explain that while Americans may not like him, they sure respect him.
That's obvious. I mean the British didn't like him either but they sure respected him... Oh wait.
"Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney strides into a hotel suite in Columbus, Ohio, where a couch awaits. He waves at it and quips: "People would like me to lie down and let it all out."
As he soon makes clear, Mr. Romney sees no reason to do that in the campaign's final stretch, which begins with his party's nominating convention next week."
"To the contrary, the former businessman and governor, who gets more respect than adoration from voters, vows in an interview that he won't be part of the celebrity-style culture often favored by politicians. Despite pressure to be more revealing, he says he won't use his campaign as "a way to personalize me like I'm a piece of meat."
I'd love to know where they get the license to claim that Romney is "respected" by the voters. First of all, this is American politics. The more "respected" guy never wins-just ask Al Gore. My premise is that if Americans don't like you they also don't respect you.
Mitt says he's not going to lie down on the couch, but I find this quip about "personalize me like a piece of meat" to be very telling. He thinks the democratic process is "demeaning" essentially beneath him. And he's not going to be demeaned.
""People today look for celebrity, but Dad is being his authentic self," says his oldest son, Tagg. "If this is an 'American Idol' election of who can ham it up with the judges the best, it's an election Dad's not going to win. But if voters want someone who won't just feel their pain but do something about it, Dad should be their president."
Tagg, a few observations. One, maybe voters don't much like your Dad's authentic self. As this is a democratic election and not a coronation of a duke, maybe you and he should bear this in mind. Secondly, haven't you done him enough help already? Do you have any more Seamus stories for us?
Speaking of likability, can you imagine the U.S. of all countries electing a man who did what Mitt did to his dog? I mean someone who in a lot of people's opinion, engaged in abuse of a dog?
Again, I must say how much Romney's dislike of being "a piece of meat" of this process being beneath him comes through when he campaigns.
"Though the campaign will try to personalize Mr. Romney more at the convention, the prevailing view is that Mitt will be Mitt."
That's going to be a problem.
"My course for the country is very different than the president's," he says in the interview. "But I'm also a different person than he is, but you know, he's a likable person, I'm sure." Mr. Romney shifts his weight on the couch, and adds: "I think the fact that I've got a family of five sons and five daughters-in-law, 18 grandkids and a wife that still puts up with me and more than a handful of friends that have been friends for decades is a pretty good indication that at least a few people like me as well."
See, that's just it. I believe that his inner circle of friends and family knows him and likes him, but there's no sign that anyone outside does. The reason why is because he makes no effort to connect with them because he doesn't care to. Perhaps nothing shows this more than an exchange he had with a woman he was advising as a leader in the Mormon church:
"One woman who had been active in the Exponent II organization was Judy Dushku, a longtime scholar of global politics at Suffolk University in Boston. At one point while Romney was stake president, Dushku wanted to visit the temple outside Washington to take out endowments, a sacred rite that commits Mormons to a lifetime of faithfulness to the church. She had never entered a temple before and was thrilled at the chance to affirm her dedication to a faith she’d grown up with and grown to love. Earlier in her life, temples had been off limits to Mormons who, like Dushku, were married to non-Mormons. Now that rule had changed, and she was eager to go. But first she needed permission from her bishop and stake president."
"After what she described as a “lovely interview” with her bishop and after speaking with one of Romney’s counselors, she went to see Romney. She wasn’t sure what to expect. Despite Romney’s willingness to allow some changes in 1993, he and Dushku had clashed over the church’s treatment of women. “He says something like ‘I suspect, if you’ve gotten through both of the interviews, there’s nothing I can do to keep you from going to the temple,’ ” Dushku recalled. “I said, ‘Well, why would you want to keep me from going to the temple?’ ” Romney’s answer, Dushku said, was biting. “He said, ‘Well, Judy, I just don’t understand why you stay in the church.’ ” She asked him whether he wanted her to really answer that question. “And he said, ‘No, actually. I don’t understand it, but I also don’t care. I don’t care why you do. But I can tell you one thing: you’re not my kind of Mormon.’ ” With that, Dushku said, he dismissively signed her recommendation to visit the temple and let her go. Dushku was deeply hurt. Though she and Romney had had their differences, he was still her spiritual leader. She had hoped he would be excited at her yearning to visit the temple. “I’m coming to you as a member of the church, essentially expecting you to say, ‘I’m happy for you,’ ” Dushku said. Instead, “I just felt kicked in the stomach.”
http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2012/08/mitt-romney-youre-not-my-kind-of-mormon.html
It's often been pointed out that Romeny is tone deaf which is why his jokes always bomb so badly. After reading the above quote it's clear why-"I don't understand it, but I also don't care."
He doesn't get it because he doesn't care to get it. He's above those not in his little rarefied patrician universe. After reading what he said to Judy Dushku we better get how he insutled the entire country of Britian, how he could say he doesn't care about poor people. or how he could isult the most popular bakery in Ptitsburgh-lack of empathy. It's real not becasue he's bad in front of a camera though he is. But the real Mitt is lacking in basic human empathy for those not living his patrician lifestyle.
So we get this comical scene:
"When a man wearing a New York Yankees shirt recently asked Mr. Romney a question at a New Hampshire town hall event, the candidate told a story that wrapped with a tone-deaf punch line: "It proves one thing," said Mr. Romney. "We all hate Yankees."
"His newly announced running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), immediately swooped in with a save: "But not you, sir, we love you," he interjected.
No wonder they don't want Mitt out alone. I notice too that he said "Yankee" rather than "Yankees." This is like when he said "I like sport."
Can anything show more that you really don't like sports than saying "I like sport?"
No comments:
Post a Comment