Mitt Romney campaigning door to door in Massachusetts during his first ever political run for office his 1994 race vs. Senator Ted Kennedy. This video was taken before the running of the Kennedy's negative ad campaign against Romney's record of job creation and layoffs at a company Bain Capital purchased in Indiana. At the time of this video Romney was actually leading Kennedy in a Boston Globe poll by 2 points.
Whenever I see Romney trying to interact with people he always appears to be visiting form another planet, and meeting humans for the first time.
He keeps repeating "good to meet you" and "have a good day" as if that is how he is programmed to respond. If he attempts to engage beyond those two sentences he immediately finds himself stammering and making stupid, condescending remarks.
Not to belabor the point, but THIS is the guy he will be compared to once he gets that GOP nomination.
Compared to Romney, he's a damn teddy bear.
Precious~a~plenty!
ReplyDelete5-MORE YEARS!
Yes We Will...
%^)
Gryphen!! Oh, man... I am so sorry! I completely forgot about the review of Romney's latest book I promised to write for IM. This time, I SWEAR to Zeus it wont happen again! Would it be OK if I provide just a rough draft capsule review now and do the comprehensive 10,000 word review - longer than the actual book, come to think of it - later?
ReplyDelete=================================
Travels With Millard is the perpetual presidential candidate's epic retelling of his recent 250,000 mile, 2 year road trip across America. Subtitled "A man, his dog and his country", the book published under the conservative Down With People imprint is powerful and timely as it tells the electorate and future generations much they didn't know about the man who may - if electronic voting machines are as unsecured as it's claimed they are - very well become the next president of The United States of America.
The book begins as the great man - who refers to himself in the text as The Great Man - is loading up his beloved avocado green Family Truckster station wagon with all of his gear along with the adorable little golden retriever puppy named Millard.
Although he abandoned the trip before achieving his goal of "meeting every single person in America" he sure covered a lot of ground! And he clearly documents his affinity for the little people; most notably his disturbing visit to a Little People's convention in which the exact details of the so-called 'trampling incident" remain murky.
Leaving the choice to his reader's own judgment, he either playfully mocks his reputation for social awkwardness and discomfort with disease-carrying middle America or he cluelessly recounts many instances reflecting his social awkwardness and discomfort with disease-carrying middle America.
My favorite chapter is where over a long July 4th weekend he privatizes an entire small Nebraska farm town and outsources ever single job - include police, fire and EMT service - to several corrupt Chinese and Indian corporations with close ties to his hedge fund operations. The determination of the sturdy townspeople to overcome this devastating transformation is as inspiring as the transformation itself was totally unnecessary.
I have to admit I was not a fan of this spineless shape-shifter before I read this book. Now, I have a grudging admiration for a man who gazes hopefully at Mount Rushmore and imagines - as so many of us do - his own visage peering out across a grateful and adoring nation. I highly encourage every American with half a brain - no more, no less - to read this book.
Spoiler Alert! I know everyone is going to be talking about the Epilogue of Travels With Millard where The Great Man discovers the skeletal remains of the unlucky puppy who appears to have succumbed to inclement conditions while riding caged atop the Family Truckster through a frozen Minnesota winter during the initial few days of the lengthy journey. How this unforeseeable and unavoidable situation went unnoticed for two years I leave to the intrepid readers of the text. I'm sure all but avid animal lovers will excuse this small forgivable oversight while enjoying the rest of this wonderful and otherwise animal-abuse-free book.
Love the Obama picture. Unless you're Meryl Streep, it's impossible to fake sincerity.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting, Gryph.
way off topic but i have a suggestion G.
ReplyDeletei say we pick a day and have an occupy the APD online bonanza. every anti palin and other intelligent blog posts the story of shailey tripp with links. emails the press. emails the state and fed attorney general. we demand to know what investigation the APD did on the possibility that todd palin was and is a sexual predator, encouraged and promoted prostitution, benefitted in some way from prostitution, etc. what evidence has been uncovered. what witnesses were interviewed. why hasnt the press interviewed potential witnesses and sought evidence. what crimes may have been committed under local, state and federal (rico) statutes? we include easy to use email addresses and phone numbers for local, state and federal authorities and the press and other websites. and we ask people to chime in at a central blog location with their intent to make contacts (like a marathon). costs nothing but keeps the pressure up on the palin crap. i personally will not be happy until that woman is dropped from the airwaves and buried so deep she will never have any kind of relevance or effect on this country. and i honestly and pissed off that the sexual predator todd palin has not been held accountable for his actions, that his involvement in prostitution was swept under the rug, and that palin herself thinks "boys will be boys" is an appropriate way to describe the way some men treat women.
what do you think?
Mitt Romney's media blowback
ReplyDeleteMitt Romney’s vulnerabilities as a candidate are well known, yet a seemingly new one surfaced last week: his unusual brittleness in the face of media questions.
With one prickly interview with Fox’s Bret Baier on Tuesday — in which the candidate appeared uncomfortable and even angry fielding basic questions about his record — the former Massachusetts governor set off a round of speculation about his ability to operate outside hermetically sealed campaign events, reminding both his rivals and the media of the extreme lengths to which he has gone to evade the national press.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/69754.html
If the voting public was under age 10, Obama would have it wrapped up.
ReplyDeleteThis is my all time favourite picture of Obama. Thanks for putting it back up.
ReplyDeleteIt is so annoying to hear Obama referred to as "aloof". In an age when politicians seem to think they have to exaggerate every petty emotion, he is able to remain calm (not necessarily not-affected). "The least are full of passionate intensity". (Yeats)
ReplyDeleteI feel refreshed whenever I see Obama in the presence of a child. He is the picture of pure love. It must be such a pleasant relief for him to deal with little souls not yet tainted by the toxic politics of our time.
My adult viewpoint: what is his point in meeting the public, he never asks them anything, just introduces himself "vote for me!".
ReplyDeleteMy immature viewpoint: why does he always walk with little baby steps, like his pants are about to fall to his knees?
Saw that shot of our (MY!) President and began to tear up.
ReplyDeleteAnon at 3:43.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea, occupy APD. It is so insulting that they have been able to make up rules as they go.
Palin should have been thrown to the courts long ago, way before she was able to pollute the national mood.
Oh, for fuck's sake...Willard has been running for office on and off for the better part of the last 17 years, and he STILL has no people skills.
ReplyDeleteIt must be his enormous ego and bank account that keeps him going, because people really just do not like him. He's about as warm and fuzzy as a slab of concrete. Ugh, what a dork.
Back in 2008, I remember reading about a survey taken of kindergarten children during the primary season. When shown pictures of each of the Republican and Democratic candidates, only 5% of the kids picked Romney as someone they would trust. There's just something about the guy that puts people off -- even very little people.
ReplyDeleteHe's not an ogre or a clown: there's just no warmth in his eyes.
That's before he says anything.
Wow. He makes Al Gore look like a free-spirited party animal.
ReplyDeleteI love the picture of the little boy Obama is holding...the kid looks soooo happy!
ReplyDeleteBut one thing Mittens has in common with Obama: they are both more concerned about the welfare of Wall Street than they are about the welfare of Occupy Wall Street. Obama's cabinet and advisers are the exact same bunch of Wall Streeters and bankers and corporatists that Mittens would pick to run HIS administration, many holdovers from the Clinton and Bush administrations.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you ever address this, Gryphen? Sure, photos of Obama cuddling babies are cute, but they only tell a very small part of the whole story about Obama and his mindset.
My sister has said for 3 years that Obama is 'arrogant' because of that photo of him with his chin raised. She has never warmed up to him, and listens to Rush's hate every day, while claiming to be apolitical. Right.
ReplyDeleteI love him; think he is the most normal guy we've had since Clinton, and the most compassionate since Carter. Now if he would tell the military to STOP droning people, I'd be much happier with him.
I agree. But electoral history tells us that you can't predict presidential success/efficacy from the campaign record trail. I still support Obama and voted for him, but he has seriously let us all down in the communication department, nor did his cabinet form and evolve according to my very optimistic expectations.
ReplyDeleteHe has accomplished a lot, but it seems like a lot of it remains in the background.
MicMac
Love that photo. That little boy was picked up and hugged by the president. It can't help but be a life-changing moment.
ReplyDeleteAloof? Naw.
I am very pleased to have a president who looks and sounds like one, instead of acting boorish and graceless.
Terrific!
WOW! Our First Lady is a KNOCKOUT tonight at the Kennedy Awards and her First Man is bursting with pride to be with her, he just adores her, it's so obvious in how he looks at her. And she looks stunning this evening. That blue, with her gorgeous skin tones, wowza!
ReplyDeletehttp://theobamadiary.com/
Romney was ahead by two points...but it was a year in which Republicans swept the board. It seems like we're going to hear about this race against Kennedy alot to convince people that Romney is electable. Meanwhile, on planet earth, the Democrats probably a hundred clips saved up for rather ads against him. Then you have the flip flopping and the fact that the economy is getting better and it's romneys only issue where people might trust him over Obama and in ten months time, the economy might not be the most prominent issue and you have to laugh.
ReplyDeleteOkay....Awwwwww! I love that picture.
ReplyDeleteOn the flip-flop side, have any of you seen a video of Mitt Romney singing "Who Let The Dogs Out?" with a group of kids?!? Even the Baha Men must have been shaking their heads in disbelief.
Ugh!
Uhh Micmac, you realize the reTHUGs have blocked most of his appointments just because they can?
ReplyDeleteThis is off this topic, Gryphen, but look at what the FOrmer Governor's buddy Joe Arpaio has allegedly done: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/04/9206672-critics-tough-sheriff-botched-sex-crime-cases
ReplyDeleteThe Tea Partiers really do want to take our country back-- about 100 years.
Every time I hear that President Obama doesn't connect w/people, it just makes me furious. He is the easiest of all to interface with!!! The Republicans just wish they could be as good.
ReplyDeleteYea, President Obama! I am sure you will be reelected IN SPITE OF what the continued negatives the Republicans put out there.
4:46 PM,
ReplyDeleteWe already know all about Barack Obama's Wall Street ties, and his "mindset," etc. We hear about it everyday. I know you don't want to hear this, but Barack Obama is the lesser of two evils. You can't always get what you want. Time to grow up.
Mitt Romney is much worse. He got filthy rich putting people out of work ON PURPOSE.
Barack Obama will not have a primary challenger, so there is no alternative. But, if he does get a primary challenger, it will not be anyone with any clout, and the president will beat them, easily. So go ahead throw your vote away on some third-party loser who has no chance of winning, or don't vote at all. Whatever. I will be voting for Barack Obama in 2012.
"they are both more concerned about the welfare of Wall Street than they are about the welfare of Occupy Wall Street"
Correction: What you meant to say is: "concerned about the welfare of Wall Street than they are about the welfare of MAINSTREET."
Your welcome.
ha ha ha
ReplyDeleteThe "Mr Roboto" candidate.
What a tomato without salt!
Anonymous @4:08 PM said:
ReplyDelete"My adult viewpoint: what is his point in meeting the public, he never asks them anything, just introduces himself "vote for me!".
"My immature viewpoint: why does he always walk with little baby steps, like his pants are about to fall to his knees?"
who the heck are you talking about?
I don't understand why anyone would trust Mitt Romney on the economy, or anything else for that matter. The guy's a phony.
ReplyDeleteanon @4:08 -- i too wonder why Mitt walks with such mincing steps. it's odd. i'm not well versed in the mormon underwear thing, but could this have something to do with it? maybe it sort of "binds" the nether parts. do other mormon men walk this way?
ReplyDeleteYou do great work.
ReplyDeleteThank You Gryphon!
Gryphen I hope you start writing more about the Newt.
ReplyDeleteWhat a scary guy and his wife? Yikes. The Obamas look amazing. No he isn't perfect but he's a good person and a very smart one. He also seems emotionally well adjusted which is very important for someone who gets constant criticism. We are fortunate to have him and if we can get the archaic tea party nut cakes out of the house, maybe we will finally move forward in this country, these crazy conservatives live in the past.
"Romney: Career Politician"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhYENOoqfZY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Ftheobamadiary.com%2F&feature=player_embedded
Fox News allowed a New York Times reporter to roam around before, during, after the interviews, covering how the candidates and their teams operated. One campaign “stood out by going into defensive mode immediately, insisting that the reporter stay far away.”
ReplyDelete[Mitt] Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, was the last to arrive at the Fox News offices in Midtown Manhattan. He came in with his wife, Ann, and a smattering of aides and travel staff, and they quickly settled into a small conference room near the 12th-floor studio.
Spotting the reporter, Mr. Romney’s aides sprang into action, questioning where he worked and what he was doing there, and then insisting that he not physically approach Mr. Romney before or after he was questioned on television by the attorneys general and Mr. Huckabee.
The request was reiterated to executives at Fox News.
Romney’s aversion to media professionals is making the transition from an oddity to a problem. Indeed, the political press will put up with quite a bit, but it really doesn’t like being ignored, and Romney has apparently invited a backlash.
Romney is inaccessible even by the tightly scripted standards of the contemporary campaign bubble: Not only is the candidate kept at arms length from reporters, the campaign typically responds to the news media only when it feels it is in its interest. Inconvenient questions are met with silence. […]
“This is a very poor media operation,” one political director for a leading cable news network complained to POLITICO. “The lack of response to any media request is very frustrating. At least you should acknowledge calls and emails — in their case, it’s like a black hole.”
Romney and his team have were “completely accessible” in 2008, when the candidate was eager to raise his national profile, but this year, they’ve gone to the other extreme. Romney felt like he could get away with it — Republican voters already knew him; his rivals were incompetent, and his media-blackout strategy didn’t derail his frontrunner status.
But as the race intensifies, Romney’s don’t-bother-me-with-questions approach is looking far less sound. He’s suddenly in a tough race with Newt Gingrich, and even like-minded media outlets like Fox are pushing back against his refusal to speak to them.
“I think the zeitgeist moment that you’re seeing this week is Romney’s strategy beginning to backfire on him...
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/the_press_doesnt_like_being_ig033894.php
Sanctioned LYING.
ReplyDelete...The controversy over Mitt Romney’s first television ad — the one that shamelessly wrenched a President Obama quote from context, misleading the public — has largely come and gone. But the Romney campaign’s blatant dishonesty left a bad taste in the political world’s mouth, made worse by the campaign’s failure to come up with a coherent defense.
By way of an explanation, a top Romney operative told the NYT that the manipulation of facts in campaign commercials is fine because ads are “propaganda” and “agitprop.” Referencing Democrats, the unnamed member of the Romney campaign added, “It’s ludicrous for them to say that an ad is taking something out of context … All ads do that. They are manipulative pieces of persuasive art.”
Greg Sargent wasn’t persuaded by this.
So here you have it: The Romney camp’s standard for accuracy and fairness seems to be that there is no need for any such standard, because all ads are by definition “manipulative” and “propaganda.”
But come on: You can make an assertion or depiction designed to persuade that also happens to be … true. […]
Between this new quote and their boast that the ad’s mangling of context was strategically brilliant because it won reams of media attention, it almost seems as if Romney advisers are trying to persuade political reporters and commentators to abandon any standards they might use to judge tactics and rhetoric throughout this campaign.
I suspect this is very much a part of the Romney campaign’s strategy. Ever since the ad generated pushback, a wide variety of officials on the Romney team — including the candidate himself — have all effectively said the same thing: people shouldn’t get so hung up on what is and isn’t true.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/indifference_to_the_truth033898.php
I would think this skill set, meeting the public, comes from his mission days. Perhaps when he encounters people he is thinking "gentile" and feeling already rejected! If your religion feels it is the only true religion and you are told that converting people is a high priority, then how else would you look at people but as "other".
ReplyDelete4:46 PM
ReplyDeleteYou idiot. President Obama is fighting for #ows every fucking day.
There is a quality about Rommey that disturbs me. He seems to have no core. It's like he is hollow inside. Like he has no soul.
ReplyDelete