Or, as the Washington Post, company-town paper in the town whose monopolizing industry is politics, prefers to phrase it, “Convention Focus: Romney the Professional“:
BOSTON — Mitt Romney’s advisers are orchestrating a four-day Republican National Convention that is not so much designed to make Americans fall in love with the nominee, but rather to fall in like with the idea of him as the nation’s leader and a uniquely qualified businessman who can fix the economy.
The decision to focus heavily on Romney’s career background and economic policies is a departure from most conventions, which tend to mainly try to build a personal connection between the candidate and voters, especially for first-time nominees. It is also a tacit acknowledgment that Romney cannot win over enough swing voters by highlighting his personality and telling his life story alone
Romney has struggled to connect with voters all year and has been battered all summer by attack ads from President Obama’s campaign. That has put his approval rating at 40 percent, among the lowest of all time at this point in a campaign, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll earlier this month.
With less than three months to go and much ground to make up, his advisers believe that their best bet is to convince Americans that, love him or not, Romney is the solution to their problems. The Tampa convention’s theme — “A Better Future” — which organizers announced on Friday, underscores that calculation…..
Anyone else here old enough to remember the jokes about “Bob Dole. Eat Your Damn Peas, America” in 1996?
Republicans outside the campaign said that, given Romney’s struggles to connect, they agreed with the convention approach.
“It’s a tough road to hoe after all these various attempts to try to make him the Ken Doll Next Door that you want to have over for a pot roast. They tried handing out chili, they tried him without a tie, and I’ve not seen a poll where America says we love Mitt Romney,” said a GOP strategist who has helped orchestrate past conventions and requested anonymity to offer a candid perspective.
But, the strategist added, “I’ve seen a lot of polls where America says this guy seems to have the demeanor, experience, package and skill set to actually cure these outrageous economic problems we’re having. That’s the direction I would take.”….
Shorter Republican strategist: At this point, we’re just cashing the Rmoney checks and looking forward to 2016… or even November 7, 2012.
For months, advisers said, Romney has been pondering what he might say in his speech. He keeps a campaign trail diary on his iPad, and recently on the stump he has been both more contemplative and more open. He is sharing personal stories with audiences of strangers; at a fundraiser in South Carolina this week, Romney talked at length about a nephew with down syndrome, something he has rarely mentioned publicly.
“My sister is one of my heroes,” Romney said, lauding her character, her compassion and her faith in God. “My sister has eight children, the last of which was a down syndrome child…And that down syndrome child, he’s now 42, 43, still lives with her. Alright? She’s 70-something, 75, and she takes care of that 43-year-old down syndrome little boy – big boy now. Just the power of one person to affect and improve the lives of others.”
And in Wasilla a sleeping monster stirs, sensing a great disturbance in the Farce Force. But seriously, dudes: You want to give the Obama campaign a chance to point out that lots of 70-somethings not named Romney are terrified that they’ll die before their middle-aged still-dependent kids do? You want to stand your blue-eyed veep heartthrob in front of all the world’s media to explain how gutting Medicare and Medicaid is going to “help” these unfortunates, by giving them incentives to choose the best alternatives the insurance industry will be competitively driven (not) to offer?
Romney is also playing a hands-on role in the selection of speakers as well as the stagecraft.
“He’s the kind of guy who makes lots of notes and thinks about this kind of stuff,” Rath said. “It’s going to have his fingerprints.”
And it’ll be the first accomplishment of his life to which Romney will admit having left fingerprints. Hell, there’s some question as to whether the Romneytron 3000 even has fingerprints.
Earlier this summer, aides showed Romney six options for stage designs to let him pick. But Romney, who after overseeing the Opening Ceremonies at the Salt Lake City Olympics fancies himself as having a trained eye for stagecraft, vetoed all six. He sent aides back to the drawing board before finally settling on a design he liked.
Probably not the Romney-selected theme song, but extremely on-topic:
NotMax
Awfully reminiscent of 1928’s “a chicken in every pot.”*
If you can afford the chicken.
And the pot.
Somewhat surprised they didn’t go with “A Brighter Future,” just so they could lambaste Obama for offering “A Darker Future.”
*The link between Hoover and the phrase “a chicken in every pot” can be traced to a paid advertisement which apparently originated with the Republican National Committee, who inserted it into a number of newspapers during the 1928 campaign. Source
mdblanche
It probably applies for any YouTube video, but mein Gott, you really do not want to read the comments for this video.
MikeJ
@NotMax:
Can you imagine a Republican running on shorter working hours and increased pay? Hard to believe there was a time when everybody understood that making things better for the workers was better for America. Somewhere along the way people started believing that if the rich got richer they’d throw the rest of us some scraps.
techno
Are you sure you want to compare the Republicans to the Nazis?
Let’s see. When the Nazis took over in Germany in 1933, unemployment stood at 40% and there were thousands dying of starvation. By 1936, Germany had virtually eliminated unemployment and had become the richest country in Europe, if not the world. By 1939, the Germans had become so powerful it required the rest of the world ganging up on them to defeat them in a war. There is zero chance that the Gekko / Galt team could match that record so comparing them to actual Nazis is something of a stretch. And I think it very unlikely that some Rmoney supporter is going to be singing “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” between now and November.
Other than that…
texpope
These descriptions of Romney as being very hands on with every detail fits his profile pretty well … which is why the whole “sure, he OWNED Bain, and was titular CEO, signing important documents, but he really didn’t know what Bain was actually doing” line of argument is such a transparent farce.
Assuming any pundits actually want to look through the window.
Suffern ACE
But why make him toad a line? That would be easier that towing a road. He could do that while threading a pin and we’d all be impressed.
dance around in your bones
Ya know, Mittsy, you and your Republican strategists might as well give up now. You aren’t ever going to make Romney The Robot likable, I don’t care how many notes you poke out on your iPad.
I mean, to any sentient being.
You are just stuck in the Uncanny Valley. Get used to it.
Villago Delenda Est
@techno:
And by 1945, Germany was in rubble. “Good Germans” were starving. To this day, Germans who lived in that period are haunted by it.
Note that even in 1939, the German General Staff was very nervous that a determined Allied offensive in the West would bring the entire house of cards tumbling down.
Kane
I find comfort in knowing that Romney is taking a hands-on approach to every aspect of the republican convention. If there is one consistent pattern that has prevailed throughout the entire presidential campaign, it is that everything Romney touches turns to fail. Romney has shown repeatedly that his political instincts are pulp.
Kane
Whenever I throw four-day party, I always hire the most unlikeable individual who has difficulty connecting with people to oversee the festivities.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
@Kane:
If I was a GOP strategist I’d be banking on the quality of the strip bars in Tampa to send the delegates home happy. Because the candidates sure won’t.
Baud
@Kane:
You took the words out of my mouth.
Older_Wiser
Maybe Bishop Rmoney will have the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing the song?
Hitler also provided a personal touch in many projects and had an idea a “divine force” guided his destiny (much as Annie describes Myth’s “destiny”). “I truly want Mitt to fulfill his destiny, and for that to happen, he’s got to do politics,” Ann told the Los Angeles Times on the eve of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.”
Last year, when Mitt entered the presidential race, Ann told Parade, “I felt the country needed him … This is now Mitt’s time.” In a March radio interview, Ann declared, “He’s the only one who can save America.” http://www.salon.com/2012/08/08/the_real_ann_romney/
Chyron HR
And yet you’ve never mentioned her before. Go figure!
ed_finnerty
Speaking of Bob Dole I remember reading this at the time
“Ronald Reagan looked happier getting shot than bob Dole will look getting nominated”
amk
If true, ‘murka is truly fucked.
HBinBoston
Ah these anonymous Republican strategists..
You don’t have a “tough road to hoe” you have a tough ROW to hoe. And saying that Romney has the right “package” to resonate with voters is way over the top.
Triassic Sands
With Ryan’s latest Medicare proposal, the Republican threat to Medicaid is now much, much greater that its threat to Medicare. Of course, despite the widespread dependence of millions of elderly on Medicaid’s nursing home care provisions, Medicaid has a much weaker and less vocal constituency than does Medicare.
If Romney wins and Ryan’s Medicaid proposal becomes law, I expect a real disaster. Oh, well, it’s only poor people (and the parents of middle class Americans who couldn’t afford nursing home care otherwise).
WereBear
How like Mitt Romnney to think it’s “great” that his sister had eight kids, the last of whom is unable to live independently. Thus his sister’s child-raising years have still not ended. That’s all women are good for anyway!
Marc
“Romney, who after overseeing the Opening Ceremonies at the Salt Lake City Olympics fancies himself as having a trained eye for stagecraft”
Every sentence about Mitt Romney should contain the phrase “fancies himself.” It’s one of the few things we actually know about him and it seems to be his main reason for wanting to be president.
PurpleGirl
After playing “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” (which is one of my favorite video clips) I played “Money.” That song is pertinent to Rmoney and his greed. It could be his personal anthem.
Woodrowfan
anybody else get a tea party vibe from that clip? All it needs are chubby old people in mobile chairs…
cpinva
yes, i am:
i am also old enough to remember lbj-goldwater, and the “Daisy” tv commercial, which played once during the 1964 campaign. it showed during primetime, i was 7. if the intent was to capture everyone who saw it’s attention, it succeeded beyond the wildest dreams of the creative team who came up with it. i, my brothers and my parents sat/stood, transfixed and stunned. this was but two years removed from The Cuban Missile Crisis, so nukes were still on our minds.
i am now reminded of that commercial, because i can see a romney-ryan admin., with all the old neo-cons brought back for another round, being barry goldwater of ’64. it frightens me.
Ash Can
This convention is going to be awesome.
UncommonSense
Romney/Ryan 2012: We know what’s best for you people
Sounds like a winner!
UncommonSense
Wow, there is just so much fail in this quote that it makes my teeth hurt.
To start: Romney doesn’t know how old his own sister is? “She’s 70-something…” Yeah, I can’t imagine why America hasn’t fallen in love with this guy yet. He just glows with personal warmth.
And despite the fact that he has Down Syndrome, Mitt doesn’t see his 42-year-old (or 43!) nephew as grown man. I wonder how people living with Downs, to say nothing of the people who love them, feel about Romney infantilizing this man.
Ugh.
flounder
Handing that 42 year old Down Syndrome moocher a coupon for 20% off health insurance and telling him to hit the streets sounds like it could be a winner for the convention’s main event. Shucks, maybe they could get Donald Trump to tell him “You’re fired!”.
McJulie
@UncommonSense: To be fair, he might have hesitated to mention her true age for a moment because of a traditional social taboo against talking about a woman’s age. But actually I suspect it’s because he’s been telling this story for a bazillion years, that’s why he refers to a fortyish nephew as a “little boy.”
It’s funny, though, because it reveals his terrible sense for narrative. If you talk about a woman in her thirties caring for a disabled son, it seems heartwarming, and you can give it an anti abortion spin.
But forty years later? It makes people sad. It reminds them that disabled people often need someone to take care of them for their whole lives, which doesn’t fit in with the Republican galtian nonsense. And it reminds them that people get old, and might need someone to take care of them, another anti-galtian sentiment.
ThresherK
@UncommonSense: I don’t know how afflicted the newphew is, how much care he may or may not need.
But what struck me was the thought of Mitt’s about “The power of one person to affect the lives of others”.
I’d like someone to ask Mittster “How many jobs is your sister working while taking care of her son?”
Mitt’s ability to differentiate between a born-wealthy woman’s “power of one person” and, well, anybody ordinary middle class, raising a Downs syndrome kid is something that I don’t think exists.
Nutella
Focus on his career background? I guess last week’s whine is already inoperative, then. Remember this?
OK, not inoperative. Romney can keep talking about how wonderful his business experience is as long as us peons and Democrats aren’t permitted to point out anything he actually did in business like, say, gutting and shutting down companies.
Hawes
Clearly, the unknown until now weakness in Nazism was their poor lip-synching skills.
kledd
@techno: But the Nazis gained power through skillful vote suppression of opponents, so yeah.
Commenting at Ballon Juice since 1937
The Dems need to have an ad ready for that week: the documents from the Salt Lake City Olympics are missing, the computers from the Mass. governors office were wiped, he won’t release his tax returns. What is Mitt hiding?
Rick Massimo
Damn that Herman Cain! You know they really wanted to go with “You Want a Job, Right?”
kledd
@Ash Can: “These drawings are terrible! Needs more Nuremberg!”
1badbaba3
Exponential Failspew
Origuy
@Woodrowfan:
The key moment in that clip is the last line, when Michael York says to the rich industrialist, “You still think you can control them?”
owlbear1
He’s a Trust-Fund, Econ Hero!
Rmoney 2012!
West of the Cascades
Anybody notice the Mittbotism in that quote?
Compare WereBear’s comment at 19 – referring to the son as the “last of whom.” Mitt referred to the son as the “last of WHICH” – probably grammatically correct when referring to children, but very unnatural when talking about human beings. But it may simply be that RomneySisterBotChild 8.0 is sub-nominal, hence Mitt’s reference to it as if it were an inanimate object.