Getting into the final stages of this election season I’m somewhat loathe to comment on it. There’s very little which hasn’t been said and almost nothing which has yet to reveal itself. At this point, barring a major world development or some serious fuckup during the debates, I think the battle lines are drawn. It’s going to come down to how many people each side can get out to vote. Or, you know, abuse the legal process to keep from voting.
By now everyone has heard Romney’s remarks at a fundraiser in which he wrote off half of America as, well, I’m not sure what exactly he was trying to say.
“During a private fundraiser earlier this year, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told a small group of wealthy contributors what he truly thinks of all the voters who support President Barack Obama. He dismissed these Americans as freeloaders who pay no taxes, who don’t assume responsibility for their lives, and who think government should take care of them. Fielding a question from a donor about how he could triumph in November, Romney replied:
“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.”
Romney went on: “[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” – MOTHER JONES
My first impression is that this is a filthy rich man trying to scare a room full of other filthy rich people. To hear him talk about poor people and the middle class you would think he was talking about zombies or Jawas. And it goes without saying the numerous flaws and errors in a statement like that. Not the least of which is that a hefty chunk of that “47 percent” live in red states and are supporting his candidacy, not Obama’s. But, whatever. Nobody’s listening anymore anyway.
The problem for Mitt Romney! is the pattern which has emerged. From his botched attempt at a world tour to his barely memorable convention speech to his selection of an adolescent as his running mate to the internal soap opera of his campaign being played out in public to every stupid thing he says in private being recorded there’s a broader point to be made: the guy is an amateur. He doesn’t know a whole lot about politics. He doesn’t know a whole lot about world affairs. He doesn’t know a lot about people. I’m not even sure he knows a whole lot about business. His only qualification is that he’s not Barack Obama. But then by that logic my dog, my five-year-old, my walking shoe and my sofa are qualified to be President.
Romney’s capitalist bent also leaves him vulnerable in a key area: likeability. Guys like him don’t understand that you do have to be liked. It’s not enough to have a bunch of cash or be in charge of a company. To win elections you have to do more than get people to hate your opponent. In the workplace realm being liked is really a distant concern. And what he probably doesn’t realize is that he’s starting to remind people of their boss at work. Which isn’t good considering that almost half of all working Americans don’t like their boss. And I can’t imagine that those are all just the Democrats.
But this is all academic. As I pointed out just last week there are lots of hypnotized and delusional people in America. Mitt Romney! could stand there and call them all fags and whores and throw poop at them and they’d still vote for the guy. They would genuinely believe he wasn’t talking about them. Or, you know, aiming for them.
Magnus Greel 