CAN WE PLEASE GET THIS OVER WITH NOW?
I speculated a lot about what might happen yesterday, just like every other politicized idiot, but I got closest when I was saying that the Romney Death Star was in the process of burying Santorum in ads, on the way to inevitable victory. Really, that's how it's going to go from now on -- I don't care how inspiring Gingrich and Santorum are in this or that Super Tuesday state; the Romney team is going to spend what it takes to -- just barely -- get his sorry ass over the finish line.
It's fun to watch Romney squirm, and I suppose it's worthwhile to root for a prolonged, awkward, gaffe-generating struggle, but my desire for that outcome is tempered by how sick of it I am, and how unlikely it is to change the outcome. I may not be able to hold myself to this, but I'm going to try to pledge not to take seriously any scenario that doesn't end in a non-brokered Romney victory. I'm going to watch Newt and Rick try to beat Mitt up in the Super Tuesday states (and land as many punches on each other as they do on Mitt); I'm going to take notice when Friess and Adelson write more zillion-dollar checks (if they're so stupid, why are they rich? do you get to stop needing to make good judgments once you're a billionaire?). I'm just going to work hard not to take any of it seriously. This is over.
To answer your question: Yes. Once you get to be a billionaire, you no longer need to make good decisions. That is how much of a crutch/cushion/margin of error such money provides.
ReplyDeleteWhen one has something like ten thousand million dollars it becomes almost impossible to ever become poor accidentally. The rules that apply to you (tax evasion, white collar crime) don't really apply because you can always offer to pay an enormous fine that won't impact you at all.
And the rules that might actually cost you (straight up murder, for example) no longer apply because, quite frankly, when you're that rich there's simply no longer any need to have someone killed.
Do Friess and Adelson regard zillion-dollar cheques as serious money? As you can guess from my spelling, I don't have a strong interest in US politics, so I don't know the actual figures.
ReplyDeleteI recall Heini Thyssen being asked about the fabulous sums he spent on his art collection. He replied that he actually spent about the same proportion of his income on paintings as the average German household. Maybe something analogous holds for Romney's backers?
It is probably over, but at least they are still damaging themselves and each other. Just in the past week we got the Cadilacs comment, the NASCAR comment, the empty stadium, the right-height trees, and what else am I forgetting? The longer this drags on the better.
ReplyDeleteWhat they are spending on politics is a mere fraction of their total wealth. Rich folks write million-dollar checks to politicians they know won't win for the same reason they eat 2300 dollar steaks.
ReplyDeleteI got a kick out of Little Ricky (reportedly) getting only 666 votes in Mackina County.
ReplyDeleteI agree, and I wonder if Romney's "hair on fire" comment yesterday didn't mark his pivot to the general election.
ReplyDeleteHis last opponent, Santorum, is too crazy even for Republicans (Santorum apparently lost the Catholic vote in Michigan), and Romney can start playing the role of "sensible" conservative.
Mitty as the R nominee has been the Obama campaign's assumption all along, as I understand it - an example of common-sense predicting for which the campaign probably won't get much credit, but for which we may have cause to be grateful down the road.
ReplyDeleteAnd with today's news about an apparently significant breakthrough in relations with (and prevention of nuclearization of) North Korea, Mitty's November hill to climb just got steeper, AE or no AE. I know, the conventional wisdom may be that in presidential elections, foreign-policy successes don't matter compared to domestic economics. Well, we were in recession in '72 (and still stuck arse-deep in 'Nam), but Nixon went to China and Kissinger announced his bogus 'Nam peace agreement; you know the result. Moreover, as lousy as it is, so far the domestic economy is consistently showing signs of recovery. All in all, I'd bet Sheldon Adelson's lunch tab (hefty!) on a 2nd term, and on our not having Mitty to kick around any more.
Now take that feeling to it's logical conclusion and stop paying attention to the primaries and republican politics altogether. Use the time to learn a musical instrument, develop a craft or hobby, or plant a garden. You can thank me later m
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