Romney went there today, and -- see the video below -- it seemed carefully rehearsed, not off the cuff (no matter what the Romney campaign says):
At a campaign stop in his home state of Michigan Friday, Mitt Romney made a joke referencing the continued doubts about President Obama's birth certificate raised by Romney supporters like Donald Trump.
"I love being home, in this place where Ann and I were raised, where but the both of us were born," Romney said after introducing his wife, fellow Michigan native Ann. "No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place where we were born and raised."
Digby says Romney's real message is that he's "a white guy for Pete's sakes!" I cringe as I type this, but I think Rush Limbaugh is closer to the mark. On the radio, he said today:
... here is Romney, I'm convinced, test-driving something. I think this line is a test drive.I think Romney and Ryan are going to go for everything Sarah Palin wanted the McCain campaign to focus on in '08 -- Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, the whole nine yards, and not just at the convention, but through the fall. Racial stuff? Sure, but not just -- also allegations of anti-Americanism, Tony Rezko, you name it. It's pathetic, but that's what seems like the right strategy in the wingnut bubble. (And Romney still thinks he's undergoing initiation into the wingnut Crips, so he seems to think he has to do this.)
... So Ryan's out there talking about Obama and his bitter clinger quote. And Romney gets up to the microphone. It's his turn to speak, and he test-drives that line about nobody's ever had to ask to see his birth certificate.
I'm going to tell you what. You know, I'm gonna make a prediction for you. It's going to be fascinating to watch. The Obama-bashing at the Republican convention is going to be delicious. It's going to be five-star-restaurant type stuff. I mean, you're going to love it. You are going to eat it up, all the Obama-bashing.
The only difference between this and a campaign run according to Palin's principles is that Romney and Ryan are going to be sneaky about it -- they're going to slip this stuff in, then say, "Who, us? Why, we just want to have a high-minded discussion of serious issues!"
But this is what's coming: a campaign that repeatedly goes there.
5 comments:
Here's how Obama should counter this:
"Well, I see that Mitt Romney made a little joke about his birth certificate.
Mine, by the way is, and has been, on my website for years.
Well, I want to assure you folks of this - "No one's ever asked to see my tax returns!
They'be been a matter of public record for years.
And, Michelle and I don't have any money in Swiss, Bahamian, or Cayman Islands accounts.
Mr. Romney, you can check out my birth certificate at my website anytime. As can every American.
When will you release your tax returns, Mr. Romney?
Don't you think Americans should be able to see both our birth certificates, and the last 10
years of both of our tax returns?"
Mitt Romney is lower than sea-slug shit.
No, you know what, let me amend that comment.
Obama should NOT say this.
Let him stay above the fray.
Let him stay classy.
Let Mitt take the low road, while the President takes the high road.
Let one of the surrogates say this.
Let Debbie Wasserman Schultz go on Anderson Cooper's show again, and see if she can say THIS without fecking it up.
She'll probably be fine with this since it can be a talking point. But Jayzoos, is she terrible in a lot of interviews, of am I just catching her on bad days?
So, do androids have birth certificates? or just, you know, serial numbers?
BH,
How about asking, "Do Androids Dream of Electronic Gold Standards?"
The Romney campaign doesn't seem to understand politics very well. Character assassination is a dangerous route to take in a presidential election. They're probably thinking of the demonization of Dukakis, but they've forgotten 1980. Reagan genuinely was a flake and had a scary, extremist background from the '60s. And yet Carter's attempt to make the election about Reagan's character backfired when people saw him in the debates and decided he wasn't that extreme and was also personable. The Carter strategy depended on voters disliking and disdaining Reagan.
How would such a campaign work out for Romney? For starters, Obama is personable, publicly mild mannered, and well liked. And since he's been president voters already know what they think about him! A complete dead end.
Second, it's Romney who's unknown and disliked, and apparently unlikeable. Ryan's a rather awkward cipher as well. It's hard to see how it wouldn't backfire massively to turn this into a battle in which a pair of unknown political midgets bite at the president's ankles.
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