tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post4718337964882710007..comments2024-03-28T17:33:34.339-04:00Comments on the daily howler: BEATING HIS WIFE: The doctor was IN!<b>bob somerby</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02963464534685954436noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-79417909358483904502012-08-09T15:40:24.536-04:002012-08-09T15:40:24.536-04:00"downplaying her Olympic accomplishment as &q..."downplaying her Olympic accomplishment as "her thing, not mine""<br /><br />When the interviewer was very clearly trying to make Ann Romney's event, "her Olympic accomplishment," all about Mitt!<br /><br />The nerve of him, to give her all the credit for it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-26523283768998110042012-08-09T10:33:42.972-04:002012-08-09T10:33:42.972-04:00Anon at 9:34, what accomplishment? Ann didn't ...Anon at 9:34, what accomplishment? Ann didn't train the horse and she's not riding it. She just bought it and is paying someone else a fortune to train and show it. <br /><br />That said, Romney really did come off like a complete weasel in that exchange, which Bob refuses to acknowledge, because it doesn't fit his precious narrative.Slows down to look at train wrecksnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-17822962512073543432012-08-09T09:34:12.675-04:002012-08-09T09:34:12.675-04:00These Olympic quotes to me are more evidence of Ro...These Olympic quotes to me are more evidence of Romney running away from himself and willing to say and do anything to be president -- a pattern that has been consistent (and about the only thing that's been consistent in the Romney campaign) throughout this entire campaign cycle.<br /><br />He had to out-Tea Party the wackiest major party field in memory to win the nomination. Thus what Scarborough called the 3 M's -- Mormonism, Money and Massachusetts -- that truly define who Romney is.<br /><br />Scarborough said that Romney is a devoted Mormon, but that apparently isn't as important to him as being president. He said Romney has been extremely successful in business, but that isn't as important to him as being president. And Romney had an outstanding record as a moderate Republican governor of a highly Democratic state, but that isn't as important to him as being president.<br /><br />Nope, all three M's have been thrown down the memory hole. More important to position himself to the right of Santorum, Gingrich, Perry, et al, to win the nomination, then thinking he can "Etch-A-Sketch" everything he said in the primary season during the general election campaign and grab the center again without alienating the right-wing coalition of fiscal and social conservatives that put G.W. in office twice.<br /><br />Romney and his handlers know full well how effective it was to portray John Kerry as an elitist because he was photographed wind-surfing. They weren't going to allow him anywhere near a camera and the sport of dressage.<br /><br />Fine. Well and good. But he didn't stop there. Further running away from the second M, he distanced himself even more from dressage and his wife's success in the sport by downplaying her Olympic accomplishment -- this from a guy who ran the 2002 Winter Olympics -- as "her thing, not mine."<br /><br />The Romneys are apparently devoted to each other, as devoted a couple as Michelle and Barack Obama. I have no reason to doubt that, as much as Somerby wants to spin this into "beating his wife."<br /><br />Which makes it all the worse in my mind that Romney did some sort of political calculus that prevented him in expressing full pride in his wife for her accomplishment.<br /><br />And in my mind, a guy who would rather be president than praise his wife for reaching the Olympics is a pretty sad individual.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-36403889883870007772012-08-08T18:02:12.344-04:002012-08-08T18:02:12.344-04:00Yes, Romney is indeed awful.
But these Olympics...Yes, Romney is indeed awful. <br /><br />But these Olympics quotes don't show it, IMO.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-13557624862287606162012-08-08T18:00:12.264-04:002012-08-08T18:00:12.264-04:00"pretending to be offended on Ann Romney'..."pretending to be offended on Ann Romney's behalf"<br /><br />That is indeed what's been going on all over the liberalsphere (with some notable exceptions). <br /><br />How can he diss his wife so awfully!!<br /><br />What a load of crap.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-2886898248265810902012-08-08T17:45:26.000-04:002012-08-08T17:45:26.000-04:00No, some people, like Anonymous 11:03 above, are f...No, some people, like Anonymous 11:03 above, are feigning indignation at how "callous" Romney's remarks were, because their opponents always have to be Bad People in every way, and pretending to be offended on Ann Romney's behalf gives them a moral superiority hardon. But I agree that the "tell" in this is Romney's running from the reality that he's rich and his family has rich hobbies, and his inevitable clumsiness in that evasion.ABLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-91475143630291705442012-08-08T17:22:08.437-04:002012-08-08T17:22:08.437-04:00First of all, nobody is saying it is "damning...First of all, nobody is saying it is "damning about his relationship with his wife." What Scarborough was saying is that Romney is so afraid of the three M's -- Mormonism, Money and Massachusetts -- that he is running away from all three to the point where he wouldn't even join his wife for one of the proudest moments of her life.<br /><br />To me, this is once again evidence that Romney has no prinicple he won't sacrifice for political expediency.<br /><br />In other words, he's a wimp.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-10737740225852624682012-08-08T14:38:15.399-04:002012-08-08T14:38:15.399-04:00I cannot see how this set of statements by Romney ...I cannot see how this set of statements by Romney amounts to something damning about his relationship to his wife/women in general -- which is exactly how it's being spun.<br /><br />What Joe Scarborough might do if his wife "qualified for the Olympics" really doesn't tell me why Romney's answers are supposed to be so outrage-inducing.<br /><br />Tempest in a teapot? <br /><br />More like in a thimble.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-18957652891395847502012-08-08T14:22:45.203-04:002012-08-08T14:22:45.203-04:00I cannot see how Porter's description of Romne...I cannot see how Porter's description of Romney's actual statement can be challenged. Scarborough is hardly a liberal and he certainly took it that way. Somerby sometimes really scrapes the bottom of the barrel, regretfully even with false characterizations, to feed this "all other liberals are stupid" script. This is one of those times.urban legendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-65601879029390131562012-08-08T11:03:43.139-04:002012-08-08T11:03:43.139-04:00Bob, why didn't you bother to cut and paste fr...Bob, why didn't you bother to cut and paste from the other half of Romney's two part answer before you accused Porter of misquoting him?<br /><br />According to the NBC News transcript to which you link, it goes like this: "I have to tell you. This is Ann's sport. I'm not even sure which day the sport goes on. She will get the chance to see it, I will not-- be-- watching-- the event. I hope-- her horse does well. But just the honor of being here and representing our country and-- seeing the other Olympians is-- is something which I'm sure the people-- that are associated with this are looking forward to."<br /><br />Joe Scarborough had it right this morning. He said if his wife qualified for the Olympics in her sport, he'd be right by her side, and if anybody dared to say their sport was hoity-toity, he'd tell them what to kiss and where to go.<br /><br />Romney could have easily told Williams: "I am so proud of Ann, and I deeply regret that the demands of the campaign won't allow me to share this proud moment with her. While I won't be there, my heart certainly will be with her, cheering her on."<br /><br />Instead, he blows the whole thing off as no big deal, just his wife's thing. Not his.<br /><br />And when anyone points out how callous that is, here comes Somerby, once again disengenously riding to the rescue out of one side of his mouth of the person who he says out of the other side is the "worst candidate" in history.<br /><br />And how does he do this? By the complete dishonesty of accusing critics of saying that Romney is "beating his wife."<br /><br />Just as an aside, since Bob introduced the phrase "beating his wife" into this discussion, perhaps he should spend some time in a shelter for battered women, lest he be tempted to toss this phrase around again in a lame attempt to score debate points against subjects he hates because they are younger, brighter and/or much more successful than he is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-72540606255996804972012-08-08T10:23:40.940-04:002012-08-08T10:23:40.940-04:00Answers to two separate questions pushed together ...Answers to two separate questions pushed together somehow, to look like one answer.<br /><br />It is hard (impossible) to see how the first question "what's it like to be involved in the Olympics?" and answer "it's really Ann, but it's fun to be involved in any way" are demeaning to Ann Romney.<br /><br />BUT!<br /><br />The second question was "how does the event work?" Romney basically avoids answering the question. SHAMEFUL!<br /><br />He doesn't know or pretends not to know how dressage events work? <br /><br />Even though his wife owns a horse?<br /><br />I for one am OUTRAGED!The Anonymous Idiotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-83900234070698846462012-08-08T10:23:11.478-04:002012-08-08T10:23:11.478-04:00Romney is staying in character.
Why would a busy, ...Romney is staying in character.<br />Why would a busy, dynamic, world changer, who would strap his dog to the roof of his car and drive to Canada, waste time watching horses get subtle,invisible signals from their riders?<br /><br />Come to think of it, maybe Ann should have Mitt trained to pick up subtle, invisible signals. After all, aren't his campaign staff called "handlers"?gravymeisterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16075831177588700301noreply@blogger.com