Romney cries imagining his sons might have died in Iraq

Mitt Romney is already a bad caricature of a game-show host.

Now he's a bad actor as well -- shedding tearsas he sees a soldier's casket and thinks it might have been one of his sons.

"The soldiers that I was with stood at attention and saluted," Romney told employees at Insight Technology Inc., a company that makes infrared optical equipment for U.S. troops. "And I put my hand on my heart, and tears begin to well in your eyes, as you can imagine in a circumstance like that. I have five boys of my own. I imagined what it would be like to lose a son in a situation like that."

The problem is -- he'll have to endure that kind of pain because his sons are all doing their part to defend Iowa from the Taliban and al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.

Romney probably does feel badly when he sees a soldier's casket. Who wouldn't?

But the rest of it -- tears, five non-serving sons of a warhawk dad and making sure everyone at his campaign appearance knew how emotional he was -- is a total fraud.

•  Tip Jar

  by quaoar on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 02:51:12 PM PDT

  •  Cheney

    

    by Ranting Roland on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:13:27 PM PDT

•  I have a problem with the title...

  not the content....

  Maybe 'imagining it was his sons' instead...

  by SallyCat on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 02:53:10 PM PDT

  •  I changed it to imagining

    by quaoar on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 02:58:39 PM PDT

    •  Thanks......eom

      by SallyCat on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 02:59:47 PM PDT

•  Dude you're sick

  and maybe you don't realize it.

  If Mitt Romney actually did think one of his sons died, crying about it is a human response.

  Making fun of it is animalistic.

  by Detroit Mark on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 02:54:08 PM PDT

  •  No, the link clearly said 'imagined'

    not much thinking goes on in a Republican brain . . .

    and even if it did, the idea of a rich Republican kid dying in Iraq is so far-fetched as to not remotely resemble reality . . .

    by Roadbed Guy on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 02:56:00 PM PDT

  •  I submit that Mittens is the sick one

    Have a good look at this bit:
    "And I put my hand on my heart, and tears begin to well in your eyes, as you can imagine in a circumstance like that. I have five boys of my own. I imagined what it would be like to lose a son in a situation like that."

    All of it is in first person but the part where tears well in YOUR eyes as YOU imagine.
    If you've watched any of his speeches and gatherings on the Span you must surely have caught the phoniness in his demeanor, his general discomfort at being around "the little people" with whom he is forced to curry favor. He's as phony as they come.
    And he strapped his dog to the top of the family station wagon.

    by Panda on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 02:59:51 PM PDT

    •  He's so fake

      he doesn't have a reflection.
      Any of his sons could enlist any time they want. Mitt is fine with war as long as other people's kids are killed.

      by Virginia mom on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 04:15:18 PM PDT

  •  Using it as a campaign gimmick is what's sick

    and maybe you don't realize it.

    by jayden on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:09:26 PM PDT

  •  you kidding

    there are real kids dying, and he's weeping for his own safe sons. I'd say that's repulsive, i mean, since he supports the war and none of his kids are in it.  I can't make up my mind which one I hope wins, they're all so awful.  Can you see Obama debating Mitt?  Now tell me, Mitt, how is does imaginary sacrifice figure into your thinking about sending more of our troops to fight in foreign wars?    

    by anna shane on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:13:21 PM PDT

  •  That's OK. Romney also cried

    Mitt Romneycried because his Mormon church was racist and segregated yet he just couldn't tear himself away from it.
    He's a good guy really, it's just that nobody can tell by the way he acts.

    by NYFM on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:15:18 PM PDT

  •  That's only true for humans

    inhumane right-wing motherfuckers only cry to make an impression.

    by JamesBrown4ever on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:20:51 PM PDT

    •  "I do tears"

      "I do tears. I've got God's shoulder to cry on and I cry a lot, I do a lot of crying on this job. I'll bet I've shed more tears than you can count as president.I'll shed some tomorrow." -Commander Guy.

      "No one suffers more than their President and I do."Pickles Bush

      The elites are so out of touch with reality. If it wasn't so criminal it would almost be pathetic...

      by Panda on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 04:47:13 PM PDT

•  To Quote Andrew Sullivan

  In this post about who he now supports (Ron Paul) he had this little jab at Mitt which I think is spot on.

  At one end of the character scale, you have the sickening sight of Mitt Romney, a hollow shell of cynicism and salesmanship, recrafted to appeal to a base he studied the way Bain consultants assess a company.

  BTW: Now I have done everything in life, including quoting something from Sullivan.

  by webranding on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 02:56:35 PM PDT

  •  to clarify:

    "including quoting something from Sullivan" ... in agreement.  

    I've even quoted BillO, but only to emphasize his sheer dumbfuckedness.

    by lineatus on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:01:12 PM PDT

•  Romney: My Sons Serve U.S. by Getting Me Elected

  Mitt Romney, August 2007:

  "My sons are all adults and they've made decisions about their careers and they've chosen not to serve in the military and active duty and I respect their decision in that regard. One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I'd be a great president. I respect that and respect all those and the way they serve this great country."

  by Avenging Angel on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 02:57:05 PM PDT

  •  I think I just threw up a little in my mouth...

    gaaaaack.....what a hideous comparison to soldiers that truly serve and sacrifice.

    Can somebody remind Romney there is no comparison? Or is the bubble (wrap) to tight around his pea brain?

    by SallyCat on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 02:59:29 PM PDT

    •  It Is Worse Then That Sally

      He is a very, very smart guy. He knows exactly what he is doing and saying. And it is working with much of the Republican party.

      by webranding on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:01:23 PM PDT

  •  If they really wanted to serve America

    They'd be working hard to make sure Romney weren't elected.

    by AggieDemocrat on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:34:31 PM PDT

  •  We need to appreciate the sacrifice

    Hey, how many biscuits and gravy have those Romney boys had to eat in rural Iowa to show they are just regular folk?  Do you have any idea what such food does to their arteries?

    Let's not forget the innumerable number of pork tenderloins they have had for lunch.

    Remember they could have been making a lot of money like their daddy.  However, they have turned that all down to drive the byways of Iowa and engage in talk about how good the beans and corn and milo are doing.

    We rabid, venomous lambs just don't seem to get it.  

    by MoDem on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 04:06:27 PM PDT

•  Yeah, well, I used yo get teary-eyed

  at MCI commercials.  Remember those?  "Reach out and touch someone!".  It didn't mean I was taking any action to improve the world or become a better person, it just meant my tear glands respond to predictable cues. Talk is cheap, and easy sentiment is cheap too.

  by lgmcp on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 02:57:26 PM PDT

  •  To be nerdy...

    AT&T had the sappy commercials.  MCI used to rip on them.

    by RichM on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:22:28 PM PDT

    •  Aww...the AT&T syndrome....

      I regularly have the desire to 'reach out and touch someone'. Usually some Senator or Congress critter that pissed me off today!

      by SallyCat on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:42:05 PM PDT

•  Oh cry ME an effing river!

  Well, gee, Willard, perhaps if those kids (not your Chickenhawk, Stepford Sons; talking about the ones who got killed) had not been sent over to that counterproductive, bullshit war in the first place you could've been spared your croc tears.

  Idiot.

  BenGoshi
  _____________________________________________________

  by BenGoshi on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:01:05 PM PDT

  •  P.S. - Many of us *have* gotten choked up and

    have shed tears for those Americans killed in Iraq.  I'm one of 'em.  No, when I say "cry me a river", I mean for Willard and his crocodile tears.

    BenGoshi
    _____________________________________________________

    by BenGoshi on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:02:43 PM PDT

    •  Many of us shed real tears for the soldiers and

      their families. We understand that the chicken hawks don't cry over anything except a dip in their portfolio.

      Thanks for saying it so well B.G. We knew what you meant....

      by SallyCat on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:05:44 PM PDT

      •  Yeah We Do, And We Don't Talk About It In Public

        to score political points either.

        by webranding on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:07:00 PM PDT

        •  *That's* what I was trying to say. Thanks. - nt

          by BenGoshi on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:07:43 PM PDT

        •  AMEN /nt

          by AggieDemocrat on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:35:03 PM PDT

      •  Thanks. Wanted to make sure that that was clear.

        Heaven forbid otherwise.  Alas for our country, and the world...

        BenGoshi
        ____________________________________________________

        by BenGoshi on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:07:09 PM PDT

    •  Yes, many tears are shed

      because each person who sacrificed had friends and families who are in unbearable pain and grief.  How insensitive of Mitt to say he thought of his own sons.   He needs to think of this war he supports and how  blood is spilled for this Republican disaster.  Lives are lost and for what, Mitt?

      by Sandy on Signal on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:36:28 PM PDT

•  His Daddy tried the crying trick in 1968 . . .

  . . . and it cost him the 1968 nomination to Richard Nixon early on.

  And ole Mitt reportedly "teared up" yesterday on Meet the Press when asked about Mormon views of black folks up to 1978.

  These Romney's are just a little bit too emotional to suit me.

  by XOVER on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:02:04 PM PDT

  •  the guy is a daytime actor

    he can cry on cue

    by Mr Bula on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:05:00 PM PDT

•  I agree that real empathy is not his thing.

  After all, this is a guy who thought it was okay to strap his family dog to the roof of his car for several hours at a time while driving at highway speeds. He also made his fortune through leveraged buyouts of American companies followed by putting many of their employees in the unemployment line, a real-life Gordon Gekko. In his obvious lack of any real empathy, he reminds me a lot of Shrub.

  by Treg on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:02:37 PM PDT

  •  Romney's idea of an empathy moment.

    Romney's 'empathy' in action:

    by doinaheckuvanutjob on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 05:46:39 PM PDT

•  No, his cranial orb just sprang a leak.

  His team quickly repaired the defect.

  by jeepdad on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:03:32 PM PDT

•  A great campaign commercial for Mitt

  do it as an infomercial:

  voice over:
  are you tired of politicians that don't deliver results?

  Try the new Mitt Romney. Order Now!

  by Mr Bula on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:03:59 PM PDT

•  I cry when I see

  a picture of the White House and imagine that Mitt could be in it.

  by beagledad on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:04:00 PM PDT

•  That's one more casket than Bush has seen

  by Oreo on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:04:31 PM PDT

•  You know, it would be scary

  if there was something real about Mitt.

  I mean, it's scary enough if he were an empty shell. But what if he had some core beliefs underneath all that? What could they be? I shudder to think what he would do as president

  by Mr Bula on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:06:18 PM PDT

•  Wonder if, just like GOoPer Matthew Dowd,

  Romney's opionion about the Iraq war might take a 180 if one of his sons was actually deployed to Iraq.  I've got no doubt that when Romney opens his mouth a hypocritical statement will get spewed.

  by Greasy Grant on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:07:28 PM PDT

  •  I doubt it.

    This guy is all about superceding ambition. Nothing else seems to matter to him. Like others before him, he ran as a Republican in a Blue state in part because there was much less competition for the nomination (other examples, Giuliani in NYC, Ehrlich in MD). If he thought he would become President by being a gay, liberal, abortion provider, he'd be shacking up with Larry Craig in the back of his abortion clinic and reading an issue of Mother Jones magazine. I don't think he really believes in anything other than his lust for power.  

    by Treg on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:16:21 PM PDT

•  A Little Comic Aside With A "Fake" Patriotism Pic

  Saw this on the intertubes the other day and figured I would find a time to use it here. Seems to be on message per fake patriotism.

  

  by webranding on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:13:58 PM PDT

  •  Minor item

    Flag pin on left lapel...so the Red, White, and Blue Hello my name is tag can go on the right lapel at GOP fundraisers. Look at the right lapel for shaking hands and keep the hands above the waist (unless you are Joe Liarman and Whacko McCain or Larry Craig....)

    by SallyCat on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:19:24 PM PDT

•  Not tears -- Eye Strain

  Eye strain from trying to SEE the casket that George Bush returned to U.S. soil under cover of darkness and away from public scrutiny.

  GOP politicians treat our recruited military like political pawns -- even in death.

  cl

  Religion is like sodomy: both can be harmless when practiced between consenting adults but neither should be imposed upon children.

  by Caoimhin Laochdha on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:14:22 PM PDT

•  People like that...

  .... always have to imagine it. Maybe he could get together with George sometime and ask what it was like in Alabama so he'd be more prepared for Commander- in- Thief.  Because he's going to be inheriting a big contingent of private contractors.

  by AmericanRiverCanyon on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:19:16 PM PDT

•  Smell his hand for onions

  by JamesBrown4ever on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:19:18 PM PDT

  •  Or Think About The Pay Cut If He Becomes

    president, pretty sure either would work for him.

    by webranding on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:20:40 PM PDT

•  He also got teary-eyed

  talking about American liberty and freedom during his "Mormons are Christians, too" speech. Problem is, Mr. Sensitivity had said a few days earlier that, if President, he would "double the size of Guantanamo.

  He's nothing but a $250 haircut on a 15 Cent head.

  by not a cent on Mon Dec 17, 2007 at 03:32:59 PM PDT