Romney the Canned-idate

I'm reading a New York Times article today about the goings on up in New Hampshire and I read this about Mitt Romney -

Although he seemed upbeat and chipper, Mr. Romney, toward the end of his speech, appeared to forget momentarily where he was, seeming to confuse his New Hampshire audience with Iowans — or perhaps what season it was.

"I’m told I have to let you go," he said. "You’ve got some harvesting to do."

The land in this state this weekend is frozen and covered with heaps of crusty snow.

The American people are fed up with canned rhetoric, politicians spoon-feeding us sound bites and always "on-message."

If Mitt Romney can't keep track of what state he's in, how's he going to handle his presidential duties - all those names, faces, and places he has to keep track of?

We've seen how well that's worked out for us with George Bush (a man proud of his limited touch on reality) as our president.

The last thing we need is more years of a president who is out of touch.

•  Of course he's canned... he's Oily...

  You can't carry that around in a bag.

  by 8ackgr0und N015e on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:33:43 PM PDT

  •  Are We Talking Like Sardines

    or tuna

    or the oil industry?

    by Patricia Taylor on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:35:43 PM PDT

    •  I think like snake oil

      by 8ackgr0und N015e on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:41:48 PM PDT

  •  Your 9-year-old...

    ...came up with the best nicknames for the GOP candidates in your diary.  "Oily" is perfect for Romney!

    by Neon Vincent on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 02:51:28 PM PDT

•  this doesn't suffice for a diary

  are you trying to get something off the 'recent diaries' list?

  by blueterp on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:35:20 PM PDT

  •  I Don't Know What You're Talking About?

    Are there new criteria for diaries?

    I checked the FAQs.

    Sorry it's not up to snuff for you.

    by Patricia Taylor on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:36:46 PM PDT

  •  Oh....I See

    No.

    Sorry you got bumped off the main page with my posting.

    You have an interesting point of view.

    by Patricia Taylor on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 02:03:21 PM PDT

    •  yup. sorry for accusation. nt.

      by blueterp on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 02:19:50 PM PDT

•  Romney shot himself in the foot

  With his imaginary shotgun varmit hunting.  Once George Allen lost to Jim Webb, he saw an opening on the right wing of the party and flipped everything he was to that side.  Little did he expect a true believer like Huckabee to come along...or that everyone could see easily through his claims of been a "true conservative".  If he would of run as a WSJ, Steve Forbes type Republican he'd be doing better than he is now as a phony social conservative...and wouldn't be getting eviscerated by the rest of his party as being a phony.

  by marcvstraianvs on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:39:02 PM PDT

  •  a hunter pretty much his entire life

    that and Mitt's imaginary marching with Martin Luther King were just priceless. It's astonishing. I've never seen anyone quite this phony in all my life and I remenmber Reagan talking as if he actually did some of the heroic things that the characters he played in the B-grade movies did.

    by Judgment at Nuremberg on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:46:56 PM PDT

•  haha

  Yes, Mitt is so phony, even he is having trouble keeping up as the candidate of now constant "change" as in changing his tune depending on when or where he's spaeking or what strategy or pander he thinks he needs at that very moment.

  Much as I've love to see every Republican candidate implode and drop out, the truth is that we will have to face ONE of them next November. After thinking about it, I'm hoping Huckabee fractures their party and is either the nominee or is second to the phony-baloney Mitt Romney. Mitt's millions and perfect hair DO scare me but I think he'll be the second easiest to beat.

  by Judgment at Nuremberg on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:40:28 PM PDT

  •  Mitt

    is the candidate I would most want to face.  The epitome of an empty suit.  

    by johnny rotten on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:47:30 PM PDT

    •  At the Michigan meetup...

      ...hosted by Liberal Lucy and DHinMI,  I said that Romney was the biggest stuffed shirt I've ever seen in GOP politics.  I'm glad to see someone agree with me.

      by Neon Vincent on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 02:56:34 PM PDT

  •  One thing that bugs me

    about media coverage in this cycle.  If haircuts are such an issue, why hasn't an enterprising reporter from the Politico done any research on how much it costs mitten to do his hair?  It's gotta be more than $400 just in goop, let alone process.

    mike allen, are you listening?  Here's your chance at another massive scoop since you're the expert on hair care at the politico.

    btw, in case robyn givhan is reading, there might be a story in mike huckabee's cleavage.  just sayin'

    by dougymi on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 02:08:27 PM PDT

•  Not that it matters

  but I have noticed that all the other Republican candidates have one thing in common -- they don't like Romney

  by v2aggie2 on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:40:52 PM PDT

  •  Crap

    That means I have something in common with the other Republican candidates.

    Yay America Disclaimer 2.0: I'm sure many of the Republicans are wonderful people in their own way and this should in no way suggest that I think Republicans are sub-human slugs and I'd probably share a common love of, for example, baseball, barbecue, and the Boss, and, I will admit, I got a little misty when Charlie invited all of the candidates, R and D, on the stage at last night's debate, but I would consider myself entirely separate from them politically.  Heh.

    Republicans are going to look back in a few years and wonder how on earth Mitt pulled the wool over on them.

    by socratic on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:48:23 PM PDT

  •  GOP Redefining Itself in Negatives Terms

    You know, I've noticed this, too, over the last two weeks.

    The GOP has lost track of its message, its principles, and so it is beginning to define itself not by what it is, but by what it isn't.  

    Because they can't point to how well GOP values and a GOP administration have served our country over the last eight years, the GOP candidates and voters are being forced to define themselves now by what they dislike or what they are not.

    It's interesting that the political coin has flipped.  It was the Democrats four years ago defining themselves reactively to the GOP - as "not Republican."

    The philosophical implications of defining oneself as "not" something are huge because the definition then ultimately remains in the power of the original model.

    Now that Democratic candidates are beginning to stand "for" something(s), and the GOP have abandoned their principles (bad as they are, still they are principles), the Democrats are taking back control of themselves and their message.

    I think Obama and Huckabee are holding the messages for each of their parties and they are communicating these messages clearly.

    Let's see what the voters think in New Hampshire!

    by Patricia Taylor on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:54:55 PM PDT

    •  Hi Patricia

      I think the theme of your diary may tie in to why Romney is disliked by the others.  Romney has changed all his positions in the last 2 years like he is changing clothes.  I think the other candidates feel that this is convenient and resent his rise as a result, feeling like he is not a true conservative.

      Plus -- he's from Massachussetts!

      by v2aggie2 on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 02:05:50 PM PDT

    •  Yeah that's right

      They want change but they would do everything that Bush did, only more so.

      by Anne Elk on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 02:19:08 PM PDT

•  Romney vs. Obama or Romney vs. Edwards

  sounds good to me. I think he would be the one who is the easiest to beat. Can't you just see him up against either one of our guys. Who would look authentic, and who would look prepackaged?

  by Vera Lofaro on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 01:45:18 PM PDT

  •  Great match-ups

    Especially if Huckabee evangelicals get roughed up badly by the Repug establishment. If 10% of these reliable republican voters stay home, especially in the border states and Florida, it looks even better.

    by Judgment at Nuremberg on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 02:05:04 PM PDT

  •  Romney is definitely the one

    I want to go against -- more than any of the others.

    by v2aggie2 on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 02:06:34 PM PDT

    •  I disagree...

      I think it's dangerous to let Romney anywhere near the White, even as a tourist, let alone the GOP nominee! We saw in 2004 that evil can and does triumph in American political races and I sincerely believe that Romney is an evil, vile, power-hungry sociopath! His beady, black eyes reflect his psychotic nature!

      by sternsieger on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 03:22:21 PM PDT

      •  I think we can beat any one of them,

        however if  die hard Republicans notice Romney's lack of authenticity, don't you think it will be obvious to anyone else. These are the people who overlooked George W's stupidity. I was listening to Faux news today, and even there they were remarking about this movement of hope swinging so far to the Democratic side. We need to stay grounded and not let it go to our heads, we can win this time, so it is hard not to prematurely savor victory.

        by Vera Lofaro on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 03:33:58 PM PDT

        •  Agreed

          If Republicans can see through him, everybody else will, too.

          by v2aggie2 on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 04:11:14 PM PDT

      •  But you can paint Romney

        as the ultimate flip-flopper -- and it completely factual.

        That is easy to exploit.

        by v2aggie2 on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 04:10:14 PM PDT

•  My problem,

  and I do have one, is which GOP nutcase do I most want to see get beaten like a rented mule? It's difficult. Do I want to see ol' PowerPoint Mitt, the real flip-flopper, get shown the door? Or should it be Rudy - "a noun, a verb and 9/11"? Or what about the 100-year-old man - McCain? Or the 2000-year-old man - Fred "I'm not dead" Thompson? It's just too hard! Selecting a loser is hard work!

  by Anne Elk on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 02:17:36 PM PDT

•  Out of touch with reality

  Romney has no contact with reality. His superstitious beliefs prove that.

  Anyone who denies scientific reality should be rejected out of hand. We need a realist in the Oval Office.

  by MakeChessNotWar on Sun Jan 06, 2008 at 03:44:16 PM PDT