Nobody liked Mitt Romney in 2008. That included John McCain.
The presumptive Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, is a guy who competed with Sarah Palin for the vice presidential nomination in 2008. And lost.
Lost to Sarah Palin!
I mean how bad do you have to be to lose out to Sarah Palin? (Well, he wasn't the only one, but anyway ...)
In their book "Game Change," John Heilemann and Mark Halperin quote McCain as calling Romney an "asshole" for his legendary flip-flopping.
"That guy will say anything," Mike Huckabee is quoted in the book as saying about him.
In the end, of course, McCain's rush to judgement for Palin backfired heavily. She may have been perky and a decent speaker, but she was inexperienced. More than that, she was shallow and downright dumb.
The book also claims McCain rejected him because of his Mormon religion, a subject that came up constantly through the campaign but is all but quiet now. Are conservatives swallowing their objections to his religion because they'll do anything to get Obama out of the White House.
Four years later hasn't made him any better. Palin's shallowness is becoming intellectual next to Romney's disconnected speeches. His speech Wednesday to the NAACP has to rank as the lowest moment of the campaign. His insensitivity was astounding and his tone condescending.
Some excerpts:
I believe that if you understood who I truly am in my heart, and if it were possible to fully communicate what I believe is in the real, enduring best interest of African American families, you would vote for me for president. I want you to know that if I did not believe that my policies and my leadership would help families of color — and families of any color — more than the policies and leadership of President Obama, I would not be running for president.
and
Our high level of debt slows GDP growth and that means fewer jobs. If our goal is jobs, we must, must stop spending over a trillion dollars more than we earn. To do this, I will eliminate expensive non-essential programs like Obamacare, and I will work to reform and save Medicare and Social Security, in part by means-testing their benefits.
There has been some suggestions by pundits he had no intention of speaking to the NAACP, but really intended to use the speech for his Republican base. The use of the word "Obamacare," which Republicans have continually used as a swipe at the president, is strong evidence is that is indeed what his real intentions were.
If that's the case, he really is clueless.