Democrats are riding a wave of enthusiasm. Republicans are dreading a Romney wipeout.
So begins a column just posted for tomorrow's print edition of
The New York Times, with the title
A Sugar High? If you are wondering about the source of the title, it comes from the infamous memo by Romney Pollster Neil Newhouse attempting to tell people not to worry about Pbama's post-convention bump in the polls.
There's lots of detail, including quotes from a variety of sources, but it is Blow's to the point words on which I want to focus. He clearly rejects the attempted framing by Newhouse, writing
Needless to say, Democrats are feeling good. Republicans, not so much.
There seems to be a sense, even among many of Romney’s supporters, that he’s making too many unforced errors and offering too few specifics.
When discussing Romney's attempted explanation of why no mention of Afghanistan in his acceptance speech, Blow offers a succinct point:
Huh? A would-be commander in chief doesn’t think an active war is “important”?
Please keep reading.
Let me offer two paragraphs, presented after criticism of Romney's most recent problems of yesterday and today, his statements that have created more than a bit of a firestorm:
The Romney camp should learn a lesson from journalists: wait until you have the facts. It’s better to be second and right than first and wrong. Knee-jerk reactions can make you look like a jerk.
But after offending the British on his Olympics trip and labeling Russia our “No. 1 geopolitical foe,” Mitt was already well on his way to proving that he is a diplomatic disaster. This week the Russian president, Vladimir Putin thanked Romney for the label, saying that it had helped Russia because it had “proven the correctness of our approach to missile defense problems.”
Yeah, thanks Mitt.
That gives you a sense.
There is a lot of ammunition in this column with which to shoot holes into what is left of Romney's campaign, including material on Romney's lack of specifics on economic matters.
Near the end of the column, Blow quotes the paragraph from the Newhouse memo that contains the words "sugar high" and then closes with two brief paragraphs:
This sounds like one of those affirmations that you tape to your bathroom mirror and repeat every morning when your life is in the doldrums and you’re in need of direction.
But self-reassurance can’t compensate for self-destructiveness. Those of us who have been forced to reckon with our own mistakes know that well.
Self-destructiveness - that seems very applicable to Mitt Romney right now.
I strongly suggest passing on Blow's column to everyone you know, and suggesting they help make it go viral. It is that good, that effective.
Which is why I am making this post.