WTF?

"Not only was Eisenhower one of my favorite presidents; when we became grandparents, you get to choose what the kids will call you. Some call you Papa. I chose Ike. I'm Ike, and Ann is Mamie."

Why not choose "Cal,' since Mitt's parents moved to DC after his maternal grandfather got a job working for Coolidge serving on the on the Federal Radio Commission.

What is most cryptic to me is the way he is trying to play up the "I'm a regular joe, humans, just like you. I put my pants on one zerblatz at a time," angle, no matter how badly it fails. I feel kinda bad for him, and just want to say, "Hey, dude? You're running on the Republican ticket. Just flaunt your millions and act like you're better than the plebes. You'll win you base and probably a few feebs along with."

I really should have put my drink down at the Ike & Mamie anecdote, because I almost choked a few paragraphs later when I got to

"telling a woman at a diner that he "stayed at a Courtyard hotel last night," adding, "it's LEED-certified."

Hey, look! It's that one, lone, single Romney joke again. God, Fark is so imaginative.

Weaver95: t3knomanser: What is most cryptic to me is the way he is trying to play up the "I'm a regular joe, humans, just like you. I put my pants on one zerblatz at a time," angle, no matter how badly it fails. I feel kinda bad for him, and just want to say, "Hey, dude? You're running on the Republican ticket. Just flaunt your millions and act like you're better than the plebes. You'll win you base and probably a few feebs along with."

No doubt his handlers told him to act like he's a normal human being. I doubt Romney understands why the charade is necessary, but he's seen Obama acting friendly towards the peons and get good results, so Romney probably figures it's worth a shot. It's not like the little people actually matter...but it's something that's expected in a candidate, so that's what Romney does.

I get the impression that Romney, on his handlers' advice, is acting the way he imagines regular people do, but his trouble is that his only data about regular folks is derived from a vague description.

They tell him things like "find some common ground with the person, so that they can identify with you," and he reaches for things like "some of my best friends are NASCAR owners." To his mind, that's a point of connection with the plebs.

fta: Romney is uninterestingly weird. First reel of "Blue Velvet" weird, without a hint of that subterranean layer of rot and perversion underlying the whole thing.

My favorite line in the piece.

It's true, Mittens is at once the most boring man in the world and too weird for words.

Lenny_da_Hog: Hey, look! It's that one, lone, single Romney joke again. God, Fark is so imaginative.

And it's so unfair, because Romney is charismatic!

And no one ever made jokes about the lack of charisma of guys like Al Gore or John Kerry!

Link

Link


/Voted for both those guys, but I admit that they came across as stiff, and guys like Reagan came across as warmer and friendlier.

Weaver95: Juvenihilist: I get the impression that Romney, on his handlers' advice, is acting the way he imagines regular people do, but his trouble is that his only data about regular folks is derived from a vague description.

yeah, he doesn't seem to actually understand how 'normal' people interact with one another on a daily basis.

They tell him things like "find some common ground with the person, so that they can identify with you," and he reaches for things like "some of my best friends are NASCAR owners." To his mind, that's a point of connection with the plebs.

Romney would be better off just sticking with the 'out of touch rich guy' thing. it's downright creepy when he tries to pretend he's just a regular guy.

And abandon the "I want a guy I could have a beer with" schtick? Rove's efforts in 2000 and 2004 are the real source of Romney's image problems - they were too effective. The GOP spent the last decade painting anyone who doesn't live on a farm or in a trailer as an elitist, without considering the repercussions for the future. We've seen personally-likeable-regular-joe-i-can-identify-with versus emotionless-out-of-touch-rich-guy more than once recently, and the robot doesn't win. Even with Fox spinning itself sideways to unweave Rove's spell, people - the regular, workaday conservative-leaning blue collar folks - are going to remember the smears and slogans that were drilled into them for the last decade.

As ridiculous as "Mitt Romney, he's just like you!" is, it fits the ongoing Republican narrative; or it would, if Romney could just pull it off. They know they have no chance of walking back that narrative in the next six months, so this is all they've got. And that just makes me feel like dancing. :)

Somacandra: Lenny_da_Hog: Hey, look! It's that one, lone, single Romney joke again. God, Fark is so imaginative.

[i.imgur.com image 320x215]

I take it you preferred the 2008 Romney joke?

I'll take the upgrade myself.

The look in his eyes in that pic, as he is slipping on the gloves, is really, really creepy.

Weaver95: I can't shake the feeling that the GOP are going to just completely lose their shiat when Romney loses to Obama. granted, they're already nutball...but they're tightly controlling themselves right now because they understand the need to play up the 'normal' thing 'till the eleciton is over. I think once Obama is back in office tho, the Republicans are going to become completely unhinged.

Is it bad that I'm somewhat looking forward to said unhinging? I mean, it will be entertaining when the sad threadbare veneer of normally finally falls away to expose the epic racist, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynistic nutball core in all it's WTF filled glory?

Weaver95: Juvenihilist: As ridiculous as "Mitt Romney, he's just like you!" is, it fits the ongoing Republican narrative; or it would, if Romney could just pull it off. They know they have no chance of walking back that narrative in the next six months, so this is all they've got. And that just makes me feel like dancing. :)

I can't shake the feeling that the GOP are going to just completely lose their shiat when Romney loses to Obama. granted, they're already nutball...but they're tightly controlling themselves right now because they understand the need to play up the 'normal' thing 'till the eleciton is over. I think once Obama is back in office tho, the Republicans are going to become completely unhinged.

I think that comes down to the Congressional elections, actually.

If Romney loses, but the House stays in Republican hands and/or the Senate switches, then clearly the candidate was the problem, and not the message. They'll blame Romney for being too moderate, it'll be 2009 all over again, and we can look forward to the trainwreck that will be Santorum '16.

If Romney loses and Democrats take the House, on the other hand, I think it gets a little harder to predict the response. They may just scapegoat Romney for everything (Lost your House race? Not your fault, turnout was poor because Romney sucks. If we'd had a real conservative in the big show, you'd have won.) There's really no telling how the party would react to a Democratic sweep in November, but it doesn't seem very likely at the moment, anyway.

Somacandra: Lenny_da_Hog: Hey, look! It's that one, lone, single Romney joke again. God, Fark is so imaginative.

[i.imgur.com image 320x215]

I take it you preferred the 2008 Romney joke?

I'll take the upgrade myself.

Let's get packin'!

/Geez, a lollipop down the middle

Somacandra: quatchi: My favorite line in the piece...It's true, Mittens is at once the most boring man in the world and too weird for words.

My favorite line as well. It really pains me to say this, but its "Older Generation Mormon" weird. Seriously. Spend some time in Mesa, AZ near the temple and you'll see. Mormons come in all kinds (see Ambassador Jon Huntsman) but he's the classic mid-20th century model. Eisenhower's probably his favorite President because he hired Mormon Apostle (and later LDS First President) Ezra Taft Benson to be Secretary of Agriculture. First major executive appointment for a Mormon that I know of at least.

Romneybot-2012 is an older model Mormon from another era entirely? That would explain some things like how Huntsman and him seem to be different species of Mormons. Wot a difference a decde or two make. Did not know about Ike hiring Benson. See, that kinda thing is why I have you farkied as "One Smart Farker" and why you show up in cyan 2.

Lenny_da_Hog: Hey, look! It's that one, lone, single Romney joke again. God, Fark is so imaginative.

If it were only actually a joke.

HighOnCraic: WTF?

"Not only was Eisenhower one of my favorite presidents; when we became grandparents, you get to choose what the kids will call you. Some call you Papa. I chose Ike. I'm Ike, and Ann is Mamie."

Why not choose "Cal,' since Mitt's parents moved to DC after his maternal grandfather got a job working for Coolidge serving on the on the Federal Radio Commission.

So, the Romney rags-to-riches capitalist story starts with mittens' granddad getting a government job?

Weaver95: I think once Obama is back in office tho, the Republicans are going to become completely unhinged.

you mean like crashing planes into IRS buildings and ted nugent threatening to kill the president?

oh, wait....

Weaver95: He seems incapable of natural conversation and frequently uncomfortable in his own skin. He's simultaneously dorkily earnest and ingratiatingly insincere. He suggests a brilliantly designed politician android with an operating system still clearly in beta. He once tied a dog to the roof of his car and drove for hundreds of miles without stopping and some years later thought that was an endearing story. All video of him attempting to interact with normal humans is cringe-inducing, as a cursory YouTube search quickly demonstrates.

um...are we sure that Romney isn't suffering from some sort of personality disorder? he seems to fit the description of someone who needs a good therapist, not the personality profile of someone who I'd like to see in the white house.

what I like is how they tried to play it off like the dog loved riding on the roof of the car. poor thing was so terrified it had diarrhea and the poo ran down the windows.

apoptotic: I really should have put my drink down at the Ike & Mamie anecdote, because I almost choked a few paragraphs later when I got to

"telling a woman at a diner that he "stayed at a Courtyard hotel last night," adding, "it's LEED-certified."

I think I know his Fark handle now.

Weaver95: He seems incapable of natural conversation and frequently uncomfortable in his own skin. He's simultaneously dorkily earnest and ingratiatingly insincere. He suggests a brilliantly designed politician android with an operating system still clearly in beta. He once tied a dog to the roof of his car and drove for hundreds of miles without stopping and some years later thought that was an endearing story. All video of him attempting to interact with normal humans is cringe-inducing, as a cursory YouTube search quickly demonstrates.

um...are we sure that Romney isn't suffering from some sort of personality disorder? he seems to fit the description of someone who needs a good therapist, not the personality profile of someone who I'd like to see in the white house.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; dude's an Aspie.

ghare: HighOnCraic: WTF?

"Not only was Eisenhower one of my favorite presidents; when we became grandparents, you get to choose what the kids will call you. Some call you Papa. I chose Ike. I'm Ike, and Ann is Mamie."

Why not choose "Cal,' since Mitt's parents moved to DC after his maternal grandfather got a job working for Coolidge serving on the on the Federal Radio Commission.

So, the Romney rags-to-riches capitalist story starts with mittens' granddad getting a government job?

And he's a DC outsider, even though his parents moved to DC in '29 and his dad worked as a Congressional staffer.

Some highlights from his dad's career as governor of Michigan:

Romney worked to overhaul the state's financial and revenue structure, culminating in Michigan's first state income tax, and greatly expanded the size of state government. Romney was a strong supporter of the American Civil Rights Movement. He briefly represented moderate Republicans against conservative Republican Barry Goldwater during the 1964 U.S. presidential election.

(I'm sure the base will love that, and come out in droves to support him. . .)

Oh, and his mom was once part of the Hollywood elite, until his dad talked her out of it:

When LaFount (Romney's mother), an aspiring actress, began earning bit roles in Hollywood movies, Romney arranged to be transferred to Alcoa's Los Angeles office as a salesman. LaFount had the opportunity to sign a $50,000, three-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, but Romney convinced her to return to Washington after he got a position there with Alcoa and with the Aluminum Wares Association as a lobbyist. She later said she had never had a choice of both marriage and an acting career, because the latter would have upstaged him, but expressed no regrets about having chosen the former. He would consider his wooing of her his greatest sales achievement.

So that's where he learned about making sure his wife stayed home . . .

HighOnCraic: And it's so unfair, because Romney is charismatic!

But can't we mix in some good ol' flip-flopping, etch-a-sketching, company-rape-raping, or something? He's got a ton to work with, and everyone seems stuck on the robot joke, which has become more boring than he is.

Lenny_da_Hog: HighOnCraic: And it's so unfair, because Romney is charismatic!

But can't we mix in some good ol' flip-flopping, etch-a-sketching, company-rape-raping, or something? He's got a ton to work with, and everyone seems stuck on the robot joke, which has become more boring than he is.

I agree, but character has a lot to do with it. That certain je ne sais quoi about a person's character is universal to all their policies, speeches, and promises, and can lead to many more people staying home on election day than any specific political stance.

Weaver95: He seems incapable of natural conversation and frequently uncomfortable in his own skin. He's simultaneously dorkily earnest and ingratiatingly insincere. He suggests a brilliantly designed politician android with an operating system still clearly in beta. He once tied a dog to the roof of his car and drove for hundreds of miles without stopping and some years later thought that was an endearing story. All video of him attempting to interact with normal humans is cringe-inducing, as a cursory YouTube search quickly demonstrates.

um...are we sure that Romney isn't suffering from some sort of personality disorder? he seems to fit the description of someone who needs a good therapist, not the personality profile of someone who I'd like to see in the white house.

Someone in a Fark thread once suggested Asperger's, and I can kinda see that. I mean, Mittens is obviously a bright guy---no one can ever seriously say he's dumb----but he is just socially inept to the max. He seems to be the polar opposite of W. in this regard. Dubya was never the sharpest tool in the shed, but seemed like a likeable fellow. Rmoney could undoubtedly run intellectual rings around W., but if you could hang out with the 23-year-old versions of either of these two men, it's pretty easy to tell who would be more fun.

ShawnDoc: HMS_Blinkin: Someone in a Fark thread once suggested Asperger's, and I can kinda see that. I mean, Mittens is obviously a bright guy---no one can ever seriously say he's dumb----but he is just socially inept to the max.

My guess is he does fine when hanging out with other top executives and other rich people. He doesn't have Asperger's or the like, he just has never been exposed to "normal" people his whole life. He was never expected to connect or even talk to the hired help, and when he can't just sit around talking about the stock market or business deal, he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know how to have a conversation with a normal person because he never had to when growing up.

Maybe we should build some sort of a habitat filled with lifelike business executives and imaginary companies in need of a good gutting, toss him in and videotape the whole thing for a few weeks. I bet he's as graceful and deadly in his natural environment as a ninja-fed piranha in the water.

Romneybot feels like a beta version of Obamabot. Since the beta, they added enhancements to physical coordination code and the ability to crack jokes that actually make sense. Not much else has changed.

MrEricSir: Romneybot feels like a beta version of Obamabot. Since the beta, they added enhancements to physical coordination code and the ability to crack jokes that actually make sense. Not much else has changed.

Sure, I could totes see Mitt Romney starting off his career by working to help low-income communities instead of taking a cushy corporate law gig.

Both sides are bad, amirite?

A Dark Evil Omen: I doubt he has anything identified as a pathology. He's just a monstrously self-centered and out-of-touch person. You could argue sociopathy but I don't even see that. He's the dauphin, that's it.

No, he's not a sociopath, as he obviously has a strong set of morals. The problem is (like a lot of hardcore Mormons or members of other fringe religious groups) that he's got one set of morals for others in his group and another for foreigners -anyone outside his group/family/cohort.

That's he's as consistently weird as he is suggests an underlying pathology, not just religious origins to his behavior.

To put it another way: you could train a kid raised to wealth and privilege to behave like a normal person, but you couldn't train the weirdness out of Romney, as it's inante, not just the product of his environment.

Lochsteppe: Both sides are bad, amirite?

I'm comparing their demeanor, not their personal history or politics. You have to admit they both come across as stiff and robotic.

Mithiwithi: Obama? Stiff and robotic? Not only do I not feel a need to admit any such thing, I find it unfathomable that you would even suggest it. Obama can certainly come off as insensitive to those who, as he put it, "cling to guns and religion", but stiff and robotic? On what planet?

As an atheist who lives in San Francisco, it's frankly a waste of time to attack my liberal credentials. All I'm saying is look at the guy. Every sentence he utters is delicately scripted, and almost invariably is delivered in the same tone of voice he always uses. For all I can tell, he could be animatronic.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Despite what certain news commentators seem to think, you don't get to be a powerful figure in our society without a tightly groomed image.

MrEricSir: I'm comparing their demeanor, not their personal history or politics. You have to admit they both come across as stiff and robotic.

Nope.

You should watch a selection of his prime time press conferences, his off-the-cuff pressers in the West Wing press room, his official speeches and his debates in 2008. When he's completely scripted and prepared, he's completely comfortable and can warm to his subject. When he's speaking completely off the cuff (in a debate or press conference) you can frequently see his mind working as he prepares a complete answer in his head before opening his mouth. It's something the best and smartest college professors I've met do, and there's nothing "robotic" about it.

If your idea of a "natural" politician is Reagan, you're setting the bar at an unreasonable level, as that man was a actor who gave little thought to what he was actually saying.

MrEricSir: Lochsteppe: Both sides are bad, amirite?

I'm comparing their demeanor, not their personal history or politics. You have to admit they both come across as stiff and robotic.

[quizzicaldog]

Shirley, you jest.

MrEricSir: Every sentence he utters is delicately scripted, and almost invariably is delivered in the same tone of voice he always uses.

I should also point out that Obama is the king of the implied "Dumbass" -AKA, the Tommy Lee Jones- if he starts a sentence with "Let me be clear..." you can be pretty sure it's ending with an implied "Dumbass".

Dwight_Yeast: If your idea of a "natural" politician is Reagan, you're setting the bar at an unreasonable level, as that man was a actor who gave little thought to what he was actually saying.

Reagan was the king of the robots. Everything he said was delivered in a scripted precision, which can hardly be surprising considering his previous occupation. He was also suffering from the onset of serious mental disease at the time.

Obama is similar to W. in that he can can turn on the charm when he needs to, i.e. election season. But the rest of the time, it's near-monotone speech with generic narrative patterns and robotic mannerisms. The color and interest level simply disappears when the need to ham it up is gone. Contrast this to someone like Clinton, who couldn't stick to a script, let alone contain his enthusiasm.

Uchiha_Cycliste:

I think, if the Smithsonian had a sense of humor, they would store and display Obama's actual, Long Form BC. Not a scan or copy, but the real one.
I mention it, b/c I expect another double down on that crap after re-election.

Honestly if another round of birther derp is all they manage to muster the second time around I'll be simultaneously relieved and disappointed.