Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Why We Used to Like Mitt Romney

What was it about Mitt Romney we liked?

For me, it was the easy smile, the relaxed gesture, the firm handshake, the stable haircut. He was likable and consistently so, non-threatening and able to make even his liberal-leaning platforms seem plausible. But something changed.

During an interview November 29 with Bret Baer of Fox News, Mitt became agitated while receiving for the millionth time a question regarding "Romneycare." By itself, this means nothing. However, Baer reported to Bill O'Reilly that after the interview Mitt came to Baer and complained that the interview had been too aggressive. I don't know about you but this makes me shudder.

The end game we all fear, as it concerns our nation, is a tyranny. Such a terrifying scenario must include a leader who is delicate and egocentric. With Barack Obama, our country is in peril, gripped by a megalomaniac. The rumblings for this were self-evident during the 2007-2008 campaign season, when Obama and his team used such tactics as denying entry to certain reporters and punishing others for their questions. In other words, the precedent for recognizing a tyrant is already set.

Mitt, unfortunately, chose to either play that game or show his cards. It's not that he aired his frustration. It's not that he didn't have a legitimate complaint, having responded to that same question over and over. But once a candidate identifies himself as more conservative than not, he or she surrenders the right to be offended by anything less than the equivalent of a nuclear bomb. This is why we may forgive Herman Cain and Michelle Bachmann for their respective attacks against a hostile media (in most recent incidents, Cain vs. unproven allegations, Bachmann vs. Jimmy Fallon). They were set ablaze, strafed. Mitt was grazed, and he groused without apology for his outburst.

To me, this separates the conservatives from the liberals. Conservatives already ought to have a hardened shell against any media barrage. And for Pete's sake, it was Fox News! That Mitt felt attacked by those who actually support him does not bode well for his future temperament.

Therefore, to nip this in the bud, I must eliminate Romney from my top tier.

No comments:

Post a Comment