An Aloof Romney in a Plane Encounter

The New York Times' The Caucus ^ | November 6, 2011 | Emmarie Huetteman

[2ndDivisionVet]

Mitt Romney was polite as he took his seat in coach next to Carolyn McClanahan of Jacksonville, Fla., on a recent Delta flight to Boston. He thanked her when she said she appreciated his efforts to reform health care as the governor of Massachusetts and even posed for a photo with her.

As a physician who heads a financial planning company and prides herself on having read every page of President Obama’s health care reform bill, Ms. McClanahan, 47, recognized that it’s not every day you’re seated next to a presidential candidate on a two-hour flight. According to Ms. McClanahan, about an hour into the flight — which Mr. Romney mostly spent reading USA Today and using an iPad while wearing headphones — she told him her idea for improving the American health care system: slashing overhead costs by switching to an electronic billing system.

“He looked at me blankly and said, ‘I understand,’ then put his iPad headphones in and kept reading,” she said.

While Ms. McClanahan said Mr. Romney was probably exhausted, she was disappointed he showed so little interest. Even another passenger’s request for a restaurant recommendation in Boston elicited little from Mr. Romney, she said. “I can’t give you any,” he said, according to Ms. McClanahan. “You’ll have to ask someone else.”(continued)

[Squantos]

Bingo !

[hinckley buzzard]

Maybe his campaign doesn't have all the money he claims it has.

Besides, I have to side with Romney here. He doesn't owe these people anything, I mean really-- kibitzing about the healthcare mess while he's trying to get a few moments privacy? Expecting him to have a restaurant reco just off the top of his head? Shee-it, these weemen are crazy, and apparently think they are something special. Bad idea, girls.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Mitt Romney does not interact with humans.

[mosesdapoet]

OH ! Bro!
Want to know what a “unreported service in kind campaign contribution “ looks like ? This is a classic ! Here Emmmarie Huettman donates a $25.000 campaign contribution through The New York Times to the Romney campaign which will never enter the campaign dnoation ledger as a “service in kind”..

Watch how this makes the rounds in those so called “conservative” pundit websites and talk shows.

[9YearLurker]

I gotta say, I don’t blame him for avoiding the attempted Obamacare talk, but not a single Boston restaurant recommendation (for a MA resident on his fourth political campaign)?

That’s just inexcusable!

[Diogenesis]

Why is this less believable than Romney lies,
Romney dog abuse, Romney fascism, and Romney coverrups?

[NonValueAdded]

Besides, I have to side with Romney here. He doesn't owe these people anything, I mean really-- kibitzing about the healthcare mess while he's trying to get a few moments privacy? Expecting him to have a restaurant reco just off the top of his head? Shee-it, these weemen are crazy, and apparently think they are something special. Bad idea, girls.

Gotta disagree here. As improbable as the encounter seems, a candidate for the Presidency simply cannot appear disengaged when in public. Seeking privacy by flying coach? For a public figure? Ain't gonna happen.

Very unlikely that it was him. If it was, however, it was likely a calculation by the campaign to make him appear like just another business traveler, part of the 99% and not the 1%. But I guess they forgot to clue in the candidate because he took it as just a flight and not a public appearance. If it was him.

[Georgia Girl 2]

I’m still trying to picture Mitt in coach with the little people.

[lquist1]

“Why is this less believable than Romney lies,
Romney dog abuse, Romney fascism, and Romney coverrups?”

Well, I’m not sure what you mean by “dog abuse” “fascism”, even “coverrups”, but I don’t think it’s hard to level the charge that Romney is a liar. When he says he’s been as “consistent as a human being could possibly be”, that is clearly a false statement, not to mention also being an insult to the intelligence of anyone with an IQ higher than Forrest Gump.

No-I have no personal dislike for Romney, he seems like a nice enough guy. But I vehemently oppose him as our nominee because he’s brought flip-flopping to a level never before seen. There’s no way to know for sure where he really stands on anything, but if his record as gov of Mass is any indication, he is politically on par with Scott Brown, who is the second or third most liberal Republican in the Senate-and there’s a lot of competition in the Senate for the top RINO award. Since Brown was Romney’s point man in the Mass state senate, his politics are a good indicator of how Romney might govern.

Being a RINO is bad enough, but what’s worse with Romney is he’s unelectable too. With the transparency of his flip-flopping plain as day for all to see on YouTube, it wont take a billion dollar budget to educate the public to this fact. Conservative turnout will be more depressed than with McCain, and there is a very real possibility of a 3rd party getting around 20% of the vote if Romney gets in-especially if it’s a case where he splits the vote roughly 4 ways and gets no more than 30% to 35% in any contest. This will enrage conservatives, cause we’ll know we’ve been played by the “divide and conquer” strategy of the GOP elites.

Bottom line-there is really nothing redeemable about nominating Romney. Still, all that said, I think this airplane story is utter nonsense.

[Diogenesis]

The MSM is holding the other stories like Romney's dog abuse.

"But the details of the event are more than unseemly - they may, in fact, be illegal. Massachusetts's animal cruelty laws specifically prohibit anyone from carrying an animal "in or upon a vehicle, or otherwise, in an unnecessarily cruel or inhuman manner or in a way and manner which might endanger the animal carried thereon. "An officer for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals responded to a description of the situation saying "it's definitely something I'd want to check out." The officer, Nadia Branca, declined to give a definitive opinion on whether Romney broke the law but did note that it's against state law to have a dog in an open bed of a pick-up truck, and "if the dog was being carried in a way that endangers it, that would be illegal."

---

"Dog on Roof? What Was It Like for Romney's Pooch? - Scientists Say Dog Likely Experienced Wind-Whipped, Uncomfortable Trip - "Before beginning the drive, Mitt Romney put Seamus, the family's hulking Irish setter, in a dog carrier and attached it to the station wagon's roof rack. e'd built a windshield for the carrier, to make the ride more comfortable for the dog,".. Jordan Kaplan, the owner of Petaholics, a dog walking service in New York City,
and a lifelong dog owner and dog lover, said Romney's actions were uncalled for"

---

"Romney's dog - This is a distinction Mitt Romney probably could do without, but he is surely the first presidential candidate to be attacked for putting a dog with diarrhea in a carrier and tying it to the top of a station wagon. Romney's defense: Seamus liked it. [like the citizens under Romney's RomneyCARE, etc.?] "

---

"As the oldest son, Tagg Romney commandeered the way-back of the wagon, keeping his eyes fixed out the rear window, where he glimpsed the first sign of trouble. ''Dad!'' he yelled. ''Gross!'' A brown liquid was dripping down the back window, payback from an Irish setter who'd been riding on the roof in the wind for hours. As the rest of the boys joined in the howls of disgust, Romney coolly pulled off the highway and into a service station. There, he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car, then hopped back onto the highway."

"Story about dog on car roof comes back to bite Romney - 200 comments from readers complaining of animal cruelty"

Romney's bad behavior Exposed by Seamus

"Romney Loses Nomination Over Dog Abuse? - Romney was traveling that summer with his wife, five sons, and Seamus to his parent's cottage on Lake Huron. But hours into the ride, Seamus apparently suffered diarrhea, which ran down the back window of the car. .David Kravitz wrote on BlueMassGroup, a liberal blog. "It also strikes me as classic Romney: it solves a problem efficiently, in a business-like manner, and with no regard whatsoever for the suffering that the solution may cause."

[LibertyRocks]

He’s flying on a commercial flight in COACH??? I really, really don’t like Romney at ALL, but this sounds like a really idiotic idea - even if it was a calculated publicity stunt (he takes flights in coach, he’s just like all the rest of you plebeians)!

There is a reason you don’t usually sit next to a Presidential Candidate on a Commercial Flight — his campaign management team are idiots, IMHO. Either that, or he’s totally out of money (yeah... right...).

[LibertyRocks]

I agree with you... And, I’m guessing this was definitely a publicity stunt... A very STUPID stunt if I’m being honest (not like I want to help him NOT to do these stupid things...).

[chuckee]

I am surprised the NYT stopped at he did not want to communicate with “the people” angle and did not pass go and accuse the robot of sexual harassment

[lquist1]

“The MSM is holding the other stories like Romney’s dog abuse.”

Okay-thanks for enlightening me. This is a new one I had not heard before, but you’re right-this will surely come out in the general election if Romney is the nominee.