Posted on 04/30/2011 1:57:18 PM PDT by ejdrapes
Mitt Romney Makes 'Hang' Obama Gaffe During Unofficial 2012 Debut The spotlight was on Mitt Romney yesterday at the Republican gathering in Manchester, New Hampshire, purportedly a summit on jobs and the economy, but also a showcase of five Republican presidential hopefuls, including Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Romney. Many interpreted the summit as Romney's unofficial debut as a 2012 candidate. And, it seems that Romney got off to a difficult start. The Atlantic writes: But the low point no doubt was when Romney made a Jimmy Carter-Barack Obama comparison about how just as Reagan had hung the "misery index" around Carter's neck, now Republicans would have to "hang" Obama with current economic hardship. But then he realized mid-sentence the trouble with making a metaphor about hanging a black man. The Boston Globe reports:
Video of the comment is below. Romney spokesman Andrea Saul emailed CNN regarding questions over his comment, "It is not what the governor meant and that was very clear in what he actually said. It's a ridiculous exaggeration of his actual comments." Nonetheless, even putting that unfortunate incident aside, Romney still had his critics. Steve Beren for Washington Monthly writes that, "the whole argument was a mess."
Beren's verdict: "The guy isn't ready for primetime." There were some positive reviews for Romney's performance on more substantive issues, however. The Boston Globe writes:
By Ujala Sehgal
April 30, 2011 | 2:34 p.m.
Updated: April 30, 2011 | 4:30 p.m. Romney was off in just about every facet of his performance... [He] remains an exceptionally unnatural public speaker... His tone and affect are like that of an adult doing a dramatic reading of a pirate story to a wide-eyed three year old.
Romney almost immediately caught himself, with the English major declaring "metaphorically" speaking, but the mix of nervous laughter with applause indicated at least some in the audience realized its potency.
Romney mentions Reagan, hoping Republicans will forget he didn't like Reagan in the '80s and wasn't even a Republican at the time. Romney mentions "higher taxation," which is absurd given how much Obama has cut taxes for everyone
[Romney's] answer to the inevitable question about his Massachusetts health plan was about the best that could be expected: A smiling reference to all the controversy about it, a sincere defense of its goals, an avowal to never attempt such a thing on the federal level, ending with a pledge to grant every state a waiver from Obamacare on his first day in office. And when asked about high gasoline costs he offered a mini-lesson on how to tame the futures markets and bring down prices, suggesting there's some substance beneath his somewhat oily presentation.
Team Obama will have him cowering just like they did McCain, if/when Romney becomes the nominee.
They have the race card and they know how to use it ... again and again and again.
Choke on Mittcare, romney, you socialist scumbag...
You’re right, of course. A few people are paying attention.
Great description of his awkward and annoying speaking style!
I will never vote for Mitt but this story is pure bull.
To "hang it around his neck" has nothing to do with executing him by hanging. It is an allusion to the albatross in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. This is a once-common English metaphor and thirty years ago most Americans and Brits would have instantly recognized its origin (as I did).
Here, however, the sailors change their minds again and blame the Mariner for the torment of their thirst. In anger, the crew forces the Mariner to wear the dead albatross about his neck, perhaps to illustrate the burden he must suffer from killing it, or perhaps as a sign of regret ("Ah! Well a-day! What evil looks / Had I from old and young! / Instead of the cross, the albatross / About my neck was hung").
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rime_of_the_Ancient_Mariner
It is not what Romney actually said nor it’s intended context that worries me. It is the deafening silence. I recall days of front pages misinterpreting the proper use of the word niggardly. We have seen Macacca turn George Allen, front runner, into a who said that. We have seen both Biden and Clinton make severe racial slurs against the BHO then be gently chastised and forgiven. I note that Romney seems to fall into the same camp with Biden and Clinton.
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