Let's get the tough part out of the way first: Mitt Romney is in trouble in South Carolina, and it is largely his own fault. His answers to the tax return questions in the last two debates have been the low points in his campaign. I have a hard time believing that there isn't a chorus of people around him saying "just do it, Mitt", so I'm left with the sad sense that this is his call, and it appears to be a bad one. My guess is that he wanted to wait until he had the nomination sewn up before he released them, but that plan looks to be in jeopardy. Worst of all was even if his reticence to release his returns is entirely Mitt's own doing, he should have had a much better answer crafted than the one he had.
Newt's performance in the first five minutes was great theater, but utterly embarrassing to witness as a sentient being. While the crowd loved the red meat he threw them (what conservative crowd doesn't like a little press bashing), the bottom line is that this situation is not the press's doing, it is Newt's. Newt had affairs with at least two women while he was married to two other women. Newt conducted a six year affair. Newt wants all of us to believe that he has changed, and that we should forgive him his transgressions. Sure, Newt. You're forgiven. But forgiveness is not absolution, and that MANY people currently supporting him have little or no idea about the facts revealed in last night's interview IS GERMANE to his pursuit of the Presidency. I would have sent $500 to ANY of the candidates who raised their arms and said "hey, wait just a moment. I take a back seat to NO ONE when it comes to bashing the liberal press--but this is not a liberal press issue, this is a question of character issue. Rick Perry had it right when he said that if a man cheats on his wife, he'll cheat on his business partner. What kind of Party are we becoming, if our hatred of the Press blinds us to real, moral failure?"
But instead, we saw a well mapped out and utterly successful strategy executed by the Speaker, while Mitt Romney stumbled. I hope Governor Romney figures out a solid strategy for addressing his taxes (I would LOVE to have seen him whip them out of his coat pocket last night and hand them to John King), and puts this issue behind him.
UPDATE: Whoops, forgot the other two...
Rick Santorum had an awesome debate--really took it to all three of the others. He is sincere, he's got good ideas, he's making a good impression. And Mitt Romney's chances of winning SC depend ENTIRELY on Santorum stealing votes from Newt.
Ron Paul was ridiculous, as always. Sorry Dr. Paul, abortion is not just a medical issue....
Friday, January 20, 2012
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8 comments:
You at least have to mention Santorum. I thought he had a great night last night. He pointedly took both Mitt and Newt to task on a number of issues. His logic was clear and consistent. I don't think he's going to break the top 2, but he'll gain some share.
You're absolutely right--updated the piece.
And when Romney does whip out his tax returns, he needs to do it Cleavon Little/Blazing Saddles style:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYlDbv7MqE8
This Newt business is a lot of bullshit. There's nothing new here and there's a lot of moralizing by a hypocritical immoral media. Where was all this sanctimonious fake outrage when Bill Clinton was ruining fine cigars in the Oval office. Furthermore, who among us would like a character assessment done by an ex love interest? Certainly not me!
This is pure partisan character assignation, the same as with Herman Cain. All the accusers had a Chicago connection (one even lived in Axyrod's building) and not a shred of physical evidence was produced; no hotel receipts, no check stubs, no corroboration of any kind whatsoever. Just the word of a bunch of middle aged loser divorced women and a least one grifter.
Nothing new? How about the fact that since his ex-wife's print interviews, HE HAS DECIDED TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT? That is new, isn't it? And there are a lot of people who weren't necessarily tracking the Newtster very closely back when she sang to the print folks. Well, now he's running for President--and everything is fair. Those are the rules of the game--if he doesn't like them, he can not run. Character and trustworthiness are NOT unimportant.
Mitt has really put himself in a box here. If he releases them after a SC loss, he's going to look desperate. With all of the bigger political news yesterday, from Perry's drop to Newt's ex to Santorum's Iowa win, why didn't he drop them in the middle of the day? Maybe he should release them Tuesday night during the SOTU address.
He has six days until the next debate and a chance to make this right.
The newt infidelity issue has already been factored into the decision by many conservatives. Like Chuck Norris we just want a proven conservative warrior who knows how to make stuff happen. Willard's not that guy, Newt is.
Sally, he might be concerned, if there are any irregularities in his returns, that he'll look even more like one of Obama's team of tax cheats. It's been hard enough shaking the Romneycare mantle. Tax cheat would make him indistinguishable from an Obama cabinet secretary.
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