“You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had, was the day you voted for him.” – Mitt Romney
THE QUOTE above resonates with the situation the voter is in this year. It also goes to the one question Mitt Romney had to answer Thursday night.
If you’re someone who likes Pres. Obama, but is ready to vote for someone else because you’re worried about where the economy is going, is Romney a man you’d be willing to bet on to fix what’s wrong?
Before tonight Mitt Romney has been known as a cardboard cut out of a man who is untouchable, unknowable, unlikable. Last night he went a long way to revealing the depth of his heart. The video above gives you an example.
The most touching moment for me was when he talked about his mother getting a rose every day from his father, but one day it wasn’t there and she went looking for him. It’s the day she learned he’d died. As Mitt Romney told the story his eyes welled up, his voice caught, obviously remembering the heartbreak of his mother and the death of his father, his hero.
“… It wasn’t even the best speech of this convention. But it’s the best speech @MittRomney’s ever given in his life.” – Steve Schmidt, Senior Campaign Strategist and Advisor for John McCain in 2008
Romney talked about his faith as well, but also about Bain Capital. He made a joke about considering going to his church to ask them to invest in his company, then said, “I figured it was bad enough I might lose my investor’s money, but I didn’t want to go to hell, too.”
Nobody was expecting a soaring speech with driving rhetoric. Romney’s not that guy and it’s not the job he’s applying for.
On foreign policy the speech was a throwback. But since George W. Bush’s candidacy, I doubt anyone is expecting much of anything from Mitt Romney on foreign policy, except what is being passed down through John Bolton and Dan Senor. If the election is on national security Mitt Romney will lose, so it really doesn’t matter as much as what Romney revealed about himself.
What Mitt Romney succeeded in doing is filling out who he is and what he feels. The candidate himself putting up a warmer and a more accessible alternative against the man the Obama campaign has depicted by defining Romney first. A person who isn’t out to be your best friend, but someone who wants to solve the problems you’re facing, because he understands what a job means to people and their families.
Mitt Romney will have to drive this message every day, with Paul Ryan’s help, to prove they can be the turnaround team.
Mitt Romney is not a great speaker and it’s not important that he is, because he communicated as openly as he could. Romney came off as a serious, determined man, but also someone with heart. That’s all he had to do.
“You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had, was the day you voted for him.”
It’s a great line. There are a lot of us who feel that way.
That’s exactly correct.
Wow! A great line! Really? Seems to me there have been more than a few days since President Obama was elected! How about the day he announced OBL was dead by Seal Team 6 and thousands of people gathered outside the WH chanting Obama! Obama! How about the day he signed the repeal DADT into law and gays activits filled the White House in celebration. How about the day he announced his order to suspend the deportations of dreamers for two years allowing them to come out of the shadows. I guess you missed the picture of crying young people gathered around TV sets all over the country watching the President on TV make the official onnouncement. I guess you also missed the lines of those same young people with smiles on their faces applying for the President repreve. Then of course there was the day the day President Obama signed ACA into law in a packed room in the White House with millions watching on live TV at home! Yeah, the good days have been few and far between with this President.
Please spare the enevitable comments about the typos, I wrote the whole thing on my smartphone on the subway!
I appreciate the reasonable tone you have set here.
Thanks for this, Pilgrim.
Appreciate your honesty and integrity and objectivity as always, Big T. Thanks for this post. Mitt did do a good job last night.
Yep, he did what he had to do.
Now they’ll peel off that great video of him that should have been seen in the 10 o’clock hour instead of Eastwood, making it into commercials.
They’ve got the money to do a lot of commercials, so they’ve set Romney up to continue to make the case.
I still don't think it is selling. IMO, people are disappointed in Obama, I am too, but Romney creeps them out. They still see the guy giving the forced haircut/assault to that blond kid in HS, lurking inside Mittens.
If you were doing a large business deal, who would you feel more comfortable with on the other side of the table? Mitt Romney or Warren Buffet?
Your right Mittens did do a good job, he lies with the best of them. He has yet to tell us one thing he will do to make this country better, except tax cuts for millionaires and big corporations and repealing Obamas healthcare. The man is a empty suit with a silver spoon stuck in his ass.
Apparently, you didn’t listen to all of his speech.
You are right I didn’t listen to any of it, I’d rather watch paint dry. The man is a proven liar so all his phony heart felt feelings mean nothing when coming from a proven liar.
Didn’t you hear when he mentioned that he was going to put the women back in the kitchen and all the darkies back in chains?
@PWT, I have to let you know that while I understand your attempt at making a point I have a difficult time believing that you don’t realize how offensive the term ‘darkie’ is.
Surely there is a better word choice.
I realize how offensive the term is. I was just stepping into the role of the cartoonish repugnantklan/teabagger character which many posters here seem to believe actually exists.
Sorry to be so offensive.
Ahhhh, understood, and thanks for the explaination PWT!
I AM OFFENDED! You didn't include we "caramels". LOL
Seems more likely PWT was just projecting there. Pretty typical repugnantklan/teabagger behavior.
@Sec, and to think I thought PWT was making fun of you…
It’s nice to see all the progressives lining up to praise the enemy, as usual. I’m sure the you will all be rewarded for your kindness. Maybe they will put you in the cooler section of the oven.
Why not? Progressives praise Obama too, and he sure is no progressive, nor even a liberal.
As a teacher who just started his 18th year at an Orthodox Jewish High School, I find your offhanded, casual comparison of Republicans to Nazis deeply offensive. This is low, even for you.
TM NOTE: This comment has deleted because it was off topic and offensive. There were multiple complaints to me on the nature of fangio’s comment, which I appreciate.
I agree Mitt did as good of a job as he could and he did show heart, over something very personal to him. Whether or not such heart exists when it comes to the plight of another, remains to be seen.
But… I cannot ignore the platform of the party on which he stands, the lies of Paul Ryan, and the general contempt the Republican Party has for women and the war it will wage on the poor if it gets into office.
1. “Low Information Voters” give us candidates like Romney AND Obama.
2. I don’t frankly care which party gives lip service to having Empathy for the less fortunate, and which does not. I care about what parties do, not if their candidates get tears in their eyes while eating the last oyster. Neither the Democrats or the Republicans give a damn about the middle class or the poor in the long run. The faster we realize that, the faster we can work to change it.
BTW, I wish there were a way of reading deleted comments- I’d love to know what level of purile nastiness fangio sank to in responding to me.
Well that’s done. No major mistakes or major wow moment. That leaves things as always with these elections; it will be about the incumbent.
Yes, I agree Mitt did what he needed to do and the line you quote is a killer line for sure. It did not in any way erase for me one misgiving I have….. but to the low information voter who does not know how Bain was built or that Mitt has so little confidence in our country that he hides his money offshore it was probably impressive.
I never fails to amaze me that people who have every advantage in life can have real empathy for people they are close to but zero for the masses. They can show great acts of charity but have none in their heart for strangers who do not conform to their standards. They can use all of the government programs and largesse to their own advantage and look you straight in the eye and tell you they did it all themselves…. and mean it! There is a cognitive disonence there that seems pathological.
Impressive guy with an impressive resume. A good and decent man, too.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! very impressive, he's a hellofa job creater….in China.
I came away last night thinking Mitt is a good man.
A humble man.
I was in tears during the personal experiences that had to be difficult to relive and share in front of the world. Politics aside it reminded me that no matter our differences, we are all the same.
Lays down a rose for my Mother.
and Mitt’s Mother.
Also, Romney will attempt to show some heart by visiting New Orleans before the President. Not that it necessarilly means that he truly has any heart or empathy, just that he will get the first photo-op.
*grabs PWT by the arm*
"come on baby, let's go find a more appropriate thread for you to spew your nasty."
First and foremost, I knew that Mitt Romney was a decent guy already. A good husband and father, yep knew that too. Obvious that Ann Romley loves the dude. And yes and of course HE'S HUMAN! Shaking my head. Oops. Let me talk about President Obama as well. Barack Obama is a decent guy. A good husband and father. Obvious that Michelle Obama loves the dude (and they have the fist bump.. WOO HO). And yes and of course HE'S HUMAN!
So we have two decent dudes and good family men. Now…. Mitt Romney's speech did absolutely nothing for me has far as his overall plan. I heard the same concepts and old visions in Romney's serious and determined style. And I will hear the same concepts and old visions in Obama's soaring and inspirational style.
But back to Romney, he's a former CEO. I want some CEO-ness. I want him to channel some Steve Jobs and get innovative in solving things. From his resume, we don't need a stodgy by-the-book CEO. We need a trailblazer CEO type (if a CEO is what we need). And frankly, Mitt Romney just doesn't roll like that. He did a good job last night of showing he's a human being (yawn I know that) that's P-A-I-D (yawn), worked hard (me too and many many others), and was successful (yo go boy!). ZZZZ……
At least Nixon and W Bush stood for something.
Just remember, you'll never go broke overestimating the stupidity of the American public. The convention showed its the Religious whites, the rich whites, the male whites,and the stupid whites, versus the rest of us.
Mitt Romney had a decent speech – nothing great, I thought, but it did the job. It seemed a bit contrived to me. I noticed his eyes seemed kind of expressionless - a blank look to them. He had some good lines and personal stories but overall, I don't think he generated excitement or much connection to voters outside of his base. He talked too much about private enterprise and not enough about other issues affecting the country, and I didn't hear him present solutions that people could grab onto. So that's my take. Also, Marco Rubio talked too much about himself and Clint Eastwood was really strange – kind of embarrassing. I think the speakers who told of Mitt Romney helping them and others would have been powerful, but they weren't shown in prime time. I would have liked to see the video they say was pretty good.
Perhaps Romney is 'likable enough?'
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Thanks, I could use a good laugh after some of the bilge being pumped by some here!!
This was a fair assessment of Mitt’s speech which was unexpected by me.
My biggest concern is that Mitt doesn’t spend too much money redecorating the White House because that would come across as being out of step with the economic situations that so many find themselves in today. Are you better off than four years ago? Hell no! And this is why Obama will lose.
"First and foremost, I knew that Mitt Romney was a decent guy already."
That was my comment and when I say "decent guy", he's not some evil dictator from the Planet Kill-All. You can be a decent person with a crappy worldview. LOL
And for the record, I'm a Dr. Jill Stein supporter as well.
I have a different definition of what a decent guy is than you, T-Steel. It's more than having a crappy worldview here and with that video I posted. He met with those women in person after stalling and stalling and he only met with them after being pressured by the press. And, then he dismissed him as he would have flicked off a fly on his shoulder and didn't give a good goddamn about them or their daughter and their situation. "I don't care what you tell you're daughter"!
That's much more than having a crappy world view and a decent guy or gal is one is my estimation who has empathy for more than those in his own small circle of mormon friends, acquaintances and family members. A decent guy or a great leader would never have treated that lesbian couple and their daughter as he did.
After hearing that every candidate or sitting President is the second coming of Nazism, Facism, Che Guevara-ism, Satanism (or Satan himself), Murderism, Manchurian Candidate-ism, Worst Ever-ism, Super Worst Ever-ism, Stalism, Black Nationalism, Mind Possession-ism, Ism-Ism…. I call decent guy when he's not that because demonization is too rampant these days.
Yes, newdealdem1, Mitt Romney sucked garbage on what he said to that lesbian couple. And it's one of many reasons I'm not voting for the dude. And what he said to that couple resonates loudly more with some than others. But the 2nd Coming of whatever stuff that goes on makes it look like we are electing mindless, soulless, extremely physical and mental murderers. So yes, Mitt is a decent dude that sucks. In my opinion.. LOL
But the 2nd Coming of whatever stuff that goes on makes it look like we are electing mindless, soulless, extremely physical and mental murderers. So yes, Mitt is a decent dude that sucks. In my opinion.. LOL
You keep using this extreme language to describe some people's opinion's of him. I never used such language and never would.
But, no he's not a decent dude. And, that's where we will have to (here comes that old chestnut
) agree to disagree :)
I never fails to amaze me that people who have every advantage in life can have real empathy for people they are close to but zero for the masses. They can show great acts of charity but have none in their heart for strangers who do not conform to their standards. They can use all of the government programs and largesse to their own advantage and look you straight in the eye and tell you they did it all themselves…. and mean it! There is a cognitive disonence there that seems pathological. – Lake Lady
Exactly. Well said, Lake Lady.
I agree…very well said, Lake Lady…
Ditto, though I suppose when you consider that we’ve evolved from creatures that lived their whole lives in small bands, with nearly everyone else being the enemy, it shouldn’t be too shocking.
I thought it was a good speech for Romney. If the goal was to show more of "who he is" then I think he accomplished that. Although, I thought the foreign policy pieces didn't really seem to fit with the message and tone of the rest of the speech. I was amazed … shocked? … that someone interviewing for the job of Commander-in-Chief did not even acknowledge that we are a country at war with troops deployed in combat right now. Are they on his radar at all?
Packaging seems to work judging from the reactions I am reading here regarding Mr. Romney speech! Mittens is extremism wrapped in a pleasant looking package! 12 years ago George Bush seemed nice enough aswell, you know the kind of guy you wouldn't mind having a drink with!
I still wouldn't mind having a drink with ol' Dubya. Dubya looks like the kind of guy that really starts talkin' once he downs a few. heh heh heh…
@T-Steel, there is a lot of truth in what you said.
Lol
The packaging will only work for those disposed to vote for this vulture capitalist already.
Actually, I think packaging works for anyone who isn’t already predisposed to not vote for him. That’s why it’s worth discussing. Apple computers have great packaging. I wouldn’t buy one, but seeing how elegantly packaged their products are, there are still times when I find myself thinking that I want one of those. Someone less used to his impulses, or less disinclined to own one, would probably have gone out to the Apple store a long time ago and picked one up.
Good packaging or good speech doesn't equal gets votes for me. Unfortunately I don't think that's true for others. I thought he did a really good job compared with other things he has said and done. But this PA independent still can't vote for him.
newdealdem1, I should have clarified what I said. I didn't mean that YOU said anything extreme. In general, you will hear extreme language in to describe Presidents and Presidential Candidates from various outlets. To me, Mitt Romney didn't have to show his "humanity". He needed to show a REAL and not REGURGITATED plan. I don't care about his wife, children, or other family interactions FOR A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. I see that already. Done and done. More power to him. But hey, we need our own little royal families in presidential politics.
And yes, we'll agree to disagree on the decent person thing. But we do agree on Dr. Jill Stein.