Can they really ‘Fake It’ until they ‘Make It’ ?
Posted: October 23, 2012 Filed under: 2012 elections | Tags: final debate, presidential 90 Comments
I woke up this morning in search of my childhood security object-a worn out red plush version of Huckleberry Hound with a turquoise blue felt hat and rubbery white gloves. He was actually the toy I used to drag around during the Cuban Missile Crisis so maybe there is a connection with that and the debate last night.
The media seems to think Romney passed the low bar of seeming plausible for “commander and chief” duties. I was frankly wondering exactly where in the world might be safe if Romney ever got any where near the US’s foreign policy or nuclear arsenal. All I saw last night was the typical face of a student who had never done his home work and was trying to ‘fake it’ to ‘make it’. I’m an old hand at recognizing fakers now, believe me. They all sweat and look sheepish.
I don’t care how many times the man said the word peace. I don’t believe a word he says. He’s considering John Bolton for Secretary of State and doesn’t know that Iran shares no border with Syria and has two coastlines. He also agreed with Obama policy that he’s spent at least one year tearing apart. He showed me last night that he may have read the headlines to a Cliff Notes version of some world affairs high school textbook but not much more than that in the 7 years he’s been running for the CIC job. He didn’t even cram for the midterm. I can’t believe any serious person would consider him ready for any job. I still wouldn’t even hire him as a pet sitter nor would I trust him with my old friend Huckleberry. I was a child of the cold war and a teen of Watergate. I’m a hard sell for any politician that tries to bluff his way through anything.
John Kerry looked quite serious last night when he said something similar. This is the latest from Charles Pierce.
Late Monday night in the spin room here, after Romney’s preposterous performance in a debate that was ostensibly about foreign policy, Kerry’s persona seemed locked halfway between sheer incredulity and utter gobsmackery.
“What you saw tonight was the difference between a commander-in-chief and a campaigner in confusion,” Kerry told a group of us. “Mitt Romney was able to recite Wikipedia facts about a country, but he had no policies. He agreed with the president and agreed with the president — totally different from what he’s been saying for the last seven years. He shows up here tonight, agrees with the president on this and that. You know, the game Battleship came up in there. I think tonight the president sank his battleship.
“On every occasion, Romney would say something and the president would indicate we’re already doing that, and more. Honestly, I was surprised. I was amazed at the degree to which Mitt Romney was the Etch-A-Sketch foreign-policy candidate tonight, who came in here, just changing — shake it up, agree with the president, and hope to get out of there quickly.”
Kerry, of course, is said to be in line to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State in the eventuality of a second Obama term, so a lot of what he was saying was pure good-sailorism on behalf of the ticket and (to be completely honest) in advancement of his own career. But as a serious man who’s taken on serious issues in his time — Google “Kerry + BCCI” some time — his astonishment at Romney’s apparently bottomless well of cynical opportunism seemed utterly genuine.
“He shakes it up and he comes back and he has a new policy,” Kerry said. “That’s not how you should be a commander-in-chief. This was a confused candidate tonight. This was a man who does not have a clear sense of the world. Never have we had a ticket with so little experience, and in both debates, it has shown up. Let me give you an example.
“Even the Chamber of Commerce, and major business groups, have said that, if you name China a currency manipulator, you could bring the economy of the United States down, and maybe bring on a global depression. That is not the way to move forward. China does have to appreciate its currency, and they are. It’s higher than it’s been in 19 years and it’s changing. Again, you just have to be a little more thoughtful and a little more judicious. You can’t come to the presidency doing Rosetta Stone foreign policy.
“It’s always a tight race for president. Look at Gore. Look at my race. It’s always tight. The country is divided.”
The NYT echoed the sentiment on its editorial page.
Mitt Romney has nothing really coherent or substantive to say about domestic policy, but at least he can sound energetic and confident about it. On foreign policy, the subject of Monday night’s final presidential debate, he had little coherent to say and often sounded completely lost. That’s because he has no original ideas of substance on most world issues, including Syria, Iran and Afghanistan.
Mitt Romney has proved himself as a man of no substance. His business career was even made of doing things with no substance. It’s too bad that most people don’t realize what a parasitic model of finance built Bain Capital. The crazy thing is that none of this appears to matter to a huge number of people. The lies and obfuscation are working on them. His campaign is trying to show that it’s moving ahead as we see the press spin a tale of some kind of “wind at his back”. I stayed up way too late last night watching a group of journalists discuss how his lack of substance wasn’t going to really be a game changer at this point on Charlie Rose. I cling to Huckleberry like the child who did duck and cover exercises in the hallways of Herbert Hoover Elementary School in small town Iowa decades ago.
JOHN HEILEMANN, NEW YORK MAGAZINE: Governor Romney basically all night tonight said one thing. The overarching theme of the entire debate from his point of view was, “I would basically have the same policies as Barack Obama, I’d just execute them better.”
And that goes to one very specific thing which the Obama campaign is advertising on right now, which is, which is the end of the wars. You know, we have a country that is a very war-weary country, and that’s not just women, that’s everybody across the board, and one of the dangers Governor Romney has had in the past because he’s been surrounded by some number of neo-conservative foreign policy advisors because he’s made some relatively harsh and relatively bellicose statements. You know, Chuck (Todd) talked about the Mubarak thing. There have been other places where he has seemed to be more interventionist, more neocon-ish.
He steered really far clear of that by essentially saying, “I’m kind of with the President on the substance of the policy, I just would be a better executer of it, I’d be a better manager of it.” He managed to make himself not seem like a warmonger, to put it, like, bluntly. And I think, you know, from the standpoint of seeming like a safe pair of hands, of doing the kind of assurance Mark (Halperin) is talking about, it’s not just looking like a plausible commander-in-chief, but also looking like a commander-in-chief who’s not gonna plunge us into a bunch of foreign adventures and a bunch of new military entanglements that would, in fact, scare off a lot of American voters if it seemed that he was, in fact, a risky choice in that regard.
TINA BROWN, NEWSWEEK: I’m sure John Bolton wanted to throw himself out of the window when he watched this debate.
Indeed, the Romney Campaign’s theme seems to be to “fake it” and then “make it”. That’s a cynical and scary ploy. Lying is a Romney Family and Campaign value. Jonathan Chait explains it all.
Over the last week, Romney’s campaign has orchestrated a series of high-profile gambits in order to feed its momentum narrative. Last week, for instance, Romney’s campaign blared out the news that it was pulling resources out of North Carolina. The battleground was shifting! Romney on the offensive! On closer inspection, it turned out that Romney was shifting exactly one staffer. It is true that Romney leads in North Carolina, and it is probably his most favorable battleground state. But the decision to have a staffer move out of state, with a marching band and sound trucks in tow to spread the news far and wide, signals a deliberate strategy to create a narrative.
Also last week, Paul Ryan held a rally in Pittsburgh. Romney moving in to Pennsylvania! On the offensive! Skeptical reporters noted that Ryan’s rally would bleed into the media coverage in southeast Ohio and that Romney was not devoting any real money to Pennsylvania. Romney’s campaign keeps leaking that it is planning to spend money there. (Today’s leak: “Republicans are genuinely intrigued by the prospect of a strike in Pennsylvania and, POLITICO has learned, are considering going up on TV there outside the expensive Philadelphia market.” Note the noncommittal terms: intrigued andconsidering.) The story also floats Romney’s belief that, since Pennsylvania has no early voting, it can postpone its planned, any-day-now move into Pennsylvania until the end. This allows Romney to keep the Pennsylvania bluff going until, what, a couple of days before the election?
Karl Rove employed exactly this strategy in 2000. As we now know, the race was excruciatingly close, and Al Gore won the national vote by half a percentage point. But at the time, Bush projected a jaunty air of confidence. Rove publicly predicted Bush would win 320 electoral votes. Bush even spent the final days stumping in California, supposedly because he was so sure of victory he wanted an icing-on-the-cake win in a deep blue state. Campaign reporters generally fell for Bush’s spin, portraying him as riding the winds of momentum and likewise presenting Al Gore as desperate.
Painting last night’s debate as anything other than a show of Romney the Unready is an incredible disservice to the country. Read Romney’s word salad on the transcript. Watch Romney’s panicked animal and unready student looks and sweating without the benefit of the sound track. Then, ask yourself, is this the man you really want going head-to-head with the brilliant and scheming Putin, the crazy militaristic North Koreans, or for that matter do you want to send him back to the UK to insult our best allies?
I wasn’t impressed by 2008 primary candidate Obama’s debate performance at all. All the other senators ate him alive. However, by the time he faced John McCain in the fall, he had done some homework. Romney has obviously not even done that.
Can I just have a nap now so I can try to forget that people in this country are actually considering this man to be any kind of viable candidate for ANY office in this country?
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Well, Bolton makes perfect sense. Romney’s constant reference to the US being the leader in the ME sounded to me like an euphemism to disengaging with the UN, especially after his not so subtle comment about Kofi Annan’s attempts in Syria. Lest we forget, Bushie Bolton thinks the UN is useless. So then it is a clear difference on whether the US should be “Decider in Chief” of the world or whether other countries should have a say.
Aside from that difference the other is that we should be supplying unspecified large firepower to unnamed Syrian rebels. Romney can only mean “large” because we are already supplying small weapons along with the humanitarian aid.
What a wingnut! He agrees with strategy, but thinks USAN’s should have proclaimed it.
The idea of John Bolton in public office again gives me the creeps. He’s got a pathological need to be mean, angry, and bothersome. If I were the leader of a country and he were the US SOS, I’d call the president and tell him to send some one serious to talk to me. I’d refuse him a visa even if I were a close US ally.
When I see Bolton on TV, my blood pressure just soars. That man is dangerous. With him as SOS, I envision WWIII ( probably with the USSR ). Duck and cover.
Yeah, if that isn’t a frightening thought, I don’t know what is. I can’t think of anyone who might still come to public service more likely to dump us into a big and ugly war.
I think he has anger issues from something in his childhood and is so sick he wants to play them out on the global stage.
A rageaholic?
yup, he’s addicted to rage
Fortunately, Bolton probably couldn’t get confirmed in the Senate. Romney probably doesn’t know about that.
I suppose its early, but if Kerry were appointed SOS, It would change the Senate and all those committees he is on. You know experience counts, term limits are stupid, and this is an example of where that stupidity might manifest itself.
Yes, they can “fake it until they make it”. Recently, I had some very depressing conversations with women I know ( including one older woman who once held a high-ranking job with Planned Parenthood in another state ). Smart women. Not racists. Not country-club Republicans. Not independently wealthy one-percenters. And they are voting for Romney. I threw every argument against Romney-Ryan I could think of at them, but they would not listen. They think Mitt is a moderate. They are buying his BS. It makes no sense.
I’ve decided it’s because he’s the stereotypical white male leader looking prototype. They refuse to give up the stereotype.
These women are not religious fanatics, btw. Not at all. So something else is at play here. Not sure what. It may be that they find Romney attractive. 😯
Here’s a cute family picture. The Boss and the Obama’s youngest daughter.
He’s singing The River right now in Virginia. That’s one of my favorite bruce songs …
http://gregmitchellwriter.blogspot.com/2012/10/more-boss-sauce-for-obama.html
Brrruuuuuuuuucccceee!!!!
dak, you’ve got Huckleberry Hound, they still love their Ken dolls. Even the hair is the same.
Beata, I too think they can fake it ’til they make it. I’ve only begun to feel down this week because I don’t sense Obama is changing enough undecideds’ minds.
Peregrine, I hate to be a Henny Penny, but I am worried. Obama isn’t playing hardball. There is so much he can attack Romney-Ryan about, but he seems to be coasting. That’s not going to get the job done. He also needs better surrogates.
Michael Tomasky continues the Chait pushback which you have in your great post. An awful lot depends on how Democrats react to the Rmoney media narrative.
Daily Beast: Reality Vs. ‘Reality’
Yeah. I was surprised by the Rose show panel last night. Apparently, the Romney campaign has set a low bar and every one is just accepting it. He looked lost, dazed and confused last night and kept trying to escape back to the safety of his stump speech. I don’t call that ready to be commander in chief at all
“He looked lost, dazed and confused last night and kept trying to escape back to the safety of his stump speech. I don’t call that ready to be commander in chief at all”
Exactly. As I was watching the debate I thought back to John McCain 4 years ago and remembered how knowledgable McCain was on foreign policy and the politics and geography of the world. At least McCain made himself a plausible CIC, Romney doesn’t know as much about the Middle East as I do. In fact I don’t think he knows as much about the M.E. as Sarah Palin and that’s a damned scary proposition. Also, Romney needs to look at a map of the region. Anyone who says that Syria “is Iran’s route to the sea.” needs a serious geography lesson because Iran is on the Persian Gulf and Iraq is between Iran and Syria.
The dunce Romney doesn’t even know the geography of the area we’ve been fighting in for 11 years, What an ignoramus!!!
good analysis … that’s what I’m getting at … I’m not seeing the Romney momentum at all. The polls appear to show mostly random variation at the moment. Nothing is really moving.
At this point, both Sam Wang and Nate Silver have Obama winning with 290 and Nate gives him a 70% chance. That’s not quite an Rmoney landslide but the compliant and stupid beltway media will push it until they get huge pushback of some sort or Obama wins.
Josh Marshall says the same thing as Jonathan Chait.
Pew: Republicans Feel More Positive About Campaign Than They Did A Month Ago http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/pew-republicans-feel-more-positive-about-campaign-than
and NBC just moved Nevada to Obama’s column.
For what it’s worth, HuffyPo has moved Iowa and Ohio from “Leans Obama” to “Toss Up” in the past day.
Though I agree with all you said about Romney and his dismal performance we must still consider that there are enough people out there who just viscerally hate Obama.
Call it racism, stupidity, or just plain Tea Party nutjobs, the hate is real and what happened last night – or the last 18 months of Romney flip flops – won’t matter in the least.
These are people who just cannot be reasoned with to consider commonsense as the first rule of thumb. The same morons who thought Sarah Palin would make a great Commander in Chief. The same forces who listen to the likes of John Sununu who calls Obama “unAmerican” and thrill to the sound of Donald Trump bleating his way into the dialogue.
They have no compunction in electing a man with no discernible qualifications outside of what he proposes about himself. A man who is willing to deny whatever he has said in the past to capture a few votes. A man unwilling to release his tax forms but who has vowed to burden you more with his policies.
Never underestimate the power of hate, ignorance, and the mindsets of those who firmly believe the lies they have been told because deep down they want to believe even when the facts are staring them in the face.
There are pockets of voters in this nation who also firmly believe in the idea that for America to be “great” it can only be achieved at the might of the military so they can forever wave their flags and feel “patriotism” flow through their veins.
Never mind that the “leader” they support is unacquainted with the map they pledge to “correct”: as long as the message is one of “feel good” that’s all that matters.
This is what “taking back our country” represents. Back from the black guy and measured means of diplomacy that calls for more than pointing a weapon or beating the war drum.
Well,folks we know at elseblog seem to manifest this all over the place and I used to rub elbows with these people. I feel like I can’t get enough shots of antibiotics or enough showers. The hate is palpable and that’s the only thing that’s there.
You’re right, Pat. The hate has been fanned and the ignorance encouraged. Down in my neck of the woods, Obama is thought of as the anti-Christ. He’s the socialist/marxist/Muslim infiltrator, just like Glenn Beck and Limbaugh wanted their followers to believe. I don’t like Obama because I don’t think the man is a decent leader or a true Democrat. But to believe that the GOP would be any better [in fact, they’d be disastrous IMHO] is the height of lunacy. But that seems to be where we are anymore.
For some good news, I picked this up at Huffy-pooh:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/23/indiana-planned-parenthood-ruling_n_2005832.html
It may be one small step for sanity but it’s something.
I read something interesting this afternoon–this faux momentum message that the Republicans are trying to whip into shape. As the story goes, Kove tried this in 2000, sending GW out to California to beat the drums, then neglected Florida and basically lost the election until the Supremes rescued him. McCain did the same thing by spending time in PA, pretending he had a route there, only to lose the state by 10 points. There’s a lot of psych-ops going on right now.
There’s no reason this race should be this close. I don’t like Obama but the choice of Romney is absurd–the man was totally underwhelming last night. And yes, a John Bolton at the State Department should scare the shit out of everyone.
It is what it is. My strategy in voting 3rd party is to send a message [from a state where Obama could not win a glass of water] that the electorate is looking for an honest broker, someone with a true, honest Democratic vision, standing for principles that have served the country well.
That could be Barack Obama. It’s up to him.
Super good news about Indiana
Most of the GOP and christians conservatives are not happy with the flip flopper whopper. They hate Obama and call him every name in the book, they blame him for everything that is wrong in the world, and they are preapproving and pulling for Romney, because they want to stay at the top of the chow line. They want the power of Hate, not peace, not love, but hate, what a waste.
I remember how they loathe and hated on Hillary, and alot of that was an extension of the hate they had for Bill Clinton. I wish they were all rooting for Obama. It is Romney that we really should fear.
Fannie, the reason I am concerned is that the women I mentioned upthread are not Tea Partiers or religious fanatics. They aren’t conservatives or Clinton haters. I don’t think they are Obama haters either. They are voting for Romney because, since his nomination, he has been successful in convincing them he is a moderate and will help the economy. They haven’t been paying attention to the race for months the way we have.
O/T but Charlie Pierce will be on MSNBC at 3:40 this afternoon.
It is that program – can’t remember the name – that is on from 3-4 every afternoon with 4 moderators that includes SE Cupp.
Glad you told me Pat, I always try to be doing something else during “The Cycle”.
Yay, Pierce! Thanks for the info, Pat. The show is called “The Cycle”. It’s on from 3-4 pm EST.
Pat, Thanks for that heads up on Pierce.
“If Romney sweats anymore I get a royalty,” actor Albert Brooks wrote, a reference to his famous sweating scene in the 1987 film “Broadcast News.”
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/romney-sweat-debate-143847980–election.html
This should be a pretty big story. It could be playing hell with the polling this year.
Latino Decisions: Why Pollsters Missed the Latino Vote – 2012 edition
Wow, that’s an eye opener. The polls are missing Latino voters and I suspect they’re equally screwed up on the 18-30 voters who have no landlines, which would be the majority of them.
Wow! again. That gives me hope for Florida.
Obama is polling over 70% with Latinos. That’s just amazing.
A couple of weeks ago I went before a group of latina’s in regards to the upcoming election, and my biggest point to them was to vote because Obama gave you the only latina to ever serve on the surpreme court……….they must continue to open doors…….one of the other problems was being catholics.
Wow dak, I thought I was around ten years older than you and I was only five during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I feel somehow younger knowing we’re closer in age! 🙂
Oh, and I used to have a Huckleberry Hound too but mine was blue!
Funny story, my little sister and I saved cereal box tops to get Huckleberry Hound and Boo Boo spoons!
I still use my Huckleberry Hound Dog Spoon every morning!!! (Except now i use it for yogurt!)
Dak that’s funny! I must have saved more box tops Janicen, ours were stainless steel!
Mine is silver plate. My sister had a yogi bear spoon.
pdgrey, the only thing we used to save was Green Stamps!
I’m gettina all “Yahoo Boo Boo” just reading these stories. 🙂 I want a boo-boo spoon!!
I have a Boo Boo plus toy like the huck … he’s green and a cutie!!!
“I have a Boo Boo plus toy like the huck … he’s green and a cutie!!!”
I’m getting all jealous. I didn’t have the foresight to save anything from my childhood, maybe that’s because we didn’t get many toys. I did get a Howdy Doody doll one xmas, if I still had it, it would likely be worth more than my home. You better guard those old toys, they are probably worth a pretty penny.
I have a bunch of them and they are still in great shape. I kept them all! I have yogi and boo boo, Quick draw McGraw and Baba Louis and Jinxy the cat. I have a popeye too. I was a big HB cartoon nut. I had tons of comic books from the early 60s too from the same characters. My mom garage sold them when I got married with out my permission. They’d be worth a fortune now.
I am actually a year older than you!!!
I had a really cute green Boo-Boo stuffed animal when I was little but our dog ate it. Now all I have left is a silver Cinderella baby spoon.
I used to have a cinderella wrist watch that came with a figurine … no idea where either went to at this point
Charlie Cook isn’t buying the “Romney’s on a roll” spin at all.
The Atlantic: Despite a Strong Debate Campaign, Romney’s Path to 270 Remains Steep
Thank you for sharing these … maybe I can put Huckleberry away in the closet again!
omigawd that picture is scary! and charlie pierce is on the CYCLE now!!
I thought Kerry was absolutely sincere last night about being terrified about a Romney presidency. He sounded shocked by Romney’s performance.
Great post, Dak!
Thanks … our conversation this morning inspired it!!!
I think the Obama campaign needs to scare the s*** out of people by showing them what a Romney presidency will really be like. Why don’t they take that approach?
Alec NacGillis calls the neutered press corps out for the clowns they are and it’s also great snark. You know, the “Romney’s on a roll” tactic might just be failing.
TNR: The Liberal Media, in Love With Our Narrative
The Romney campaign is running a huge bluff and the corporate reporters are buying it.
Fortunately it doesn’t look like everybody is on board the Rmoney train just yet. Maybe they won’t board this time. Politico was a lost cause from the start.
Great post by digby.
Debate debate
Yeah, but she sounds like she’s given up.
I don’t think she’s given up but, I have noticed that liberal do tend to sound that way. Why I don’t know?
Good post on Romney’s geographical illiteracy.
Useless fake fact checket Glenn Kessler looks at it but doesn’t actually grade it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/10/22/fact-check-irans-route-to-the-sea/
It should be more like a five dunce rating rather than a Pinocchio nose.
That link I put up last night, to Kessler was in April of this year and Romney had already said it 2 times before. he still would not call it out. Kessler is a jackass
Ezra Klein says Romney wants Republicans to be confident, but Obama wants Democrats scared.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/23/mitt-romney-wants-republicans-confident-president-obama-wants-democrats-scared/
Hehe, I must be spinning for Obama without knowing it because I’m scared!
Did the ‘Neocon Puppet Masters’ Get Outflanked by Romney?
by Jeffrey Goldberg …
(sheeeeeshhhhhhhh)
Since Goldberg was one of those who were cheerleaders for the war in Iraq, via articles like ‘The Great Terror’ in The New Yorker, and has advocated muscular responses to Iran I’m not surprised he isn’t worried about Rmoney’s neocon advisers. He’s not such a bad fit himself.
Salon’s hack list #26 Jeffrey Goldberg: http://www.salon.com/2010/11/22/hack_list_26/
Andrew Sullivan has taken a sanity break and posted this … guess he’s lost his vapors.
I think I need a sanity break. I’m not helping here today.
Beata,
You always help me. It’s normal to get discouraged. That’s why we need to stick together!
Me 2 Beata. Please don’t go too far!
Why won’t that stupid Democratic party quit? Reporters are idiots!
USA Today: GOP has firm grasp on House, but Dems won’t fold
Hell, we’re not throwing in the towel on the House. Even if we don’t win back the majority, getting rid of a few TeaNuts should make us feel better because it will loosen the grip of the kooks.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/10/23/msnbc-host-shuts-down-romney-surrogate-i-fact-checked-the-apology-tour-it-didnt-happen/
Andrea Mitchell today
That was nice. More reporters should hang tough with those liars. The women are so much better at it than the male reporters,
The latest Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll finds President Obama moving slightly ahead of Mitt Romney, 47% to 46%.
However, Obama “maintains a larger advantage in the state-by-state battle that will determine the outcome of the election. Ipsos projects that Obama holds an edge in the most hotly contested states, including Florida, Virginia and Ohio, and is likely to win by a relatively comfortable margin of 322 electoral votes to 206 electoral votes.”
I like that!
Gave me some warm fuzzies indeed,
He was too obvious.
HuffPo: Mitt Romney’s Foreign Policy Debate Performance Tailored To Woo Women, Independent Voters