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I've
seen plenty of presidential candidates go off message at inopportune
times, but it's rare to see a White House hopeful deliberately throw his
message out the window just as the general election is heating up.
For
over a year, Mitt Romney had a very specific focus: jobs and the
economy. There were clearly legitimate questions about whether he had
any credibility on the subject, and whether his agenda would make
matters worse, but he was a disciplined candidate who remained focused
on his principal goal.
And while this made sense -- polls show
Americans care more about jobs and the economy than anything else -- the
Republican shifted gears two weeks ago, moving his focus to "values" issues like welfare and contraception. Then Romney changed his message again, talking up Medicare.
As of yesterday, Romney has been reduced to arguing that the campaign is about ... the campaign.
Campaigning in Ohio, Romney pushed the rhetorical envelope even
further, saying President Obama and his team have "disgraced the
presidency." He added that Obama is "angry and desperate," concluding,
"T[]ake your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago and
let us get about rebuilding and reuniting America."
The Obama campaign's Ben LaBolt said Romney seemed "unhinged,"
and there's some truth to that. But keep in mind, Romney wasn't just
flying off the handle in an overly-emotional tirade; he was reading the
words written for him and placed on his trusted teleprompter. This was,
in other words, unhinged and planned.
So, instead of
talking about unemployment and the fragile economic recovery, the Romney
campaign is focused on talking about the campaign. Nothing persuades
struggling voters more than listening to politicians talk endlessly
about campaign tactics and strategy, right?
Of course, there's
another important angle to this: the substance of Romney's criticisms
are also absurd, and if he's looking for an "angry and desperate"
candidate, he's better off looking in the mirror.
There's been a concerted Republican effort over the last week or so
to suggest President Obama is pushing the 2012 race in an ugly
direction. That's ridiculous.
As we discussed
last week, Mitt Romney has spent the last several months arguing that
President Obama is a corrupt liar, who hates free enterprise and
religion, and who's driven by an ideology that's "foreign to the American experience." One of Romney's chief surrogates has said the president should "learn how to be an American," and "has no idea how the American system functions," in part because "he spent his early years in Hawaii smoking something."
And then Romney complains about Obama making "personal attacks."
Look, this is just crazy. Romney has disgraced himself with nearly-uncontrollable lying,
so he's accusing Obama of being a disgrace. Romney is lashing out
angrily, so he's accusing Obama of being angry. Romney will do anything
to win, so he's accusing
Obama of being willing to do anything to win. Romney is running a
sleazy, substance-less, integrity-free campaign, so he's accusing Obama
of taking the campaign into the gutter.
To be sure, I'm not
suggesting Obama is pure as the driven snow, but there's hardly anything
the president's re-election team has done that pushes the boundaries of
decency. There's been plenty of spin and borderline shots from the
Democratic campaign, but nothing that warrants Republicans and reporters
to reach for the fainting couch.
Ultimately, I have to wonder
whether Romney thinks he's helping himself with this garbage. Does he
think voters want to hear less about jobs and more about Romney's
perception of Obama being a big meanie?
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