Romney shows…
…that he knows how to be an alpha male.
Romney has a rather gentle, smiling demeanor, which some read as phony, some read as meek, some read as both. But I detect an iron fist in that velvet glove. That’s not a bad trait in a president, in general.
[NOTE: Ace has something similar—although lengthier—to say.]
RL is talking about Romney’s photo in front of Solyndra.
http://hotair.com/archives/2012/05/31/video-famous-chicago-political-organizer-outorganized/
“Mitt Romney arrived at the shuttered headquarters of Solyndra Inc. this morning, a surprise visit that was SHROUDED IN SECRECY . . . ”
Good Sun Tzu stuff.
It’s actually even better because Romney’s photo op at Solyndra is set off against Alexrod’s failed attempt to attack Romney’s record.
C’mon. Everybody knows good and well that Romney doesn’t believe Obama is a good guy who means well but is in over his head. But the stance strips Obama and crowd of racist accusations while giving the moral high ground to Mitt when Obama goes negative.
And for those who haven’t yet seen today’s news at Ace I offer the following (http://ace.mu.nu/) (scroll down to 12:24 PM). It almost makes me feel a tingle up my leg:
May 31, 2012
Disaster In Boston
–LauraW.
David Axelrod has been dispatched to Boston to deliver a press conference at the State House. This is not just an ordinary campaign launch; it is calculated as a symbolic blow against Romney right in his former stomping grounds.
Naturally, the lefty base in a blue city in a blue state have assembled in droves to welcome Mr. Axelrod.
Not so much.
Romney supporters have swarmed the State House, to the chagrin of the Obama staffers and the detriment of any photo-op Axelrod may have wanted to create.
For pic after pic of Romney supporters ruining the day for Obama’s campaign staff, see Ryan Williams’ twitter feed this morning.
Ryan Williams â€@RyanGOP
.@DavidAxelrod forced to walk through the crowd of Obama Isn’t Working protesters to get to the podium.
[photo here]
Crushed. This moment, it is lost to them.
Tipped from Slublog, who remarks that this “…makes me feel a bit…optimistic about the Romney campaign’s organizational skills…”
Oh, my yes.
Posted by LauraW. at 12:24 PM
Great comment at HotAir:
No wonder he wears special underwear… they’re tailored to help him drag those gigantic balls around.
This is special; this is news; this is great, wild and wonderful; and there are not enough superlatives in the English language to describe my elation.
So Solyndra AND the MA State House. It’s a bogo deal! (I know, this is pure Schadenfreude, but it IS long-awaited and very much earned.)
>>> But I detect an iron fist in that velvet glove.
What gave it away, the years of successful operation of a venture capital firm?
Or the simultaneous “exceptional” marks while getting his JD and MBA from Harvard?
Re iron fist
I agree. Romney is a competitive personality. A good thing. And Romney is an experienced competitor: knows how to carry on a fight in the face of inevitably shifting circumstances. A good thing.
Was looking for a quote, from Aug 2008, about Barack not having the stamina to stay with Palin on the basketball court, and came across a summation of Barack as potential POTUS. The summation still holds up. In 2008, so many of our NYC/D.C. intellectual betters (Noonan, David Brooks, and friends) were intrigued by Barack. Us non-big-shots, here at neoneocon, knew better:
I had forgotten that Barack ran as a reformer. Am now reminded of how he continually promised that he would go through the federal budget, “line by line”, making cuts. Snorfle.
IGotBupkis: I was being a trifle sarcastic there.
Anyone who’s studied Romney’s actual history—and I’m one of those people—already should have assumed the iron fist in the velvet glove.
That was actually one of the things that puzzled me during the primaries about Romney’s detractors. Many of them said he wouldn’t be a fighter. That made no sense to me.
I said many things about Romney. I compared him, when under pressure and in the spotlight, to a frightened bunny. He has, since, improved. But, being a frightened bunny did not mean he was not also a hard headed competitive bastard. And I mean that in a good way. I would not want a candidate who was anything less than a hard headed competitive bastard. Its a virtue.
I didn’t doubt Romney was a fighter, but it’s a pleasant surprise to see that he’s finding a way around the typical Republican blind spots/media traps, such as recent demands that he and his representatives disavow Trump’s “birther” comments, or his willingness to go on the offensive w/press conferences in front of Solyndra.
Republicans lose when they try to take the high road and act gentlemanly, like McCain in 2008. Romney is finding that sweet spot of attacking Obama on his performance without giving the press any ammo to call him a racist. Well done, team Romney!
“Romney is finding that sweet spot of attacking Obama on his performance….”
A sweet spot as big as the Milky Way..
Attack! If they call him racist, attack more! I like this line: “Even a racist would be a better Pres. than Obama.”
It’s Drudged and been given the Drudge sweet spot:
http://drudgereport.com/
Awesome! Romney’s “he’s a nice guy, but he’s out of his depth” approach is effective.
The Solyndra bit was masterful. Mitt has been excellent thus far. I was wrong about him. He may well be the perfect foil for Obama.
“”“he’s a nice guy, but he’s out of his depth” approach is effective.””
Sorta reminds me of what southern women do. They can get away with calling you an asshole as long as they say “bless your heart” right afterwards.
Romney resisted all the pleas for more red meat during the primaries. He has been saving it up to use at the right moment against Obama. I think Romney has analyzed the campaign very well, and he has kept his cool when conservatives wanted heat. Right now, every bit of new support Romney gains will unsettle The Won. When the time is right, Romney will move in for the kill, but he can’t do it too early lest Obama has time to figure out a comeback strategy.
I’d love to listen in on Barry and Michelle’s (and Valery’s) reaction to the Solyndra presser. Especially today, after he had to spend the day pretending to be nice to W.
Well done Team Mitt! I stand corrected. Maybe we can get a speech in front of Gibson Guitars next!
gcotharn, your six points about Obama, which I traced to your website from August 2008, were on the money. Pat yourself on the back.
Like the other blog readers here, I am pleased with Mitt Romney’s assertive approach. Everything the ∅bama team has tried in the last month or two to attack Mitt has blown up in their faces.
The smiling man with a stiletto, that’s what Mitt seems like.
I am especially pleased at seeing David Axelrod sputter like Donald Duck. He isn’t used to being in that position.
It’s a real pleasure to see how Romney is conducting his campaign. Breitbart (may he RIP) isn’t there, but someone equally media savvy seems to be on Romney’s team.
Romney’s life and career show a man who always gives his best and is a tough competitor. But he also has a sense of doing the right thing. Right now the right thing is the economy, not the politics of personal destruction.
High fives all around. But as Instapundit always says, “Let’s not get cocky!”
NO. Let’s not get cocky. The illiberals continue to self-destruct and when threatened, like animals, eat their young. Illiberals have taken children and turned them into robots, zombies and occupiers. They now sense a disturbance in the force: “You don’t want these drones.” It is a historic opportunity to outperform the cuckoo and steal fromt he illilberal nest the next generation!
Just a quick note. I was thinking today about my past support of Newt Gingrich. I said in numerous comments on this blog that much of my support was in the perceived ability and willingness that Newt had to bring the fight to the liberals and not let them define the terms of engagement. I further said that Romney didn’t seem to have that gumption.
After today, I must say I stand corrected. Whether Romney was savng it for Obama, or whether the fractious primary helped his team hone their skills (or both) today the Romney team indicated that they are most willing to take the good fight to the opposition.
In fact, in some ways this is perhaps even more exciting than Gingrich’s in-your-face adversarial stance. Romney’s team has taken the agenda set by the Dems and turned it back on the source. Whether “Julia,” or the “war on women,” or the “Bain attacks,” I keep thinking that Romney is citing the Clint Eastwood line in Gran Torino: “Did you ever get the feeling that you’re messin’ with the wrong guy? Well, I’m that guy.”
Curtis wrote: “. . . a historic opportunity to outperform the cuckoo and steal from the illilberal nest . . . .”
IMO this is precisely correct. The first battle is the November election. Then, the proof of the pudding will be in what Romney does from the Oval Office.
Good Lord! Could Ed Schultz actually be prescient (Ed Schultz??!!) when he worries that a Romney win might make Obama the last Democrat president in a generation or more? BTW that is not “cocky” speaking as it was with James Carville, it’s astonishment that Schultz might be correct about anything at all.
We live in very interesting times.
One last thing and then I’m done. More Sun Tzu. Enraging your enemy.
Can you imagine anything more disturbing to Obama than the charge that he is just an ordinary guy in over his head. His whole narcissitic personality demands he must be EXTRAORDINARY.
Curtis,
Touche!
A part of my Romney resistance was thinking he was a clueless moderate that didn’t get what he was up against in the left.
Sooo, this is all great. I love being wrong.
Curtis,
Excellent! The Won has spent his whole life convincing everyone that he is the smartest man alive. When he finds that he is no longer believed, what will he do?
Obama may have studied Alinsky tactics, but it seems like Romney has some shrinks among his advisors. I just hope that when Obama’s head explodes he is not in a populated area. A head that big would have a megaton force.
I’m struck by how similar Obama is to that Solyndra building. Both are focused on giving the appearance of success while in reality being miserable failures.
An off-topic thought. Has anyone thought about the fact that the Obama campaign couldn’t create an “Office of the President-Elect” seal fast enough in 2008?
I wonder how long it will take for them to create a “Former President of the United Sates” seal after January 20th, 2013? Or will they dare to use the word “former?”
T Says:
“An off-topic thought. Has anyone thought about the fact that the Obama campaign couldn’t create an “Office of the President-Elect” seal fast enough in 2008?”
I’m thinking that might need to fall to someone on our team (with photoshop skills).
Buh bye O!