The narrative for this week: Mitt Romney has stepped in it big time with his secretly taped remarks that essentially seem to write-off 47 percent of the population as moochers.
This new narrative supplants the old narrative that Romney had hung himself with his Mideast remarks. Which took precedence over an earlier narrative that Romney had committed gaffes-a-plenty in his overseas tour, come flat-footed out of the convention, and likely stiffed the waiter at dinner one night in 1978.
In short, Romney has been buried more times, and more thoroughly, than Pompeii. Yet he is still hanging around, which should cause some to wonder if he’s actually a zombie feasting on the brains of undecided voters and Chris Matthews.
For those who have managed not to see the recent video, and an old line media dissection of it, the New York Times has this very long piece, complete with the news that the video was taped by Jimmy Carter’s grandson.
Does this latest, pre-October surprise mean Mitt’s finally cooked? No. But they have put fresh chum in the political waters, which is sure to lead to all sorts of fun over the next few weeks. They also bring back vision of “Julia.” Remember her? She was the Democratic avatar used to illustrate how much good the President and his expansive state had done for folks like her.
From cradle to grave, the government and its kindly President had watched over her, nurtured her, made sure that when she needed a hand, and a hand out, it and he were there for her.
And just like Mr. Romney’s remarks, “Julia” also made her debut in May. So perhaps we can put it all down to both sides having hay fever.
Or we can view the merry month of May as the time when both sides made clear their visions clear — one through a creepy cartoon, the other at a not so closed-door fundraiser.
The reality is rather mundane. These views have been the subtext of American elections for a long time (remember Reagan talking about welfare cheats back in the day? That had the pressies in a snit). That some see it as new, earth-shattering, and worse today tells me more about our short attention spans than much else.
So let’s have this argument. Again. Maybe we’ll actually get somewhere this time.
