by Benjamin J. Kirby
I still think the approach of having Ann Romney go out and talk about what a great guy her husband is makes for a really clumsy and unfortunate campaign strategy. Wives explaining how their husbands are cool isn't what makes them cool. No one believes it, even if they like the wife.
Having your wife go out and publicly defend you from the other campaign is downright idiotic.
On a mission to shatter the image of her husband as rigid and unrelatable, Ann Romney told CBS News she worries that President Obama's entire campaign strategy is "kill Romney."
"I feel like all he's doing is saying, 'Let's kill this guy," she said, seated next to her husband, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, in an exclusive interview with CBS News chief political correspondent Jan Crawford. "And I feel like that's not really a very good campaign policy.
"I feel like Mitt's got the answers to turn this country around," she continued. "He's the one that's got to bring back hope for this country, which is what they ran on last time. But the truth is, this is the one that has the hope for the - for America."
Is it me, or is she as inarticulate as he is?
Well, I hope the Obama Campaign strategy is "let's kill this guy," because that's what campaigns, at least in part, do. It's ugly, and most decent folks don't like to acknowledge it, but that it just a part of what running a campaign -- and certainly one at the national level -- is all about.
Yes, you want a candidate to be for things, you want them to have convictions and decency and goodness and bright ideas and be inspiring.
But good candidates paint contrasts, and the Obama Campaign has done a pretty good job thus far of painting Mitt Romney as a bad guy. And the response from Team Romney has been to send out Ann to defend her husband.
I know this comes off as a bit sexist, and I am genuinely sorry for it, but that's pretty weak. If I'm running for office and someone says I'm a good-for-nothing robber baron bully who was only good at outsourcing American jobs, you'd better be disappointed if the best I can do is get Duncan to answer the charge.
Of course Duncan's going to tell you I'm a great guy (most of the time). Of course she's going to defend me. And yes, she's way more telegenic than me, and yes, I'm more relaxed and happy around her.
Does any of that surprise you? Isn't that paradigm true for most folks you know?
Romney's getting his clock cleaned on the messaging, and as a life-long bully, I don't think he's used to it. We'll see if he gets back on message any time soon.
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Maybe someone from North Carolina can explain it.
Chris and The Fix team move NC to the "leans Romney" column.
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So these numbers don't surprise me:
With a 21 percent uninsured rate, Florida is tied with Nevada and New Mexico for second to last place in the country. But conservative Gov. Rick Scott is vowing to opt out of a Medicaid expansion, almost fully financed by the federal government, now that the Supreme Court has ruled that the feds cannot threaten states with the loss of all their Medicaid funds for refusing to expand the program.
What I don't get is what does Rick Scott get out of not expanding Medicaid? I mean, aside from the kind of half-assed tea party talking point of "no more government programs". Seriously. Take the Medicaid expansion money and claim the credit for it.
Every day I'm more and more convinced Rick Scott just doesn't get politics.
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Discussion questions: is the best part the machine gun with "Gipper" etched on it? Or is it the D.A.R.E. manual tucked in the saddle? Or could it be that the velociraptor is holding the American flag?
Bonus thinkpiece question: just who, exactly, is Reagan mowing down with all that automatic gunfire?
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To file under Horrifying, Least Surprising.
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It's almost Friday.
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