Posted on 02/07/2008 7:55:14 PM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
The essence of Howard Fineman's Newsweek column about the demise of Mitt Romney's campaign is the glorification of authenticity, and Mitt's perceived lack of it. Ironic, then, that Fineman would resort to one of the oldest, and least authentic, journalistic dodges: suggest the worst about someone, then slyly slink away. To wit [emphasis added]:
[M]aybe the campaign revealed what his closest friends never imagined him to be. They thought he was a decent classy guy. But maybe he really is a soulless throat-cutter who would do and say anything to win.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbusters.org ...
Throat-cutting ping to Today show list.
Ah, Howard Fineman. Did the check from Hillary clear yet, Howie? You can get new kneepads in time for 1/20/09.
He’s just getting warmed up, Wait ‘til McLame is in his sights.
Or ..a self-description on the part of Fineman?
I have never seen a viable candidate get such bad press as Mitt Romney. He did not deserve the kind of crap that was given to him. Dennis Kucinick was treated with more respect.
....because the media never viewed Kucinich as a serious threat. Apparently, they did view Mitt as one.
Dennis has more in common with the likes of Howard Fineman....note the physical resemblence.
Got the hiccups, Mark? ;-)
Sorry about that: either my computer or the site had a hair-trigger. I have asked the admin mod to correct my mess!
I bear him no ill will, but his problem was authenticity. I don’t think Mitt set out to lie, but I think he approached the contest as he would a business, and said what he thought his candidacy required, and when he found his candidacy required something else, he just massaged his old position into the new one. Ie. gun control, gunowner, AWB, MLK marches, and all his policy changes. It even persisted until the end, with Mitt coming out on tuesday after the returns, and telling all his supporters his campaign was going on until the end, not because he felt that way, or thought it to be the truth, but because he simply felt thatsuch a statement was what a polititician said in a speech under those circumstances.
He may be a great principled guy in person, but he just never ran his campaign as if it was him running for President, he ran it as if it was his view of an ideal candidate running for President, and it came off as phoney.
It was a stark contrast with Thompson, who sometimes said stuff we didn’t want to hear, just because it was what he believed, such as bad economic news coming, and the staements about not really wanting to run, but wanting to serve. Thompson may not have been ideal, but he was honest, and it showed.
I hope Mitt enjoys his family, and doesn’t try again. He has a core of hard core supporters (who also happen to be good conservatives), and a mass of people who would rather vote for McCain than him, dead set against him due to perceived honesty issues. If he couldn’t beat McCain, he can never win in the future. All a future run will do is split some good Conservative votes off from whatever good consensus Conservative might offer his services in the future.
Is Fineman a Catholic? If not, he should go to confession anyway. His face is all bunched up.
Anything coming out of Newsweek is not fit reading for conservatives.
I couldn't stand him for that very reason. He came off as such a phony. But your post makes alot of sense. Too bad he didn't have you as an advisor.
Isnt fineman having an affair with mathews?
That is why they had to take out Mitt. If you saw his speech today, there is not a candidate that can come close to the passion and intellect of Mitt.
McCain should make him V.P. so he will be Pres in 2012. Mitt needs to use his business skills to help this country that needs it badly. McCain, Hillary Obama don’t have a clue as how to create jobs.
Go to your local bookstore, shake out all the newsweak subscription litter cards and drop them in the mail for processing. Send a msg.
Gee Howey, I didn’t think you had a pair of swinging boys.
You must not have been watching what the MSM did to Fred Thompson.
McCain hates Mitt. There is no chance in hell McCain picks Mitt for VP. Besides, it would require Mitt to basically sign on to amnesty, global warming carbon taxes and God knows what else McCain creates between now and November.
Unfortunately, Mitt just discovered conservatives this past year. I’m glad to have him amongst the flock. But when we have our next chance to run against McCain/Hillary/Obama in 2012 there will be more than one long-time conservative to consider aside from Mitt. Mitt would be best served to go for RNC chairman in the next year or two and run around the country campaigning for candidates and start stacking up some friends and favors and getting known by state party regulars.
I’m still thinking in 2012 Haley Barbour will be the favorite.
‘soulless media hack’
Is Fineman a Catholic? I doubt it. The name sounds like it could be Jewish - sorta a new apelling for Feinmann.
Is Fineman a Catholic? I doubt it. The name sounds like it could be Jewish - sorta a new spelling for Feinmann.
There was a difference...a big difference. Mitt worked harder than any other candidate...Fred brought on some of the disdain himself. However, it’s a given the press would go after the most Conservative candidate.
Good idea!
I always find these comments to be the most intriguing
Why does Fineman have so much hate inside of him, especially towards Romney?
I know what you mean but you didn’t miss anything this time. It was just me with an itchy trigger finger on the ping!
It seems like every other campaign would make a point of emphasizing what a jerk Romney was. I don't know if it is true, or if the others just had an "old boys club" that Romney didn't belong to, or what. But it seems like the general consensus from the other camps (of course this info comes from the "pundits" so take it with a grain of salt), but Romney just did not seem well liked by any of them.
How was that Kool-Aid, anyway?
“soulless throat-cutter”
Fineman should know throat-cutters. His magazine is a leftist publication. Leftists openly support throat-cutters.
Thoughts NOT REMOVED BY MODERATOR.
Because I choose to look at thing the way they are, instead of the way I wish they were does not make me a Kool-Aid drinker. I think there’s a bit of projection on your part.
Self deception is in the eyes of the self-beholder. You may have been reading too many newspapers and listening to to many self-important pundits.
Romney was a good candidate, but he wasn’t the “hardest working,” nor was Thompson “lazy”. Neither were perfect, and neither deserved the slanted, twisted press they received.
If you were to have noted the press treatment of Romney without contrasting it with the “kinder” treatment afforded others, I would not have thought it worth disagreeing.
And even still, you congratulate yourself on choosing “to look at things as they are” while overlooking the particular frame of reference you chose to look from and thus fail to realize that you may have lost some perspective in the process.
Hence my Kool-aid reference.
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