STORY #1: Blue-state blues
It just occurred to me that aside from routine sniping about Romneycare, the only person who really targeted former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) about his record as governor of Massachusetts was former Gov. Jon Huntsman (R-UT). He frequently made hay out of the fact that Massachusetts was ranked #47 in job creation while Utah was ranked #1. How that doesn’t get more airplay, I can only attribute to ad budgets. But President Obama’s re-election campaign is ready to make the same attacks.
This is going to be where they can land the most punches. Romney rarely speaks of anything he accomplished as governor, except for appeals to states’ rights when defending Romneycare (and he’s always on defense about it). He left office after one term, for which opponents can either credit opportunism or giving up. And since people like that Romney has business experience, even if it’s not necessarily good business, they will need to know how he operates as a government executive. I look forward to seeing how this plays out.
STORY #2: 触发器
According to Babelfish, the above characters are what happen when you translate the English word “flip-flop” into traditional Chinese. (Translated back into English, they mean “trigger.” Fascinating.) The question is, did Romney do that when he promised to get tough on China for currency manipulation? The Obama campaign charges that his book No Apology castigates them for tariffs on certain Chinese products, even though the label of “currency manipulator” would lead to sanctions, which are more punitive.
Perhaps what Romney meant is that tariffs aren’t tough enough and don’t compel the Chinese to clean up their act as sanctions might, while at the same time running the risk of shutting American manufacturers out of that market. Or perhaps he just hasn’t connected the dots between tariffs and sanctions. I’m actually more inclined to go with option #1. But if he thinks sanctions are going to solve much, well, HA.
STORY #3: It’s all about meeeeee!
Are you shitting me? “Mitt Romney says that if elected Congress should wait until he takes office to block automatic spending cuts and to keep tax cuts from expiring.” Meaning: “Hey, guys, can you wait a couple of months to do your job? Ann hasn’t picked my drapes yet.” Does he think this is Canada? In which there basically is no government until the prime minister settles in? I really hope the Obama people bring the mockery over this absurdity, because he sure needs it.
