Four Explanations for Romney's Endless Gaffes About Money

[steve2470]

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/02/four-explanations-romneys-endless-gaffes-about-money/49200/

Mitt Romney seems like a smart and careful guy, so why does he keep saying ridiculous things -- like Sunday's comment, "I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners" -- that only worsen the perception that he's a wealthy buffoon who doesn't understand the rest of us? We have four theories.

Theory 1: He's just that clueless. The most straightforward theory is that Romney is just a rich guy who's always been rich and has no idea how normal people talk and think. Example: "When it comes to his wealth, Romney is a clumsy rich guy who hasn't learned how to talk about these issues in public," MSNBC's Steve Benen.

Theory 2: He's authentic! This one's pretty straightforward, too: Romney just isn't ashamed of his wealth. He's not trying to hide it, it's just that all y'all class warriors expect him to try. Example: "I think everyone pretty much knows that Romney has made a lot of money," the National Review's Jay Nordlinger writes. "A few weeks ago, a Santorum campaigner-blogger on this site said that Romney was 'pretending he’s not rich.' Well, for a guy who’s pretending he’s not rich, he’s pretty loose with the Cadillac talk."

Theory 3: He's really bad at pandering. This theory is espoused by New York's Jonathan Chait. When Romney said his wife owned a couple Cadillacs, he was trying to pander to the auto industry to make amends for that "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" op-ed. The "I own Detroit cars" is a tried-and-true pander. But there's another pander that outranks it: the "I'm just as mad about the economy as you" pander. This misunderstanding the hierarchy of pandering also played out in Romney's remark about how even though he lost to Ted Kennedy in the 1994 Senate race, he was happy to have at least forced the Democrat to take out a second mortgage. Perhaps Romney was thinking, "I am before a conservative audience. Conservatives hate Ted Kennedy. They would love to know how I hurt Ted Kennedy." But he forgot that many in the audience might be in trouble right now for their own second mortgages.

[liberal N proud]

1. Theory 4: He is flaunting it

He just wants us to know just how fucking rich he really is.

[Brickbat]

2. These aren't gaffes. It's exactly how he thinks.

[Ohio Dem]

3. Thanks for posting this article.

Aside from the four theories, it contains a pretty good list of his gaffes. I'm sure it isn't conclusive, but it's a good start.

[11 Bravo]

4. My four: 1. He's 2. an 3. elitist 4. asshole