Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
One part of the campaign process that Sarah Palin really excels at is meeting and mingling with everyday Americans. She always looks so comfortable and confident, and she has this way of putting everyone around her at ease. Moreover, she's completely at home in casual situations, which goes a long way toward making folks feel like they can really relate to her.
Not so with Mitt Romney, whose awkwardness on the campaign trail seems to rival or even exceed that of the likes of John "Swiss Cheese" Kerry. Dana Milbank--who, granted, is clearly predisposed to dislike any and every Republican candidate--recently followed Mitt Romney around New Hampshire for a day chock-full of awkwardness, which he captured in his latest column.
Here are my favorite cringeworthy excerpts:
Mitt Romney...had just finished working the room at Blake’s Creamery here when he paused for a photo with the restaurant’s owner, Ann Mirageas, and decided to tell her a joke.
“I saw the young man over there with eggs Benedict, with hollandaise sauce,” he said. “And I was going to suggest to you that you serve your eggs with hollandaise sauce in hubcaps. Because there’s no plates like chrome for the hollandaise.”
The proprietor laughed weakly. “Good luck to you,” Mirageas said.
[...]
He greets a man perusing shelves of a hardware store: “Shopping here today?”
...He talks about the weak economy with the proprietors of a feed shop, then abruptly pivots: “Okay, so what do you do about mosquito control? . . . This has been a mosquito-infested year with all the moisture. They flew away with my dog.”
[...]
At Mary Ann’s, a retro diner in Derry, N.H....posing for a photo with his arms around the waitresses, he suddenly jumps forward, pretending somebody pinched his bottom. “Oh my goodness gracious!” he exclaims, then, “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.” He later says the gag is “kind of fun to do.”
[...]
To a man wearing a “Joe Gauci Landscaping” T-shirt: “You do some landscaping work?” To two older women who just came from the gym: “Are your knees, hips doing okay?” To an old married couple: “You know each other?” Romney seemed to be auditing one man: “What’s happened to your financials the last couple of years?”
Maybe some will find his odd, corny humor endearing. But I suspect the fewer people who meet Romney, the better he'll do.
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May '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
I agree with you- you can't manufacture the genuine connection.
But the hollandaise joke was actually pretty good, he just labored too hard to find a place to slip it in.
The rest were pretty bad.
Mar '11
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
Yeah, but Sarah Palin is stupid - or so the Democrats say.
So we may well be stuck with Mitt Romney, and his awkwardness will be one line of attack from aforementioned Democrats - plus, subtly, his religion.
May '11
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
We're not stuck with Romney yet. Remember, there hasn't even been the Ames Straw Poll yet, let alone a caucus or primary. Nothing is written yet.
Dec '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
This would have been an excellent post, Diane, if you hadn't ruined it up front by invoking She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Now all we'll get is flamewars about her and nothing about Romney's uncommon touch.
Someone back in 1975 started the rumor that VP Nelson Rockefeller was so patrician that he didn't know you eat a hot dog from one end rather than starting in the middle. This, about the man who said in 1969, "No politician can get elected in New York State without being photographed eating a Nathan's hot dog."
Jul '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
Diane, I witnessed this first-hand on the 2008 National Review cruise. Folks flocked to meet Fred Thompson and Pat Toomey, while Mitt and his lovely wife Anne were wallflowers. People were polite, of course, but there just wasn't any connection.
It was so awkward that Mitt left the cruise halfway through.
Aug '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
He's not a natural at this, but many people might find his efforts endearing, and the vast majority of voters will never meet him.
I prefer Bachmann, but the electorate buys into Romney's presence, and - dare I say it - charisma. Independents will once again tip the election, and I suspect are influencing the polls as we speak.
Then again, how much can we trust polls? Problems have been noted.
Edited on Jun 17, 2011 at 11:50amDec '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
At least if we end up with Romney as our nominee, he'll be up against another guy completely uncomfortable with the common folk:
On a sunlit Friday afternoon in July, Barack Obama stopped by Beverly Van Fossen's farm in Adel, Iowa, to speak about "rural issues." It was standard Hawkeye State stumping—until the senator took a stab at sympathizing with farmers whose crop prices have stagnated. "Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?" he asked. Unfortunately, Adel isn't exactly arugula country. "Someone near me whispered, 'What's arugula?' " says Van Fossen, 74. " 'You can't find that in Iowa'." Same goes for Whole Foods. The closest locations, reported The New York Times that evening, are in Omaha, Neb.; Kansas City, Kans., and Minneapolis. Whoops. Right-wing bloggers pounced. The dishy Wonkette called Obama a "super rich Ivy League elitist." Peter Feld, a former Michael Dukakis staffer, wrote on Powers-Point.com that a similar slip by his ex-boss—the suggestion that Iowans grow "Belgian endive"—surfaced repeatedly in 1988 attack ads. C'est la vie politique
Jul '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
"One part of the campaign process that Sarah Palin really excels at is meeting and mingling with everyday Americans."
Lady GaGa is great at meeting and mingling, too. What next for Palin? Crowd-surfing the mosh pit?
Dec '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
That picture of Romney reminds me of a Blink 182 album cover.
Mar '11
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
The glove and the sign in the same picture really turned me off.
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
Kenneth: "One part of the campaign process that Sarah Palin really excels at is meeting and mingling with everyday Americans."
Lady GaGa is great at meeting and mingling, too. What next for Palin? Crowd-surfing the mosh pit? · Jun 17 at 12:00pm
Come now. Bill Clinton excelled at working a room too, and he was spared comparisons to Steven Tyler.
Jul '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
Diane Ellis, Ed.
Kenneth: "One part of the campaign process that Sarah Palin really excels at is meeting and mingling with everyday Americans."
Lady GaGa is great at meeting and mingling, too. What next for Palin? Crowd-surfing the mosh pit? · Jun 17 at 12:00pm
Come now. Bill Clinton excelled at working a room too, and he was spared comparisons to Steven Tyler. · Jun 17 at 12:16pm
Steven Tyler has a nice tour bus, too.
May '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
That is one unfortunate picture, all right.
Dec '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
And I can't help but think the Blink 182 album's title applies equally well to what Romney has in store for us should he become the 45th President.
May '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
I actually find that kind of humor very endearing. It cheers me up.
Here's Romney pretending the waitress grabbed his backside:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/06/mitts-off-watch-mitt-romneys-joke-pretending-a-waitress-grabs-his-rear.html
I thought it was avuncular and hilarious. He reminds me of my beloved high school English teacher, Mr. Gerlach (who, incidentally, owns Mary Tyler Moore's house).
Edited on Jun 17, 2011 at 1:16pmDec '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
Mark Wilson: I actually find that kind of humor very endearing. It cheers me up.
Here's Romney pretending the waitress grabbed his backside:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/06/mitts-off-watch-mitt-romneys-joke-pretending-a-waitress-grabs-his-rear.html
I thought it was avuncular and hilarious. · Jun 17 at 12:58pm
You know what? I think you may be right (except I'd say "amusing" rather than "hilarious"), especially judging by the good humor with which the blonde waitress next to him took it -- she played off the joke and pointed to her co-worker: "It was her!"
It comes off better seeing it than simply reading a description.
Dec '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
Duane Oyen:
But the hollandaise joke was actually pretty good, he just labored too hard to find a place to slip it in.
"The koala tea of Mercy is not strained"?
"It's a long way to tip a Rairie"?
"Pardon me, Roy -- is that the cat who chewed your new shoe?"
May '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
My guess is that photo of Romney is from 2008, or earlier? That's kind of unfair.
Romney's not Bill Clinton, but he's decently genial in person, and very good on tv--I'll take that as a weapon over Obama, who is only good talking to s stadium with a teleprompter.
Edited on Jun 17, 2011 at 1:18pmRe: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
Stuart Creque
You know what? I think you may be right (except I'd say "amusing" rather than "hilarious"), especially judging by the good humor with which the blonde waitress next to him took it -- she played off the joke and pointed to her co-worker: "It was her!"
It comes off better seeing it than simply reading a description. · Jun 17 at 1:10pm
You're right. Sounds really awful just reading a description, but it was perhaps endearing in person.
Interacting with working class folks seems like an activity far from Romney's comfort zone.
Dec '10
Re: Mitt Romney and the Awkwardness Factor
ParisParamus: My guess is that photo of Romney is from 2008, or earlier? That's kind of unfair.
Romney's not Bill Clinton, but he's decently genial in person, and very good on tv--I'll take that as a weapon over Obama, who is only good talking to s stadium with a teleprompter. · Jun 17 at 1:17pm
Edited on Jun 17 at 01:18 pm
Illustrating a campaign story with a older campaign photo isn't unfair, unless Mitt's had a complete transformation since the last time he ran. (Heck, it might make him look younger.)
No one disputes that Romney is photogenic and articulate. Some of us wonder about his policy positions.