Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
The New York Times has accomplished the difficult: making average folks sympathize with Mitt Romney. What's hilarious about this is that what the New York Times was actually trying to do was publish an unfair hit piece on Romney, characterizing him as aloof. The headline for the piece is "An Aloof Romney in a Plane Encounter."
Apparently Romney sat (in Coach!) next to an annoying Obama fan. He was polite, sure, but after she kept chatting him up about her brilliant ideas for health care reform and asking him questions, he smiled, answered curtly and put earphones on.
According to Ms. McClanahan, about an hour into the flight — which Mr. Romney mostly spent reading USA Today and using an iPad while wearing headphones — she told him her idea for improving the American health care system: slashing overhead costs by switching to an electronic billing system.
“He looked at me blankly and said, ‘I understand,’ then put his iPad headphones in and kept reading,” she said.
That first hour must have been rough. In any case, I say good for him. She, continuing in her annoying seatmate fashion, promptly called the New York Times to complain.
Romney: he's just like us!
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Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
Now that's the big difference between Romney and Obama. Obama wouldn't have been caught dead in coach!
Sep '10
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
I wonder if there is an ap that makes it look like you're working while you play angry birds...maybe his private equity shop could fund one.
Aug '10
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
After listening to Mona Charen and the rest on Batchelor show this morning, they are all resigned to his primacy in the race. And if this guy is flying coach around the country stuck next to some democrat wag, then I can only say Three Cheers for Mitt !
In an "anybody but Obama" world, I appreciate someone who is not swanning around in a private jet when there is serious work to be done on the economy. Ms Pelosi ever lose her 757 and get kicked downstairs back into the Gulfstream ? Anyone seen Hillary's pimped out C-17 ? Wow !
Mar '11
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
The difficult? For myself I would call it the impossible. I truly am feeling some sympathy for the fellow, although I am a bit disturbed that he was reading USA Today. I rather hope that was for show.
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
Loved this bit:
Electronic billing system! Brilliant! We've been trying to fix the American health care system, and this woman has lightning in a bottle. If only the next president of the U.S. would listen...
Methinks Ms. McClanahan needs to get over herself.
Dec '10
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
Flying coach is just another corn dog or elephant ear eaten and another baby kissed. He's not doing it because it's who he is; he's doing it because it's who he wants us to see him as.
Oct '10
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
I don't think Romney has ever looked more authentic. And we all thought he had no personality.
Jan '11
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
Can't help but think of the movie 'Airplane' - the self-immolation, Hari-Kari, the guy trying to hang himself...
I just thought it would have been the guy listening to Romney. Man bites dog.
Jun '11
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
Great...I now have point #1 for the Apologia pro Mitt I've wanted to write.
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
Exactly!
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
Electronic billing? Well, it would be a big improvement over today's system, where a herald comes to your house with an abacus, and you pay with coins. What is the woman talking about? Perhaps she'll be on my next flight.
Vaguely related: on a plane Saturday I sat next to a kid who was staring at his phone, tapping away, doing something, well past the time when we were supposed to stow our gear. Youth Today, I thought: can't tear themselves away from the bewitching little toys. Can't stop texting. Can't stop updating Facebook. He read the SkyMall catalogue as we took off. Jeez: who gets on a plane without something to read? Kids today.
Once we were at 40K feet, he took out a notebook lined with musical staves, and spent the trip composing.
During the descent he put it away, and I had to ask: what are you working on? A cadenza for a concerto - he was a violinist and composer from a Texas university. And he was going home to serenade his dying grandmother one last time.
Kids today.
Jul '11
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
That's a weird way of getting seen. Did he pay the lady to play the part of an Obamabot just to earn some street cred for flying coach instead of 1st class?
-E
Dec '10
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
CandE
That's a weird way of getting seen. Did he pay the lady to play the part of an Obamabot just to earn some street cred for flying coach instead of 1st class?
-E · Nov 7 at 9:33am
Kooks and cranks in coach are just hazards of the campaign trail. Seriously, would he fly coach for any reason other than to have us see him flying coach? I bet he doesn't like fried butter or any kind of meat on a stick, but he's probably eaten his fair share of those, too.
Sep '10
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
Mitt could have picked up a half-dozen points on the next primary poll by politely giving that lady his card and telling her, "thanks for your interest in public policy. Please call me when you have an actual idea."
Aug '10
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
That's what he gets for flying coach with the hoi polloi. I dunno, maybe first class was full?
Seriously, I would never fly coach if I didn't have too. If I had Mitt's dough I definitely wouldn't fly coach. I hope this wasn't a political stunt as King Prawn suggests - those thing always seem to backfire
Apr '11
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
One of the advantages of having 250 million dollars is that you never have to fly coach again. Or commercial for that matter. I agree with others who have said that this sort of stunt is likely to backfire. It's not even prudent - what about the security issues?
Jan '11
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
I'm also guessing first class was full. I'm still willing to give him props, though, if he got stuck in a middle seat. Any info on that detail?
Jul '10
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
Romney apparently makes a habit of flying coach, which has exasperated his campaign staff in the past. It's far more real than Arugula Obama goin' down to the local burger joint.
It's ignored, though, because the media wants to paint him as an out-of-touch plutocrat to stoke the Occupy vote. This is just the new version of George H.W. Bush and the supermarket scanners.
Edited on November 7, 2011 at 9:17pmApr '11
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
Frozen Chosen: That's what he gets for flying coach with the hoi polloi. I dunno, maybe first class was full?
Seriously, I would never fly coach if I didn't have too. If I had Mitt's dough I definitely wouldn't fly coach. I hope this wasn't a political stunt as King Prawn suggests - those thing always seem to backfire · Nov 7 at 10:08am
It's something he's always kind of done. When he was launching Staples, and when he was working on the Olympics, just to list two examples I was reminded of this week. I think his parents, who, eg., lived in a pretty small house for most of his childhood despite being kinda loaded, instilled a sense of the moral virtue of quite selective austerity. If this is faked for the Presidential run, it looks he's been running his whole adult life.
Apr '11
Re: Romney Suffers Annoying Seatmate On Flight
Wylee Coyote
Romney apparently makes a habit of flying coach, which has exasperated his campaign staff in the past. It's far more real than Arugula Obama gojn' down to the local burger joint.
It's ignored, though, because the media wants to paint him as an out-of-touch plutocrat to stoke the Occupy vote. This is just the new version of George H.W. Bush and the supermarket scanners. · Nov 7 at 10:26am
You beat me to it!
by the way,
"Mr. Romney’s name-dropping of Carl’s Jr. has been so stark that, when a reporter called the chain’s corporate headquarters to confirm the price of a jalapeño chicken sandwich, the director of public relations replied, “Ah, you must be following Romney.”"
Cheap attack there; My guess is that Carl's don't often get people calling PR to ask the price of a menu item; normal people look at the menu, so it only takes 2-3 political journalists for there to be an obvious pattern.