"There You Go Again"
Aaron Miller ·
August 31, 2012 at 8:54pm
An uncle and I were discussing how Romney might get under Obama's skin and force an error during the Presidential debates. He mentioned Reagan's famous "There you go again" line and said Romney could use a similar rejoinder. His suggestion?
"It's not all about you."
Brilliant. What other lines might work? Please note that the challenge is to come up with a single sentence or phrase, rather than a true argument.
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Comments:
Jul '12
Re: "There You Go Again"
No, usted no puede!
Sep '10
Re: "There You Go Again"
FeliciaB
DocJay
You consistently make me spit out my coffee. · 1 hour ago
Actually, "You consistently make me spit out my coffee" would probably be a great comeback line for Romney to Obama. · 56 minutes ago
That could only be topped by taking a sip of water and waiting for Obama to begin answering a moderator's question, then at the dramatic moment, spewing a hugh spit-take.
"You said WHAT?!"
Sep '10
Re: "There You Go Again"
"A man's got to know his limitations and Mr. President: you have many."
Jan '11
Re: "There You Go Again"
"I will be inheriting a bad economy."
Jan '11
Re: "There You Go Again"
"Mr. President, it's good to know that if anything doesn't work out in my first term, I know where I can assign blame."
Jan '11
Re: "There You Go Again"
"When you lead from behind, the view is always the same. America is hoping to change the view."
Jan '11
Re: "There You Go Again"
"Maybe you should ask Valerie Jarrett directly, and not have to wait for the teleprompter."
Jul '11
Re: "There You Go Again"
Sweet and oh so true. Nice picture KC, you look very loved even if she married down :)
Jan '11
Re: "There You Go Again"
"Stephanie Cutter said that you created 4.5 million jobs. How many were in America?"
Jan '11
Re: "There You Go Again"
DocJay
Sweet and oh so true. Nice picture KC, you look very loved even if she married down :) · 0 minutes ago
She had a thing for hats.
Nov '11
Re: "There You Go Again"
Nice idea--fun to think about--but this sort of thing is just not within Mitt's repertoire.
If you gave him a line scripted in advance, Mitt would either stiff it or blow it.
And if it wasn't scripted in advance, the result would be even worse. Don't believe me? "Wanna bet?"
To his credit, Romney's never going to be comfortable with "politics as snappy one-liner," which seems to him frivolous to the point of being undignified.
Gotta let Mitt be Mitt.
Jul '10
Re: "There You Go Again"
That dog just won't broil.
Dec '10
Re: "There You Go Again"
We agree on one thing. It's time for a change. You need a change of address, Mr. President. I hear Tony Rezko has provided a home sweet deal for you in Chicago. I'll be sure to forward your mail.
Dec '10
Re: "There You Go Again"
I'm just wondering, is it ever possible to disagree with your policies without being racist or disrespectful to your office?
Dec '10
Re: "There You Go Again"
I'm not the only one who enjoys the freedom to fire incompetents, Mr. President. I'm here to provide your performance review to the American people, and based on it, I'd say your employment contract renewal isn't looking good. But, let's let your employers decide.
I still like Aaron's uncle's one-liner the best.
May '10
Re: "There You Go Again"
Excellent. I would add "...but the buck stops here."
Astonishing, you are certainly right in that mucking up a line like this would be worse than not having tried it at all. "Gotta let Mitt be Mitt" is right, but we can't pretend all swing voters are studious and meticulous analysts. Rhetorical skill is an absolute necessity for any President.
Sep '10
Re: "There You Go Again"
"I've got a problem with The One: He forgot about The Many."
May '10
Re: "There You Go Again"
Responding to a straw man argument. "I don't know who President Obama is talking about, and I don't think he knows either. Could you provide us with some specifics Mr. President?"
May '10
Re: "There You Go Again"
Romney is going to have fun with this. Obama has lived his entire existence sheltered from reality. Just being on the same stage with Romney will cause him to short-circuit. Which bullets Team Romney uses almost doesn't matter.
By the way, with all deference to Gov. Romney, I think it will take some alcohol to watch the DNC next week. That gathering is going to be quite a freak show, but the tweets will be fantastic (I tweet as @ParisParamus, and sometimes as @SCOAMF1...)
Edited on September 1, 2012 at 1:02amMay '10
Re: "There You Go Again"
It would be a mistake to try to squeeze any exact phrase into a debate. The game of squeezing in a particular phrase would distract Romney from the questions and comments he is responding to. And the audience is likely to notice an awkward attempt to fit a prepared line into a emergent context which only mostly suits it.
Rather, his jokes and witticisms should be prepared in the same manner as his explanations of policy and political philosophy. He should already have identified points of humor in general issues and common statements of the Left.
For example, in line with my uncle's suggestion, Obama has a huge ego and is obviously not accustomed to laughing at himself in public. Any remark which playfully, and not cruelly, chides the President for his habit of self-referential speech while discussing policy could be a winner.
The key is to identify the President's weaknesses — his ego being chief among them — to know where a little spontaneous humor would be most effective.