Mitt Romney Gets It. Wife Ann? Not So Much.

In a not so shocking first interview since his presidential election defeat, Mitt Rommney admitted that it's "killing him" not to be in the Oval Office. In a more than surprising admission, he blames his campaign (and I'm assuming himself) for not being able to connect with black and hispanic voters, and points to his "47 percent" debacle as the turning point of the race.

In a complete yawner, however (and who didn't see this coming), his wife Ann "I love you women" Romney is still in the dark and is perfectly willing to blame the media for her husband's rout, apparently unaware of the fact that a journalist's job is to report what her husband and his campaign say and do. Ann, being a one percenter, is so totally insulated from the real world, that it is unfathomable to her that the actions of her husband are what caused his downfall. It wasn't made up. It wasn't a lie. It happened.

Now, perhaps in the days before social media, a 24 hour cable news cycle and practically real time reporting through the Internet, a guy like Mitt Romney could have gotten away with some of his ridiculous gaffes and his real thoughts spoken in "private rooms" away from the media, but that's no longer the case. And someone who runs a 1950's style campaign in 2012 is going to suffer.

But Ann just doesn't get it because in her insular world, she can't see past the fences of her estate or the walls of her gated communities. To Ann, this was an unfair, epic takedown by the "librul" media of the only man who could possibly have the ability to run the country.

“It was not just the campaign’s fault," Ann Romney said. "I believe it was the media's fault as well, in that he was not being given a fair shake--that people weren’t allowed to really see him for who he was. I’m happy to blame the media.”

See - Ann doesn't get that "who he really was" was the man that showed his real side through the gaffes and statemens made in private rooms when he thought the rest of the world wasn't listening. Mitt really does think corporations are people. Mitt really does think that 47 percent of the country were voting for President Obama because they're moochers looking for free stuff. Mitt really isn't concerned about the poor because of the safety net they have - the same safety net he would have dismantled given the chance. Mitt doesn't have a clue as to what the actual income is of more than 90% of the population, and how could he? He's just as isolated and insulated as Ann.  But Ann will never understand what the rest of the world understands when she pretends to shop at Costco and doesn't have to worry about filling up her gas tank. Or paying her mortgage. Or having a job.

Now that Romney has admitted what's eating him up inside, it's only a  matter of time before we find a World Weekly News headline on the ever reclusive Mitt Romney taking a Howard Hughes turn, complete with long beard, hair, gnarled fingernails and toenails, designing his own Air Force One made entirely out of wood.

Oh! It Was a Joke!

Silly me, thinking that only a sociopath would joke about his wife's emergency landing experience.

The Los Angeles Times story that relayed Romney's airplane remark to the world was based off a pool report written by the New York Times's Ashley Parker. When we asked Parker this morning whether it seemed as if Romney made the mark in jest, she left no doubt. "Romney was joking," she e-mailed. Parker told us that while the pool report didn't explicitly indicate that Romney was joking, it was self-evident that he was. "The pool report provided the full transcript of his comments on Ann's plane scare," she said, "and it was clear from the context that he was not being serious." 

The Blaze hears the same thing from William Everitt, who attended the Saturday night Beverly Hills fund-raiser where the remark happened:

"Basically he was retelling the story and when he said ‘I don’t know why they don’t have roll down windows on airplanes,’ he looked at the audience and everyone laughed,” Everitt told TheBlaze. “It was a clearly delivered joke … There were 1,000 people there that will tell you the same thing.”

Yeah. He was joking. Everyone was laughing. Except I don't think it was. There was no stiff line reading by the Romneybot. There was no laugher. And if it was an obvious joke, it would have been reported as such in the first place. Judge for yourself.


(Cross-posted on ABLC)

Rafalca's Olympic Dreams Are Over

Yeah... that's a shame.

Rafalca the horse returned to the Olympic spotlight Tuesday for her second and final round of competition in equestrian dressage. Stephen Colbert's favorite horse was mathematically eliminated from the individual competition, as was the U.S. in the team medal race... 

...Rafalca, a 15-year-old, German-bred mare, is co-owned by Mitt Romney's wife Ann, and has inspired jokes and financial questions about the Republican presidential candidate. 

[Ann] Romney said Rafalca had another "fabulous" ride and that she's thinking of breeding the German-born mare. "It was wonderful. She was elegant and consistent again. 

We just love her." She said that after Ebeling competes with Rafalca for another year or two, they might try to breed her.

Or Mitt may just nominate Rafalca as the VP candidate at the convention.

...The left-leaning Guardian newspaper headlined its coverage of Rafalca's debut: "Ann Romney's Horse Fails to Win Dressage but Avoids Offending British."

BOOM!

Welcome to the Campaign, Ann Romney

In the world of politics, there's a "keep the families out of it" unwritten rule (consistently broken, by the way) that's bandied about as soon as someone attacks something said by a familial surrogate. Absolutely, children should be out of bounds. Sasha and Malia Obama, a young Chelsea Clinton in the 90s, the younger children of the Palin brood. They're victims of circumstance thrown into the spotlight through no fault of their own.

But the spouses of candidates are a different matter. If you immerse yourself into the political arena, you are now fair game. They actively campaign, give speeches, give interviews explaining policy positions, and travel with the candidate and the campaign. Campaign spokespersons paid to be there are one thing - they're connected to the chaos of campaigns and politics. But someone's wife? How dare anyone respond to someone's remarks when touting their husband/wife candidate? Just ask Michelle Obama. Whether you believe she was misquoted or not, her "really proud of my country" line was one of the highlights of the 2008 presidential campaign.

Just off the top of my head, I don't remember seeing very much pushback against Laura Bush because, well, she seemed likable and milquetoasty and didn't come across as a threat. I may be wrong, but I don't remember her stumping on the trail much either. Michelle Obama was/is a different story, as we all know, because of the fierce anti-Obama faction in this country; the I-want-to-take-my-country-back, she's-taking-away-my-dessert, and just flat out racist faction. But I digress.

From the beginning, Mitt's wife, Ann Romney, has been treated with kid gloves. I say this because the minute it was revealed that Mitt and Ann dabble in Olympic dressage horses and that Ann's horse will be at the London Games in a few weeks, the criticisms arose of their elitist stature. Then it was revealed that the Romney's took a $77,000 tax break on the care of the horse as a business expense.

So what did they do? They played the Multiple Sclerosis card. I don't say that lightly. Yes, Ann Romney as been courageously battling MS for the past fourteen years. And while I don't doubt that horseback riding can be beneficial to the health of an MS patient, really? A quarter million dollar dressage horse for which you took a $77,000 deduction as a loss on your taxes? Riding Ol' Bessie around the farm not good enough?

Today, Ann Romney cannonballed into the middle of the presidential campaign pool when asked if Mitt Romney would release more than his one year of tax returns.

 “You know, you should really look at where Mitt has led his life, and where he’s been financially,” Ann Romney told ABC’s Robin Roberts. “He’s a very generous person. We give 10 percent of our income to our church every year. Do you think that is the kind of person who is trying to hide things, or do things? No. He is so good about it. Then, when he was governor of Massachusetts, didn’t take a salary for four years.” 

“We’ve given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our life,” the candidate’s wife added.

Sorry, Ann. We're trying to look at where Mitt has been financially... if he'd only release his tax records, we'd see. And tithing is pretty much a requirement for the Mormon Church. Mandatory? No. But it's a commandment. And yes, unless he makes his financial life an open book by doing something as simple as making tax returns available, we're going to think he's hiding something. Illegal? Probably not. But something scathing like little to no tax rate in certain years. Oh, and was he Governor of Massachusetts? We seem to forget because HE NEVER MENTIONS IT. He must be really proud of his record as Governor, huh?

And then comes the kicker. "We've given all you people need to know..." You people? Did she mean the media? The American voters? The rabble? You know how we live our lives. Leave us alone! Let them eat cake!


Welcome to the campaign, Mrs. Romney. It's good to have you.

(By the way, pretty crappy softball interview, Today Show.)