Today’s Reading List – October 11, 2007
Dan Bartlett…
“I think the Mormon issue is a real problem in the south, it’s a real problem in other parts of the country, but people are not going to say it.” Instead, he said, “What they’re going to say is, ‘he’s a flip flopper.’’
And he downplayed Romney's Mormon problem, saying it would not be an insurmountable challenge. "He's talking very openly about the issue of his religion," Barlett said. "That's going to be something on the minds of the voters."
Romney appeared on the show just before Bartlett and dismissed the issue of his religion, saying polls show that he can do well in key states regardless. "It's going to be an issue on people's minds but I think in the final analysis, the people of America are not going to choose their leader based on what church they go to. They want to know their values and the values I have are as American as you're going to find."
Apparently, there were more fireworks in the "withdrawal" on yesterday's Today show, but at the moment transcripts are unavailable. we'll keep an eye on it.
Lowell: I saw that "Today" bit, and the report above is accurate. Bartlett was clearly backpedaling. Here's the WaPo quote Bartlett was backpedaling from, in its full context, from his speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:
[Bartlett's] judgment of Romney was only somewhat less negative. While crediting the former Massachusetts governor with the "best strategy and organization" born out of his "business acumen," Bartlett said "the flip-flopping on positions" stemmed from a miscalculation that the primary field would be more conservative than it proved to be. "They were trying to solidify his conservative credentials." Bartlett added: "He's getting a narrative in the national media as somebody that is too much trying to position himself, trying to hedge himself, almost too mechanical about the issues. Authenticity is going to be a very important principle in this campaign. And right now that's their biggest danger.
The flip-flopping issue, Bartlett added, provides an outlet for another big reason why Republican voters will not back Romney — his religion. "The Mormon issue is a real problem in the South, it's a real problem in other parts of the country," he said. "But people are not going to say it. People are not going to step out and say, 'I have a problem with Romney because he's Mormon.' What they're going to say is he's a flip-flopper. … It's a fact, it's reality. I don't know if it's one that will keep him from becoming the nominee for the party but it's something they clearly understand they've got to deal with."
What an . . . unfortunate thing to say. One wonders how a former White House communications guy who has spent his entire life working for either President Bush (after a stint working for Karl Rove) is so in touch with the electorate's pulse that he feels he can make such pronouncements about how voters are thinking. One also wonders of there isn't a little projection going on.
While from the religious right…
Hugh Hewitt says they are not dead, while Tony Perkins proves they are smarter than the MSM would have you believe.
Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Center Action, just completed a conference call with reporters.
[...]
Q: What advice would you give Romney?
I gave up consulting when my candidates kept losing, so I’m not one to give advice. But I’d say keep doing what he’s been doing… In my opinion, he’s one of the strongest on our issues. It's true he has had a change of position on these issues. I do believe they’re genuine. I do not see him going back. He’s staked ground that he has to hold to. [some emphasis added]
[Mormonism] is an unknown religion, in the sense that people are not familiar with it. Some people have said he should be like John Kennedy. I think it’s a little different of a scenario. There are a lot of commonalities between Catholic and Protestant state. Mormonism, there’s a lot of distinctions. He’s best when he’s focused on the issues and his policy positions; then down the road he can have a dialogue on faith.
Remember our point that bigotry lives on the left?…
Here's more proof. Don Campbell in USAToday writes:
So back to the question: Should people vote for Clinton because she's a woman or Obama because he's black? Of course they should.
And I should practice what I preach. Both Clinton and Obama are too liberal for an extreme moderate like me, so there has to be a reason that trumps ideology. In Clinton's, I can see one.
I'm prepared to vote for her because I'd like for my daughters to see a woman president in my lifetime. Lord knows how long it will be before another female candidate rises to the top.
Let me paraphrase that for you – "Out of some misguided sense of fairness, we should vote for a woman, regardless of ideology." Well, by that logic Romney should be attracting votes like sugar attracts flies….
Lowell: By the way, a friend sent me this YouTube clip. Yes, it's a Romney campaign production, but we talk a lot about common values on this blog, and it seems to me that no matter how you slice it, this video tells us something about the Romneys in that regard.
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Romney — The Seminal :: Independent Media and Politics on 02 Dec 2007 at 6:55 pm #
[...] the Religious Right would support Romney, a partial answer was provided by an interview (h/t Article VI Blog) with Family Research Center President Tony Perkins, who said on Romney: Q: What advice would you [...]