As a rule I don’t watch MSNBC. They are too unabashedly and stridently liberal for my tastes. However, today I tuned in briefly because CNN was wallowing in some lengthy “news” report about one of Michael Jackson’s obscure relatives. The MSNBC discussion was about Mitt Romney, his current campaign in the South, and all his pride and self-deprecation for learning to say “y’all,” discovering Southern girls and kin, having “cheesy grits” for breakfast, and eating catfish — not once but twice! The man is painfully clumsy and transparent in his efforts to look and sound like one of the local good ol’ boys. To paraphrase Ann Richards, “Poor Mitt, he can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.” Anyway, guest panelist Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post nailed it when he laughed at Romney’s having just discovered catfish and said (paraphrasing), “It’s as though the man is on safari in the U.S.”*
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*The exact quote, from Martin Bashir’s show, was: “With regards to Mitt Romney, poor guy, it’s only the second time he’s had cheesy grits and catfish; it’s almost as if he’s on safari in his own country!”
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- Mitt Romney Says He Likes Grits, Saying ‘Y’all’ (crooksandliars.com)
My jaw literally dropped when I heard him say “y’all” while channel surfing, but the Ann Richards and Jonathan Capehart quotes sum up my thoughts better than I ever could!
Richards sure had a way with words, didn’t she? And Capehart really cracked me up.
Advice from Thumper’s Dad
I started to comment on Ann Richards, but thought a link to advice from Thumper’s Dad would be better. As a low level administrator in a Texas state agency during the reign of Queen Richards, I couldn’t think of anything better to say.
Aww, cute (Thumper, that is). My dad taught me the same thing, and yours too, apparently. All I really know about Richards are the few witticisms from that one speech. A tongue that sharp in a boss would be mighty unpleasant, I imagine.
Ahhhh – please let me stick glass in my eyes rather than watch any more. Come on guys, just be yourself – stop tryin’ to cozy up to them folks.
Apparently Mitt thinks being himself is a losing proposition.
The man makes me uncomfortable, I didn’t like his insincerity during the management of the 2002 Olympics in Utah nor do I trust him with his phoney accents now. Love that Ann Richards quote… “silver foot in mouth” says it all.
So he was the same insincere dude during the Olympics? I was not particularly aware of him back then, but you Utah folks got to see him in action, so to speak. He makes me uncomfortable too, even without taking into account his positions (whatever they happen to be this week).
Love that Capeheart quote,
That’s so accurate that it just might stick and get re-used. Another characterization that resonates is “28-28-28”, redolent of Cain’s 9-9-9 and referring to Romney’s inability to break the 30% vote barrier.
I was paraphrasing. I just dug up and added the exact quote to the story.
I hadn’t heard “28-28-28.” Funny. Lots of good material piling up for the Dems to use in the general campaign, assuming Romney is the GOP nominee.