New guy gets to handle the “I Read These Morons So You Don’t Have To” category, right? And hey, this time it’s easy, it’s really pretty much all there in Bobo’s article title:
In Defense of Romney
And it goes precisely as you expect it would.
The central problem is that Mitt Romney doesn’t fit the mold of what many Republicans want in a presidential candidate. They don’t want a technocratic manager. They want a bold, blunt radical outsider who will take on the establishment, speak truth to power and offend the liberal news media.
They don’t want Organization Man. They want Braveheart.
The question is: Are they right to want this? Well, if they want an in-your-face media campaign that will produce delicious thrills for the true believers, they are absolutely right. But if they actually want to elect an effective executive who is right for this moment, they are probably not right.
If that sounds familiar, it should. Please notice that Bobo’s recycling his own argument as to why he liked candidate Obama in 2008.
And the other thing that does separate Obama from just a pure intellectual: he has tremendous powers of social perception. And this is why he’s a politician, not an academic. A couple of years ago, I was writing columns attacking the Republican congress for spending too much money. And I throw in a few sentences attacking the Democrats to make myself feel better. And one morning I get an email from Obama saying, ‘David, if you wanna attack us, fine, but you’re only throwing in those sentences to make yourself feel better.’ And it was a perfect description of what was going through my mind. And everybody who knows Obama all have these stories to tell about his capacity for social perception.
He then goes on to praise Romney for just how much like President Obama he is: perceptive, organized, intelligent, possessed of political expertise, surrounded by competent people and adaptable to a changing political situation. The funny thing is President Obama is still all of those things, still has gotten a hell of a lot done, still has a lot that he can do, but Bobo here seems to think that Romney’s good for America in the end because he’s dull (and of course the Tea Party would magically go away if President Obama weren’t around.)
It’s like watching paint dry. Unexciting, nondescript, especially boring paint.
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Now that I think about it, if there’s anyone in DC that will relentless push the idea of “Mitt Romney means we get to have a grown-up in the White House and no Tea Party!” fallacy for the next 13 months, it’s going to be Brooks.
Corner Stone
If there’s anything I enjoy more than not reading Brooks once, it’s not reading Brooks twice.
mass
You think we’ll ever see such signs on Wall Street:
“The tree of liberty must be watered at times with the blood of bankers…or wanker/winger/”centrist” NYT columnists.”
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
Yeah, he’s not Christian.
TooManyJens
I can’t think of anything Republicans want *less* than a candidate who will speak truth to power. Their entire party is an exercise in propping up existing power and/or hoping they will be the ones with power over the rest of us one day.
Gilles de Rais
But this is true. Without the presence of an angry Kenyan Marxist Black Panther in the White House, the unemployables, old people, shortwave listeners and militia crowd that comprise the band of vermin known as the “tea party” would promptly disband and go back to terrorizing pharmacy employees and Social Security workers. They’ve got better things to do, these folks, and most of those things involve television.
Gilles de Rais
why am I in moderation?
Feudalism Now!
The money that funded the Tea Party would dry up with an R in the WH. The mainstream republicans would be moved back to Ronaldus Magnus’ big tent and the fringe would return to the wilds. The mob is only needed to keep the GOP from cooperating or compromising. Unless the professional goopers, start an uncharacteristic swing to moderation while in power, what good is the tea party?
Plus, Romney is part of the 1%, he isn’t going to buck his buddies.
MattF
Back in the old days, Brooks would have been tagged as a ‘fellow traveler’. He’s bright, he writes engagingly, he sometimes has a good idea– but when push comes to shove, he follows the party line.
For the record, there is no such animal as an ‘apolitical’ politician. You may think that giraffe over there would be prettier if it had a short neck and lived underwater, but then… it wouldn’t be a giraffe.
J
This is the bit that makes one wonder if Brooks has taken leave of his senses (or much, much more likely isn’t an utterly dishonest propagandist).
‘replace’ and ‘reform’ are up there with sonder Behandlung as euphemisms; likewise ‘speak truth to power’ singled out by ToomanyJenns above, which in this context can only mean ‘lick the boots of those with power and money while lying on their behalf’.
Bill E Pilgrim
There were lots of good comments about this article here.
J
@Bill E Pilgrim: True, but who can begrudge a man or a woman to get in a little more Brooks-bashing?
Corner Stone
@Bill E Pilgrim: I thought about saying it, since Cole’s take was essentially the same and used fewer words. But then I thought, meh, new guy doesn’t read this blog either just like every other FP’er.
Corner Stone
Good Lord, the doctor in the Michael Jackson case had some beautiful freakin’ girlfriends. Damnation.
Anonne
You should also watch David Frum. He’s a little more fascinating to read, as he finally starts to understand Paul Krugman.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
For some reason this reminds me of a joke about a lumberjack camp out in the North Woods whose punchline ends with “…and the bad news is, tonight is your night in the barrel”.
Morzer
So much for our fearless wannabe leader of the free world. Trust David Brooks to raise the banner of “Wafflers of the World Unite You Have Nothing But Your Self-Respect To Lose”.
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Romney-Speaks-to-New-Hampshire-Union-Leader-Editors/10737424518/
Bruce S
A: What is this pathetic schmuck’s option other than to cling to Romney’s empty suit?
B: The “boredom defense” might well be considered a form of tepid self-regard in the case of Brooks.
Southern Beale
New York Magazine has the best piece yet on Mitt Romney:
They Don’t Like You, Mitt. They Really Don’t Like You.
Makes some really good points and also makes the point I’ve been saying, which is that everyone’s desperation to find someone — ANYONE — besides Romney would have sent lesser mortals into a steep depression.
ruemara
This gives those who are nominally Democratic leaning an out. That’s who David Brooks is, the soothing mellow voice of conservativism. Sure, the advent of the Tea Party brought the secret pile of crazy freak out and now, you don’t want to vote for one. But wait, here’s Mellow Repub Gold! The Velvet Hack, David Brooks, to reassure you that you can vote for Romney, he’s just a white Obama. Romney isn’t so bad, he’s reasonable. He’ll be MORE bipartisan than the failed Obama.
I know a number of leftier than thou types who can be counted on to bring this op ed up as yet another reason why they will not vote for Obama in 2012. Yes, I know they are left, they will vote Republican. It’s their choice. Cognitive dissonance is not just for breakfast any more.
jd spellchecka
just a bit ot…perhaps this is an internet joke, but the neutral response video has recieved a neutral response at youtube….24,642 likes, 24,642 dislikes
dj spellchecka
a bit ot, but the neutral response video has gotten a neutral response at youtube “24,642 likes…24,642 dislikes”
Kilkee
@ruemara: “The Velvet Hack” is a winnah!
JWL
“I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there and in some ways it was frustrating not to feel like I was there as part of the troops that were fighting in Vietnam.”
– Mitt Romney, Boston Globe, 6/24/07
“I was not planning on signing up for the military. It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam.”
– Mitt Romney, Boston Herald, 5/2/94
Elie
@ruemara:
Thats all well and good as long as Romney keeps his mouth shut. Problem is that the campaign season has barely begun and he still has managed to put foot in mouth when there is relatively little at stake. This guy aint never EVAH going to make it through a full throttle campaign season under enormous scrutiny and stress. The separation between his brain and mouth already evident, will be unbridgeable. In other words, the difference between him and Obama is going to be the Grand Canyon and there will be not amount of dreaming and fantasizing by Brooks or anyone else who will mitigate that.
Bruce S
Surprising turn of events – a numbingly insipid Brooks column is followed the very next day by an equally clueless and incoherent Thomas Friedman column…
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/opinion/friedman-no-christie-no-bargain.html?hp
In other news…we had weather.
Triassic Sands
Wow, Barack Obama’s incredible social perception told him Bobo was a fraud and a hypocrite. Amazing. Truly amazing. He probably has ESP and telekinetic powers too, because no one without supernatural powers would ever guess that Bobo is a fraud and a hypocrite. Unless, of course, they read one of his columns.
Obama may or may not have great social perception, but he certainly didn’t need it to see through Bobo.
Shlemizel
I couldn’t think of a ‘better’ follow up to the Obama administration than Mitt. You can almost hear the rapidly increase swirling sound of the country going down the toilet.
We can only hope that occupy wall street helps enough Dems to find their sacks and finally come around to working for the majority of Americans.