Althouse: He's from Massachusetts... and he speaks French!

१३ जानेवारी, २०१२

He's from Massachusetts... and he speaks French!

"... just like John Kerry..."

"Laissez les bon temps rouler"/"Bonjour, je m'appelle Mitt Romney."

९९ टिप्पण्या:

Freeman Hunt म्हणाले...: That ad is so bad. So so bad. It doesn't even seem real. You could play it as is on Saturday Night Live for one of their fake ad segments. (If they still have those. I haven't seen that show in many years. Is it still on the air?); १३/१/१२, १:०७ PM
edutcher म्हणाले...: And, supposedly, so does Newt. Speak French, at least.

This is desperation, pure and simple.

Be interesting to see what the Sunday polls say.; १३/१/१२, १:०७ PM
edutcher म्हणाले...: PS Apparently, Rasmussen's latest has Milton ahead in SC by 6, up from 2.

Looks like Bain-bashing was the wrong ploy.; १३/१/१२, १:१३ PM
a psychiatrist who learned from veterans म्हणाले...: Cool! One of the knocks on the R's is that they're insular. Mittens speaks the traditional international language of diplomacy apparently very well. Impressive.; १३/१/१२, १:१४ PM
hawkeyedjb म्हणाले...: Do you speak German? So did Hitler! You're not fit to hold office!; १३/१/१२, १:१४ PM
DADvocate म्हणाले...: Hmmm, so Mitt's not an etched in stone, hardliner. Well, well. He speaks French, too. My, My.

The ad is pathetic actually. Newt should just start running an ad claiming grouch short guys make better presidents.; १३/१/१२, १:१९ PM
Geoff Matthews म्हणाले...: And watch out for those folks who speak the language of Franco. Fascists, everyone of 'em.; १३/१/१२, १:१९ PM
traditionalguy म्हणाले...: That settles it. Romney's White House will serve crepes with sauces taken from Julia Child recipes.

Cain's would have served pizza.

Perry's would have served grits.

Gingrich's would have served NASA reconstituted foods in strange new flavors.

Paul's would have served pickled rattlesnake.

The winner is French cuisine. At least Romney doesn't have a dark skinned French child to tell South Carolina voters about.; १३/१/१२, १:२२ PM
अनामित म्हणाले...: That settles it. Romney's White House will serve crepes with sauces taken from Julia Child recipes.

Julie Child? - please.; १३/१/१२, १:२५ PM
Alex म्हणाले...: Come tonight, come to the French Cafe and relive the battle.; १३/१/१२, १:२६ PM
अनामित म्हणाले...: But he doesn't look French.; १३/१/१२, १:२७ PM
Patrick म्हणाले...: Wasn't Newt supposed to be running a "Campaign of Ideas?" Oh for Pete's sake. What a joke.; १३/१/१२, १:३१ PM
Kirby Olson म्हणाले...: It's a very poor accent I must say. And it's just one sentence. But based on the one sentence I would say he can't really do much in French.; १३/१/१२, १:३३ PM
bgates म्हणाले...: Wasn't Newt supposed to be running a "Campaign of Ideas?"

Nobody said they'd be good ideas.; १३/१/१२, १:३३ PM
Freeman Hunt म्हणाले...: I went to a French language immersion summer camp in early high school. A German language immersion camp was going on at the same time on the same campus. Food was part of the immersion experience, so our camp was served French food at every meal.

The German campers were quite jealous.

(One, a friend of mine from another camp a year before, snuck over to my room to tell me that she hadn't eaten in two days. I gave her the French snacks my parents had mailed. Care packages were inspected and required to contain immersion appropriate items.); १३/१/१२, १:३४ PM
MadisonMan म्हणाले...: As if Newt could win. I'm not sure what Romney did to raise Newt's ire to such free-spending heights.

Can I assume that Gingrich will not be offered a position in the Romney administration?; १३/१/१२, १:३७ PM
Tank म्हणाले...: Hey, just in time for France to be downgraded by S & P to ...

USA junk bond level.

Just sayin.

Meanwhile, in Greece, they continue to make believe that they have not defaulted.; १३/१/१२, १:३७ PM
Michael म्हणाले...: Fantastic! Let's have the debates in French.

I forget how many languages our president knows but I bet it is a lot.; १३/१/१२, १:३९ PM
chickelit म्हणाले...: Knowing enemy's native language can be useful.; १३/१/१२, १:४० PM
Freeman Hunt म्हणाले...: By the way, that French language camp was funded by the state of Arkansas. I suppose Arkansas isn't down home enough for Newt's ad people.; १३/१/१२, १:४० PM
pm317 म्हणाले...: wow, Newt is going off the rails! As Kirby Olson said that one sentence does not really mean Mittens can speak French.

WV:dingmo like dingbat; १३/१/१२, १:४१ PM
Wince म्हणाले...: If Newt can't have it, he wants to take his ball and go home.

Nevertheless, to the extent Newt makes himself look desperate with this early opposition stuff, it might inoculate Romney and take the oomph out of Obama's eventual attack line.; १३/१/१२, १:४१ PM
MrCharlie2 म्हणाले...: tg: "Perry's would have served grits."

Not that I like Perry much, but I think he would have served BBQ. Thus giving Mitt and Julia a run for their money.

100% correct otherwise; १३/१/१२, १:४३ PM
chickelit म्हणाले...: Kissing aside, let's be frank- French infected English. We can't be rid of it and we might as well embrace it. It's policy that leaves us in the lurch.; १३/१/१२, १:५१ PM
DADvocate म्हणाले...: I forget how many languages our president knows but I bet it is a lot.

Time magazine says Obama speaks "passable Bahasa", but Obama says he doesn't speak any foreign languages. I bet he knows them but just doesn't speak them.; १३/१/१२, १:५५ PM
Wince म्हणाले...: Newt is kicking sand in Romney's face.

Actually, doesn't the photo* in the ad I linked to earlier look remarkably like Mitt?

I suppose it should say, "Hey, 'Renoir'! Your shoe is untied! Ha, Ha, Ha..." instead of "Rembrandt".

* not Mitt Romney; १३/१/१२, १:५९ PM
Michael म्हणाले...: DADvocate: Bahasha? Really. Who knew.

I would go for the debates to be in Bahasha if that is the case.; १३/१/१२, २:०३ PM
Thorley Winston म्हणाले...: It’s a disappointing ad. I generally had a lot of respect for Newt Gingrich while Speaker in large part because of his role as the Author of the Contract with America suggested he wanted a battle of ideas and to get Republicans to rally around being for something.

This is just “Freedom Fries Part Deux.”; १३/१/१२, २:०६ PM
Tarkwell Robotico म्हणाले...: Of the two, Newt looks much more like a crepe and croissant eater.

Ever notice Newt seems to have a size 54 waist? He's a lot of mass - not much gravity though.; १३/१/१२, २:०८ PM
bagoh20 म्हणाले...: "I am ze locksmith of love, no?"

"But madame! I have overstoked the furnace, yes? Madame! Your conduct is unseemly! Control yourself! Madame! "

Pepe Le Pew; १३/१/१२, २:१५ PM
garage mahal म्हणाले...: Fluent in French? Why don't you marry Jane Fonda while you're at it!; १३/१/१२, २:१९ PM
chickelit म्हणाले...: Garage said: Fluent in French?

Like the song said: "O my love grows where my Rosemary goes.." link; १३/१/१२, २:३१ PM
Jose_K म्हणाले...: So did Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and Lafayette; १३/१/१२, २:३७ PM
chickelit म्हणाले...: You are incorrigibly politic, garage mahal.

Do you think of Scott Walker when you stare into an ice hole, setting up your tip-up?; १३/१/१२, २:३८ PM
X म्हणाले...: did he meet with enemy during a time of war when the voters had just rejected him? because that would make him just like John Kerry.; १३/१/१२, २:४२ PM
victoria म्हणाले...: Stupid ad.

By the way, the French are not our enemy, they are our trading partner and ally. Idiots. The French are not the devil. They are decent, hard working people like Americans. Idiots.

Vicki from Pasadena; १३/१/१२, २:५१ PM
MrCharlie2 म्हणाले...: I can only see that ad as one big joke, with the French thing as a final over-the-top punch line.

You'd think whoever produced it wants to go through the motions of a presidential campaign, collect/spend lots of money from naive donor, make crazy ads like this to appeal to a bunch of rubes, and sit around laughing at their own joke.; १३/१/१२, २:५३ PM
Balfegor म्हणाले...: Time magazine says Obama speaks "passable Bahasa", but Obama says he doesn't speak any foreign languages. I bet he knows them but just doesn't speak them.

My guess is that he really doesn't know them in any meaningful way. The bar for Americans to claim they speak a foreign language is incredibly low (Huntsman, for example, has been claiming he speaks Mandarin although his Mandarin is apparently ungrammatical and incomprehensible). And because our journalists are almost all monolingual, it's not like their reporting on politicians' fluency has much credibility.

Obama might know a few words or greetings in Bahasa from his childhood, but I'd be extremely surprised if he has retained anything more. In addition, there were a handful of news reports from back during the 2008 election indicating that even as a child, he was somewhat isolated, socially, and couldn't speak the local language with much proficiency.; १३/१/१२, २:५३ PM
MDIJim म्हणाले...: Personally I resent the attacks on my native commonwealth. Romney will be so scared of the bible belt wackos in SC that he will not dare root for his home town Pats against the Christian QB.

BTW is Newt sayin' that he does not speak French? Does that mean that he did not read all those French sources that he cites in his doctoral dissertation? Does Newt's Ph. D. in European history mean that he is an intellectual and a Eurologist?

wv: prood that is what my good Massachusetts forbears called those wackos in SC.; १३/१/१२, २:५४ PM
अनामित म्हणाले...: that is what my good Massachusetts forbears called those wackos in SC

Just thought you'd like to know, we Southern wackos are taking over your decrepit Bay State, slowly. Soomeday, we'll make it worth living in again.; १३/१/१२, २:५८ PM
garage mahal म्हणाले...: Do you think of Scott Walker when you stare into an ice hole, setting up your tip-up?

But there is a hot bite going on right on Lake Waubesa, can't wait for the weekend. Walker will not be on mind.; १३/१/१२, २:५९ PM
Alex म्हणाले...: By the way, the French are not our enemy, they are our trading partner and ally. Idiots. The French are not the devil. They are decent, hard working people like Americans. Idiots.

That's a generalization - do you have any evidence for that assertion?; १३/१/१२, ३:०१ PM
Rusty म्हणाले...: Merde!; १३/१/१२, ३:१९ PM
Mid-Life Lawyer म्हणाले...: ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.; १३/१/१२, ३:२८ PM
Wince म्हणाले...: ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.; १३/१/१२, ३:२८ PM
Titus म्हणाले...: Pats are going to kick ass this weekend.

Go Mass!; १३/१/१२, ३:४० PM
Andy म्हणाले...: I can only see that ad as one big joke, with the French thing as a final over-the-top punch line.

You could play it as is on Saturday Night Live for one of their fake ad segments.

What a joke.

Called this months ago. Is anyone still defending Newt besides Crack?; १३/१/१२, ३:४१ PM
Titus म्हणाले...: I like the French Music in the background but I am a big fag.; १३/१/१२, ३:४६ PM
Wince म्हणाले...: Newt: "You got a pool over there?"

Mitt: "We have a pond in the back. We have a pool and a pond. The pond would be good for you."; १३/१/१२, ३:५१ PM
Bruce Hayden म्हणाले...: Here is the difference - Kerry learned French when he was in Swiss boarding school, and Romney for his church mission.

Today, he much more likely would have learned Spanish than French, but back when Romney was in school, esp. right up next to Canada in Michigan, French would have looked more useful.

(Ok, maybe he got the mission to France instead of some 3rd world country because he spoke French, or, at least that may have had some impact on his church's decision on where to send him - or it could just have been at least partially due to his father).; १३/१/१२, ३:५६ PM
DADvocate म्हणाले...: I like the French Music in the background but I am a big fag.

How big are you?

Oops. That didn't sound right.

I like Camille Saint-Saëns. I'm not a big classical music aficionado. There may be others I like, but don't know they're French. I don't keep up with where contempory music originates. The French have produced a lot of great painters.; १३/१/१२, ३:५९ PM
Titus म्हणाले...: He went to Harvard too which is really gross.

I feel bad for gross states that don't have any professional sports teams. Who do they cheer for?

CNN just announced that the bunny ranch is supporting Ron Paul. They interviews a bunch of whores who are really excited about his candidacy.

Did you know they have the right to turn down any customers? Do you know how they do that? They ask the guys to drop their pants and inspect their hogs.; १३/१/१२, ४:०० PM
chuck b. म्हणाले...: I am puzzled how Newt or Perry can have any Republican support left after attacking Romney's record in private equity. To my thinking this put Romney in a strong position. He has an opportunity to make full-throated defense of the free-market economy directly to the Republican base. My questions are, is anyone left in the Republican base who isn't a social conservative wingnut, and is Romney capable of a full-throated defense of anything?; १३/१/१२, ४:१० PM
Titus म्हणाले...: Mass is a creative economy hub. Amazing companies are headquartered here and we are number two in Venture Capitol Start Ups in the U.S. Patents for days.

Very expens and exlclus.

You need to make good money to live here.

Job pays really well.

Peeps come from all over the world because amazing hosps.

Education, hello? Most educated.

We are a "giver" state-we give more and the gross states take more.

Also, the guys and girls are really hot.

We are the thinnest too.

We are major dog lovers...except Romney, putting your dog in a crate and driving to Montreal-that is really fucked.

And you can't swing a cat without hitting a fag.

It's also the most "urban" state in the U.S. Once you leave Boston you just go from city to city to city, west, east and south. You don't know where one ends and one begins unless you have done it in every hamlet.

And our rural areas are still very urban-Western Mass has Amherst, Springfield (which is totally gross), Northampton (dykes) and the fab Berkshires (moneyed New Yorkers and Bostonians summer haunts with tons of "arts"-gay)

And history!

And you can walk everywhere!

And the city is still alive at night and weekends which is rare in many cities in the U.S. which are dead. Foot traffic everywhere which is excellent for checking hotties out.

So come on down, visit. Although hotel rates are very expensive, natch-but many of the boutique hotels allow dogs of course.

I live in Harvard Square and one of my favorite things to do is fly out of my expensive loft, push a fatty tourist from Mississippi out of the way and jumping into a cab. It's so empowering.; १३/१/१२, ४:१३ PM
rhhardin म्हणाले...: French is the language of overpriced food.; १३/१/१२, ४:१५ PM
Titus म्हणाले...: Housing is outrageous though but that weeds out the riff raff.

A decent one bedroom starts at over 500k, no parking. A decent and somewhat close parking spot will run you around 500 a month.

tits.; १३/१/१२, ४:१७ PM
David म्हणाले...: Gingrich: "Je m'apelle Newt!"

Voter: "Newt!???!"

Gingrich: "Oui, Newt."

Voter: "Why you here, M. Newt?"

Gingrich: "Mitt, Il a raconté un tas de mensonges."

Voter: You don't say.

Gingrich: "Aussi, il est Mormon."

Voter:

Gingrich:

Voter:

Gingrich: "Un ange passe."

Voter:

Gingrich: "Je sais que j'ai loupé l'examen."

Voter: Oui; १३/१/१२, ४:२० PM
David म्हणाले...: Vicki: They are decent, hard working people like Americans. Idiots.

Not fair, Vicki. The French are not idiots. Many are quite smart. And decent. Hard working is a stretch, though.; १३/१/१२, ४:२५ PM
Unknown म्हणाले...: When I heard this ad on NPR, I thought it was a joke. Now I know it's a joke. Is Newt Gingrich really the price we have to pay for the 1st Amendment? Couldn't we just be satisfied with David Duke and Farrakhan?; १३/१/१२, ४:३४ PM
MrCharlie2 म्हणाले...: "except Romney, putting your dog in a crate and driving to Montreal"

that's what happens if you speak French; १३/१/१२, ४:३७ PM
a psychiatrist who learned from veterans म्हणाले...: @ Bruce H.

There could have been a particular business reason for Romney to learn French. His father was head of American Motors. American Motors, owner of the Jeep, was sold to Renault. Under Renault, the Grand Cherokee was developed. The head of Renault was captured by terorists and killed and, in the denouement of that incident, the Jeep brand and the Grand Cherokee were devolved to Chrysler. Ghosn rose from the subsiidary in Brazil to become head of Renault which later merged Nissan, and Ghoson ran both. French might have been seen as useful for a younger Romney.; १३/१/१२, ५:०० PM
ic म्हणाले...: Gingrich is panicky.

If you wanted to be president, you'd better flunk your high school foreign languages.

Does that disqualify Rubio who also speaks Spanish?; १३/१/१२, ५:०६ PM
ic म्हणाले...: Michael, our current president does not speak Austrian.; १३/१/१२, ५:०९ PM
daubiere म्हणाले...: boston is where you go when you can't make it in new york city.; १३/१/१२, ५:१३ PM
ic म्हणाले...: Chicken Little: French infected English.

Where did William the Conquerer come from to do the Battle of Hastings? He was also known as William the Bastard, William of Normandy. Yeah, that Normandy where we sent our troops on D-Day.

Btw, English was a Germanic language. Hitler speaks German.; १३/१/१२, ५:१५ PM
edutcher म्हणाले...: victoria said...

Stupid ad.

By the way, the French are not our enemy.

Tell zem zat.; १३/१/१२, ५:२० PM
Automatic_Wing म्हणाले...: I can't believe Teddy Kennedy didn't make that ad. How soon they forget.; १३/१/१२, ५:४१ PM
Jason (the commenter) म्हणाले...: Anti-intellectualism, from Newt Gingrich?; १३/१/१२, ५:४३ PM
Andy म्हणाले...: I love all of us here together laughing at Newt. Laughing laughing laughing. Laughing at a party that would take him seriously.

Remember when he was going to save us from Romneybot?; १३/१/१२, ५:४६ PM
Palladian म्हणाले...: Some of us are also laughing at your hat a little, Andy.

But yes, hopefully this will finally make people realize that a Gingrich candidacy was a terrible idea.; १३/१/१२, ५:५१ PM
garage mahal म्हणाले...: The GOP is going to nominate the architect of ObamaCare, who also happens to be a Massachusetts moderate who speaks fluent French. Pretty much everything they mock and hate, all rolled up into one candidate. Wheeeee!; १३/१/१२, ५:५९ PM
DADvocate म्हणाले...: Some of us are also laughing at your hat a little, Andy.

Not me. I think it's sad when someone doesn't know how to face the right direction when putting on a hat.

wv - pardi

Pardi! Pardi! Pardi! Pardi! Pardi! Pardi!; १३/१/१२, ६:०१ PM
Danno म्हणाले...: This begs the question as to whether he's haughty and still has the hat!; १३/१/१२, ६:४६ PM
traditionalguy म्हणाले...: Garage is right. What a revolting development that is.

The GOP wouldn't go get themselves a real Utah Mormon. They went out and found them a Detroit bred Boston Mormon who ran up a fortune closing down American manufacturers that he bought up cheap and who now wants to buy up the Presidency cheap.; १३/१/१२, ६:५६ PM
Nightbird Glineux म्हणाले...: @traditionalguy: True, but he's still an improvement over the incumbent.; १३/१/१२, ७:०४ PM
Danno म्हणाले...: ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.; १३/१/१२, ७:०७ PM
Simon म्हणाले...: Good job he doesn't speak Spanish, or the knock would be that he's secretly for illegal immigration and for all you know that line he delivered in spanish at that event you attended said precisely that! I oppose bilingualism in government, but to oppose familiarity with foreign languages is small minded.

DADvocate said...
"I like Camille Saint-Saëns. I'm not a big classical music aficionado. There may be others I like, but don't know they're French."

It'll pay to get familiar with Claude Debussy and Cesar Franck!; १३/१/१२, ७:०८ PM
Danno म्हणाले...: ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.; १३/१/१२, ७:१७ PM
gadfly म्हणाले...: So according to all critics, the ad is bad because it ended with reference to John F. Kerry AND Willard M. Romney speaking French.

Wow, if we find this disturbing, just think how we would react to candidacy of the chief advocate of MassCare which has cost the Bay State 15,000 good paying jobs and has raised insurance premiums 20% per year in every year since 2006.

Folks - the first minute of the commercial was packed with legitimate points about the Romney candidacy while the last 8 seconds was devoted to the joke that tied Kerry to French incompetency.

I remember James Taranto's WSJ columns which always added "who served in Viet Nam" or "who looks French" at every mention of Kerry's name. That went on for years after the 2004 election.; १३/१/१२, ७:२५ PM
Kirby Olson म्हणाले...: Sarkozy is a lot more conservative than BO. The French have a strong conservative contingent. They're not all nuts. That's just their cultural export. Many French people are religious and many in the north are Protestants and even have a work ethic. They're not all mad like Lacan or Deleuze. They also have Raymond Aron and New Philosophers like Finkelkraut and Luc Ferry, who make a lot more sense than our flaming nutcase academics (by which I include our current prez).; १३/१/१२, ७:३६ PM
Wince म्हणाले...: Gingrich does have some interesting ideas and strategies, and he's a strong debater.

The issue all along has been his leadership ability, and whether he has the temperament to be the President.

Newt is only exacerbating those concerns right now.; १३/१/१२, ७:३९ PM
Automatic_Wing म्हणाले...: Everyone knows that Romney's a RINO squish. That's a given. The question is whether any of the alternatives is any better.

Gingrich is just as RINOtastic as Romney. For chrissake, he posed on a couch with Nancy Pelosi to tell us that SOMETHING MUST BE DONE about global warming. And his personal baggage is...how you say...substantial.

Perry really is an illegal immigation enthusiast who thinks that you don't have a heart if you're not on board with importing tens of millions more uneducated Central American peasants. Plus, he seems kinda dumb.

Santorum is your basic big government social con. Mike Huckabee without the charm. Pass.

Ron Paul is all about isolationism and the gold standard, niche issues that a few people are passionate about but have no resonance in a general election. He is not getting elected.

I really don't see how Romney is a worse candidate than any of these people. It's not like we have a field full of exciting, electable true conservatives.; १३/१/१२, ७:४६ PM
Dante म्हणाले...: Check out the ads Kennedy was running against romney (at the bottom of the page).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/four-pinocchios-for-king-of-bain/2012/01/12/gIQADX8WuP_blog.html; १३/१/१२, ७:४७ PM
Titus म्हणाले...: Boston and New York are alike in some ways but very different in terms of economy.

New York is finance and fashion and entertainment.

Boston is education and biotech software and health care.

So different type of fab.; १३/१/१२, ७:५६ PM
daubiere म्हणाले...: lol, in other words not fab at all; १३/१/१२, ८:०५ PM
Joe म्हणाले...: Several articles have pointed out that Gingrich used many French citation in his Ph.D. thesis and his supervisor was a native French speaker.

Gingrich is one of those whiners in high school who want to be popular, but aren't, and so become assholes.; १३/१/१२, ८:०७ PM
Phil 314 म्हणाले...: Well its a good thing Newt is a pure as the driven snow.

Newt would never sit down with a liberal democrat.

Newt would never take money from the Wall Street Crowd.

And Newt has superior executive experience (being Fox pundit counts, right?)

And did I mention Newt is a

HISTORIAN!!!; १३/१/१२, ८:०८ PM
Sorin म्हणाले...: Ne vous moquez-vous du français ou les Français?
Nous pouvons dîner sur Mitt Romneys crêpes, même si nous désirons ragoût d'orignal de Sarah. S'il vous plaît, pas de ketchup Hines. Nous pourrions même voir un garage à ruminer sur la pelouse de la Maison Blanche alors qu'Andy ramasse son nez.
Écoute de Newt cam-être un peu fastidieux.; १३/१/१२, ९:१३ PM
Known Unknown म्हणाले...: "except Romney, putting your dog in a crate and driving to Montreal"

I have to put my one dog in a crate to travel in the car. (Not on the roof!) because he gets really nervous in the car and basically wants to sit in the driver's lap.; १३/१/१२, ९:३४ PM
Freeman Hunt म्हणाले...: Folks - the first minute of the commercial was packed with legitimate points about the Romney candidacy while the last 8 seconds was devoted to the joke that tied Kerry to French incompetency.

Legitimate points such as? I assume you aren't referring to the Dukakis in a tank or Kerry windsurfing vids that lead the ad. After that silliness, we get the following:

ROMNEY DONATED TO DEMOCRATS

Yes, he was a businessman. They all do that. I can look up any wealthy guy in the area where I live and find donations to both parties. Many times the rich people around here give identical donations to opposing candidates and parties. Other times they give donations to whoever is in power. It's "leave me alone" money. (Sometimes it's "give me a sweet government deal" or "give me protectionist regulations" money.)

ROMNEY CHOSE THE DEMOCRATS

Meaning that he voted in their primary rather than the primary for the Republicans. People often do that strategically. It's meaningless.

OPPOSED THE CONTRACT WITH AMERICA

Not the aims of it. See here. He didn't back it or oppose it because he was running for office in Massachusetts and was distancing himself from DC. He did oppose that method of negotiation, as described at the link, as it forces one side to be the losers even if they support the policies.

RAISED TAXES

Yes, he balanced the budget of Massachusetts as required by the state constitution. Massachusetts is a liberal state, and the people there like to spend a lot of money on government. The only change was that under Romney they actually had to fund it.

AUTHORED GOVERNMENT MANDATED HEALTHCARE

This is a complicated issue, but yes, he did design the new Massachusetts healthcare law. It was, however, significantly changed by the veto-proof, Democrat-majority Massachusetts legislature.

TAXPAYER FUNDED ABORTIONS

Sort of. He did not do this directly. It was required by an earlier state Supreme Court ruling.

Every point in the ad relies on wholly ignoring the political reality of Massachusetts.; १३/१/१२, १०:१३ PM
Writ Small म्हणाले...: I remember James Taranto's WSJ columns which always added "who served in Viet Nam" or "who looks French" at every mention of Kerry's name. That went on for years after the 2004 election.

Taranto was joking. Are we meant to take Newt's advertising as a joke? If so, mission accomplished.; १३/१/१२, १०:२६ PM
AlanKH म्हणाले...: Mitt should get with the program. English is the lingua franca of the global economy.; १३/१/१२, ११:१५ PM
bagoh20 म्हणाले...: As usual, well done Freeman. That pretty much is the story. The commenters here - working for free between grabbing a drink and a snack - are far better than the best of the media's writers getting paid. I really can't believe modern journalism is even called a profession let alone a hobby.; १४/१/१२, १२:४० AM
The Crack Emcee म्हणाले...: Freeman Hunt,

That ad is so bad. So so bad. It doesn't even seem real. You could play it as is on Saturday Night Live for one of their fake ad segments. (If they still have those. I haven't seen that show in many years. Is it still on the air?)

Not as bad as the idea we'd elect this idiot. That's much, much worse,...; १४/१/१२, १०:२१ AM
The Crack Emcee म्हणाले...: BTW:

When saying wee-wee, poo-poo, and la-la are admirable American traits, we might as well hang it up, folks:

It's over.; १४/१/१२, १०:२९ AM
write_effort म्हणाले...: I thought the French line was meant to a playful twist that at the same time reinforced the Kerry connection. Newt has a Ph.D. (in European history, no less) so he probably was required to be able to do research in at least one other language. Guessing the guy speaks French and probably German. And isn't the knock on French also a knock on Romney's religious obligation.; १४/१/१२, ११:०८ AM
shiloh म्हणाले...: "Can I assume that Gingrich will not be offered a position in the Romney administration?"

No, but you can assume there will be no mittens admin as I sit back eating my freedom fries watching Reps continue to eat their own and Althouse lemmings continue to apologize for mittens.

Revenge er spite is a conservative dish best served cold!

As Kirk would say, Reps keep missing the target ...; १४/१/१२, २:१३ PM
Amartel म्हणाले...: When he gets it wrong, he really gets it wrong. Newt. Over.; १६/१/१२, १२:२० PM
अनामित म्हणाले...: I love the door lock and i want to buy it .. and i love the design of door and other product of locking.
locksmith tools; २४/१/१२, २:४९ AM