Althouse: Romney's 5 sons on Conan.

June 21, 2012

Romney's 5 sons on Conan.

They're talking about family pranks, including the way Mitt Romney likes to ask a son to smell some food then pushes his face into it.

73 comments:

Patrick said...: Did he cut their hair?; 6/21/12, 8:52 AM
Anonymous said...: That guy looks like Robbie from "My Three Sons."; 6/21/12, 8:53 AM
ndspinelli said...: He obviously got into the wrong line when they passed out sense of humor. And, w/ no humor gene, all he knows is the 3 Stooges. The Stooges are humorous to men but it's just a small slice of physical humor. His laugh is not real natural. I sense he came from a very serious, humorless family.; 6/21/12, 8:55 AM
MikeR said...: Yeah, but Obama does that to his dog.; 6/21/12, 8:55 AM
Scott M said...: I have an oldest boy, two girls in the middle, and a youngest boy. This type of thing is exactly the kind of humor you use on boys. You can use it on girls as well, but, at least in my case, my wife started leaning on me to stop treating them like boys after they were 4 or so.

I didn't, and as a result, they're both fairly tom-boyish.; 6/21/12, 8:58 AM
Shanna said...: Those Romney men seem to have very long faces.

I voted ok, particularly for boys. Although it really depends on the kid and the dad whether this stuff is appropriate. It could be done in a mean or funny way. If the kids aren't mad, I don't think anybody else should be.

(I've been giving the wrong numbers ever since someone speculated the WV is a google plot to get us to id addresses a computer can't!); 6/21/12, 9:08 AM
PatHMV said...: I think it's not a good idea to be telling old family stories like this. Opens the family up for greater scrutiny. Every family is different. I have no objection to the jokes he played with his kids, if they don't. Me, I would have been really pissed off if my dad ever did that to me. Different families, different people, different circumstances, so I'm not judging them or Romney, I'm glad we don't live in a one-size-fits-all world. But it doesn't do much to make me like him better.

On a strategic front, Romney's not going to win any "I'm more fun and likable" awards in this cycle. He's just not that kind of guy. So he needs to keep the focus on the economy and other political issues. He's got to show just enough family stuff that people recognize that he is indeed human, but beyond that, I don't think it helps him.; 6/21/12, 9:11 AM
Scott M said...: (I've been giving the wrong numbers ever since someone speculated the WV is a google plot to get us to id addresses a computer can't!)

The number is irrelevant. You can type just the word and hit submit and it will take it every time.; 6/21/12, 9:12 AM
MadisonMan said...: Seems like a waste of food to me. I hope his boys don't fall for that trick more than once.

Does he say 'Nyuk nyuk nyuk' when he does it?; 6/21/12, 9:13 AM
traditionalguy said...: But did he abuse the son who acts metro-sexual and dresses funny? Now that would be news.; 6/21/12, 9:30 AM
edutcher said...: My first instinct was for 1, but went with 3.

I think he's much looser in his home than out with other people.

This sort of thing is guy stuff; Scott M is right on that, girls would cry because their hair/makeup/lipstick was wrecked.; 6/21/12, 9:43 AM
bagoh20 said...: If you can find a way to bitch about a father and his sons playing like this and enjoying each other during the short time they have together, then it's YOU - not them.

And Spinelli: The humor wasn't sufficiently high brow enough for you. Imagine how ridiculously mock-able that would be if it was high brow.

I say, Josh old boy, I must tell you that if Philip Glass wrote an ambient opera in honor of my genitals, the title of the epic collection of random notes and sounds would be "Phantasmagoric Ode To Big Dong Number Five."!

"I'll treasure that knowledge, father."; 6/21/12, 9:49 AM
Meade said...: I wouldn't be so sure it's guy stuff only: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Laughs!"; 6/21/12, 9:50 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: I'm in the minority here (I voted for sadistic - I've learned a lot of you ARE passively-aggressively sadistic over the years,...) It's funny, but I'm very big on the male-humor-thing (at work we greet each other with a middle finger) but I've never done THAT to anyone.

This man (and his supporters) get weirder with every bit we learn about him,...; 6/21/12, 10:16 AM
edutcher said...: Crack, lighten up.

Other people do this sort of stuff, too.; 6/21/12, 10:20 AM
bagoh20 said...: I suspect that Romney's kids felt joy and excitement when Dad came in the door. If you think this stuff is wrong , then your kids probably don't when you come home.; 6/21/12, 10:27 AM
Anonymous said...: I agree with Crack, wow. Pushing a kids face into food? Seriously? My father, a humorless European would've said it was wasting food. To me it seems sadistic and a waste of food.

I don't think he's weird because he's a Mormon, he's just weird. I'm rethinking my vote for him, is Nadar running again?; 6/21/12, 10:30 AM
David said...: Could Romney get Putin to smell some food?; 6/21/12, 10:32 AM
edutcher said...: AllieOop said...

I agree with Crack, wow. Pushing a kids face into food? Seriously? My father, a humorless European would've said it was wasting food. To me it seems sadistic and a waste of food.

I don't think he's weird because he's a Mormon, he's just weird. I'm rethinking my vote for him, is Nadar running again?

He wouldn't want it, either.

However, someone even closer to Oop's politics is running - Cynthia McKinney, the cutest little Communist in Congress.; 6/21/12, 10:35 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: edutcher,

Crack, lighten up.

Other [sadistic] people do this sort of stuff [to children] too.

FIFY; 6/21/12, 10:38 AM
Stoutcat said...: Good grief, my father did this to all of us (two girls, one boy) when we were little...

"Mmmm, doesn't that smell good?" Splat!

We learned quickly not to fall for that one, so he switched up to "Ooh, that pie is still warm, hold your hand over it so you can feel it..." Splat!

All in good fun, and the kids that weren't on the receiving end all had a good laugh; we all fell for it at one time or another, even my Dad, who walked right into it once when his sister was visiting.

Good times, good times. We all turned out fine, not a mass murderer or a democrat in the bunch of us.; 6/21/12, 10:46 AM
MadisonMan said...: This sort of thing is guy stuff; Scott M is right on that, girls would cry because their hair/makeup/lipstick was wrecked.

My daughter does not wear makeup or lipstick around the house. Is that unusual? So there's be nothing to wreck.

Maybe it's because she is so naturally beautiful.

Romney's behavior, the more I think of it, seems worse and worse. I just can't think of a good reason to do this. If I saw him do it, my first words would be Oh, Grow up!; 6/21/12, 10:47 AM
Scott M said...: My oldest loved the Random Head Slap. No pattern, no warning, it just happened with me declaring RANDOM HEAD SLAP out loud. This was shortened to RHS when it became obvious he was too quick for the full name. Then he damned near got too quick for the RHS.

Wrestling matches always ensued and as it became apparent he was starting to reach me (than eclipsed me) in strength, I had to resort to tickling in order to win.

Sadistic, I know. By the way, he loved that game and said he will definitely play it with his kids. Thus completing the Crack/Oop circle of violence.; 6/21/12, 10:54 AM
edutcher said...: The Crack Emcee said...

Crack, lighten up.

Other [sadistic] people do this sort of stuff [to children] too.

FIFY

Other normal people do this sort of stuff [to children] too.

FIFY; 6/21/12, 10:57 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Normal family stuff. Physical pranks especially with boys.

My daughter and I had a running joke/prank thing for a few months when she was in junior high. We had a large realistic plastic spider, probably left over from Halloween decorations. We would place it in various locations to scare each other. She put it into a bag of vegetables in the fridge and when I put my hand in the bag...>Oh CRAP!!!! I hung it from a door jamb so she would run into it when she went into the bathroom in the morning. YIKES!!! She slipped it into a glass of wine I was drinking while watching television. Into the sock drawer, in the book bag, in the sandwich bag. Her friends thought it was hilarious and helped to hide the spider. She got my co-workers in on it and I would find it at work.

Come on.....lighten up people. It is just fun.; 6/21/12, 11:04 AM
ndspinelli said...: Allie, Do you mean Radar O'Reilly or Ralph Nader?; 6/21/12, 11:07 AM
ndspinelli said...: I find the pushing wedding cake in the face stupid also. I have a great sense of humor, low and high brow. I love baseball but the shaving cream in the face is so played. It all died w/ Soupy Sales in my mind. I don't have the baggage of people who don't like Romney politically, I plan on voting for him @ this point. However, "to each their own" is my credo. I would never do that to my son but that's their biz.; 6/21/12, 11:11 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Crack - we give the finger at work to everyone. We are not sexist.

The Romney household was a guy house with six males and only one female. This stuff is no big deal and Ann Romney must be a saint.

"independents" like Allie & Mad Man will feign their intent to vote against Obama and for Romney but the commenters here know they they would never actually do so.; 6/21/12, 11:11 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I find the pushing wedding cake in the face stupid also

Ditto. It seems out of place in a solemn occasion like a wedding....and a waste of good cake.

@ Crack & Allie. Sadistic would be telling your kids that their pet died as a joke. "Ha ha...just kidding, kids. Fluffy is still alive...for now. Bwahahaha." Or doing things that are actually hurtful. A face full of whipped cream is not harmful.

This other stuff is just pratfall, Stooges humor. Dumb, but young kids, especially boys, seem to enjoy it.; 6/21/12, 11:20 AM
yashu said...: In cases like this, a lot depends on the family/ home environment and the temperament of the kids involved.

If it's a loving family, loving home environment, and the kids experience and react to such pranks as play, seems totally fine and normal to me. Generally speaking, boys, more than girls, readily take to this kind of stuff-- they love rambunctious play, tomfoolery and hijinks, and experience it as fatherly love/ attention. But not all boys, and if a kid regularly evinces discomfort or distress over this kind of thing, a good and perceptive parent would stop.

If it's not a loving family/ environment but one filled with anger, hostility, and cruelty, and/or any of the kids experiences and reacts to such pranks with (say) anger or fear or resentment, then it's not OK.

My impression of the Romney family has always been the former, a loving family that remains close. Those don't seem resentful children, at all. If it were the latter, I don't think the sons would so easily talk about it, or talk about it at all, as light-hearted talk show fodder.; 6/21/12, 11:39 AM
Rusty said...: Any body who's had a dad and brothers, this is routine stuff. It isn't cruel or mean because there is always payback. Usually at a most embarrassing time.; 6/21/12, 11:54 AM
wyo sis said...: In an election like this when the choice is as clear between two fundamentally different views of America and the prospect of an economy in chaos basing your vote on which candidate plays pranks that you don't like is about as shallow as it gets.; 6/21/12, 12:14 PM
Anonymous said...: Sadism is a scary human trait that doesn't have any place in a person that will hold the highest office in the land. There have been a few incidences in which his character comes into question. If questioning the character of a Presidential candidate is considered shallow, then one's critical thinking skills are lacking.

I don know if Romney is sadistic or just a jerk, but to give people we want to be our president so badly that we give a pass to questionable behavior, will only give us another Obama, think about it.

Is vetting not a worthwhile endeavor anymore?; 6/21/12, 12:52 PM
Scott M said...: Sadism is a scary human trait that doesn't have any place in a person that will hold the highest office in the land.

I assume you're talking about Romney. Please show how Romney possesses this trait while the current resident at 1600 Penn Ave does not.

There have been a few incidences in which his character comes into question.

A few would denote more than one. Please list them.

Is vetting not a worthwhile endeavor anymore?

It is more necessary now than ever. We need someone who knows when to go for the jugular and when to placate. Obama, thus far, does not appear to possess those qualities. It's looking more and more like Romney does, I'm pleasantly surprised to say.

Do you want another beta male in the White House?; 6/21/12, 1:03 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: This is a test to see if the number is irrelevant and if this works, then, Scott, goddamnit!

Conflicting edit

Conflicting edit; 6/21/12, 1:04 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: By goddamnit, I mean yay it works.

after two conflicting edits including this time.; 6/21/12, 1:08 PM
wyo sis said...: Sadism has a definition and pranking your sons, who enjoy it and prank back, is not sadism.; 6/21/12, 1:11 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/21/12, 1:14 PM
Anonymous said...: No Chip, I don't. That is one of the fears I had early on with Obama. Hillary had bigger gonads than he did. But I ignored those qualms I had at that time and voted for him. Mistake. I don't want to make such a serious mistake twice. But what choices do we have?

Conversely I don't want a bully in the Whitehouse either.

Argggg! Blogger is being sadistic today.; 6/21/12, 1:17 PM
Anonymous said...: Sorry, not Chip, I meant Scott.; 6/21/12, 1:18 PM
Scott M said...: So just answer that last question (the lob over the plate) but ignore the rest? Why?

And what proof do you have that Romney's a bully?; 6/21/12, 1:23 PM
MadisonMan said...: I also find that wedding cake smashing horrid.

You show the love of your life how you feel about them by doing that? Seriously?

(And what DBQ says: Total waste of good cake. In my case, it was Lemon Poppyseed with a buttercream frosting. We had cheesecakes too).; 6/21/12, 1:27 PM
Scott M said...: I also find that wedding cake smashing horrid.

My wife didn't like the whole idea of the dollar dance. She's since changed her mind. Her father offered a $10k wedding or that much as a down payment on a house. She's since changed her mind on that as well.; 6/21/12, 1:31 PM
wyo sis said...: The way people express humor is probably one of the things we most misunderstand about each other. If the people involved think is's funny and they don't think there's anything wrong with it why should we?
If in the interest of diversity, or choice, we allow other people their own opinion about their sexuality, their religion, their preferences in partners, their behavior in class, in short, their choices, why are we getting all worked up about the way a man and his sons relate to each other?; 6/21/12, 1:38 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: What wyosis said.

I don't see anything sadistic about the pranks and jokes the Romney boys/men are relating. Not something that I would appreciate that much in the way of humor, but....to each his own.

I don't see sadism in any of the other ginned up horror stories that the straw grasping media is trying to force feed to the public. Transporting the dog. Cutting a guy's hair. All big fat nothing burgers.; 6/21/12, 1:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Scott said,
So just answer that last question (the lob over the plate) but ignore the rest? Why?

And what proof do you have that Romney's a bully?

6/21/12 1:23 PM

I'm not trying to prove he is a bully Scott. I have no proof he is a bully, I have a fear he MAY be a bully. But so as not to give in to a fear that maybe irrational, I'm withholding final judgment. I will wait and see. I'm not certain how I will vote.

Changing one's vote at the last minute is allowed, no?; 6/21/12, 2:02 PM
heyboom said...: In my house, my now 20-year old daughter used to love to smear her mouth with Alfredo sauce and then try and force kisses on the rest of us. At the restaurant. It's a family dynamic thing, I guess.; 6/21/12, 3:01 PM
Cedarford said...: heyboom said...
In my house, my now 20-year old daughter used to love to smear her mouth with Alfredo sauce and then try and force kisses on the rest of us. At the restaurant. It's a family dynamic thing, I guess.

==================
Sort of depends on when...Like was she trying this Alfredo thing at 16 right after she got home from a night out with her steady boyfriend?; 6/21/12, 4:10 PM
KCFleming said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/21/12, 4:13 PM
KCFleming said...: "For fun, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. used to leave his then-current wife and never return.

His son, young Barack, related to friends at the time that he would "laugh and laugh" whenever this happened, which was apparently quite often.

Although he never knew his father, they had a bond characterized by this type of high-brow abstract humor, not low-brow physical humor, like pushing someone's face into a pie."

David Maraniss, at page 191 of "Barack Obama."; 6/21/12, 4:15 PM
Cedarford said...: I did watch the Conan bit.
The 5 boys returned the pranks. Some they did to Mitt Romney were actually quite good.; 6/21/12, 4:15 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Pogo - if there were a cable channel called Comedy Central [and it was really central or centered if you know what I mean], you could get paid big bucks to write for it cause that was funny!; 6/21/12, 4:43 PM
KCFleming said...: !!; 6/21/12, 4:48 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Scott M,

A few [incidences in which his character} would denote more than one. Please list them.

You're not paying attention, bear claw:

1) Setting up a business to exploit the public.

2) Selling a worthless and/or dangerous product in that business.

3) Getting your fellow integrity-challenged cult member to write a law that basically says “sell whatever you want, just don’t let us catch you.”

4) Create the whole enterprise from inspiration by your con man founder's "Words of Wisdom."

What do you think, Pooh Bear?; 6/21/12, 4:56 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: wyo sis,

In an election like this when the choice is as clear between two fundamentally different views of America and the prospect of an economy in chaos basing your vote on which candidate plays pranks that you don't like is about as shallow as it gets.

No more shallow than basing your choice for president merely on the economy. The office encompasses a number of different roles and interests, but you choose one?

That's shallow.; 6/21/12, 5:01 PM
wyo sis said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/21/12, 5:12 PM
wyo sis said...: I believe I mentioned the candidates views of America which includes a number of different roles and interests. It's very amusing to have you chide me about mere single issues.; 6/21/12, 5:20 PM
ed said...: The whole family looks like they belong in a 1960's sitcom.; 6/21/12, 5:48 PM
wyo sis said...: Ed
Yes, they do look that way. Back when families had a mother and father who love and support each other and kids who like their parents and respect them. Maybe most people don't have that kind of family. I think many more do than you might imagine. In any case that's not at all a bad thing, and hardly a disqualification as a lot of people seem to being saying.
I've said this before, but the Romney family is very familiar to me and I know hundreds of families just like them.; 6/21/12, 6:09 PM
Ralph L said...: When I was very young, at a restaurant, my father gave me Tabasco instead of ketchup for my fries. He's 84 now, so I really should plot my revenge soon.

At 2 or 3, my brother would take one sip from a cup and turn it over. Again at a restaurant, my mother grabbed his hand just before he turned it over and dumped the glass of water on his head. The other patrons were aghast, but he never did it again.; 6/21/12, 6:27 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: who sis,

I've said this before, but the Romney family is very familiar to me and I know hundreds of families just like them.

Really? Please, point out those other hundreds of "familiar" families who made their money by exploiting the public with worthless substances.

Good people, I'm sure - every one of them,...; 6/21/12, 6:52 PM
JAL said...: Sadism is a scary human trait that doesn't have any place in a person that will hold the highest office in the land.

Allie. This blog, today, you are boring.; 6/21/12, 7:07 PM
Anonymous said...: JAL, so sorry. I will endeavor to do better.; 6/21/12, 7:12 PM
Anonymous said...: Maybe we should discuss vaginas.; 6/21/12, 7:13 PM
wyo sis said...: The American middle class is full of families who love and care about each other, who joke around and kid with each other, who are reluctant to use swearing and profanity, who love America, who speak lovingly and with affection to and about each other.
I'm speaking about the Romney's family, their sense of humor and the way the media distort and ridicule things that are absolutely normal behavior. I'm not comparing their wealth, but I could, because there are many wealthy Mormons in the western states and they are down to earth decent people. You can't make normal decent people into monsters just because you say so.; 6/21/12, 7:15 PM
JAL said...: But a President who tells lies, composites everything, embroiders, rewrites history in print and in speeches, takes responsibility for nothing except other people's successes, otherwise votes "pesent" -- that's the kind of character we want as a leader. Got it.

(Should I tell you how my brother and I schemed to 'get' my dad who was occasionally known to spank us (!!111!!!)? Bro put a pie pan in his pants (pre blue jeans, obviously,) with a couple tacks through the holes in the pan, and challenged dad to give him a whack. He did ... and we all ended up laughing. Sadists, all of us.); 6/21/12, 7:15 PM
JAL said...: pesent = present

And the wedding cake thing makes this guy / dad / kid thing look like grown up fun.; 6/21/12, 7:16 PM
Ralph L said...: who made their money by exploiting the public with worthless substances
Oh come on, Crack, American Motors wasn't that bad.; 6/21/12, 8:49 PM
bagoh20 said...: This thread just lowered my respect for the commentariat here by half.

What a bunch of pearl clutchers. You guys are old, or lame, or old and lame. A herd of front butts.; 6/22/12, 1:14 AM
Scott M said...: What do you think, Pooh Bear?

I think you're damaged goods and that you have no concept of what raising boys is like. Calling family pranking sadistic is just more proof that you don't know what you're talking about.

God forbid you ever have children. Their future will be a foregone conclusion.; 6/22/12, 8:22 AM
Scott M said...: You guys are old, or lame, or old and lame. A herd of front butts.

You're just old.; 6/22/12, 8:23 AM
Nichevo said...: I guess it's subjective. I had enough pranking as a kid. I never liked any of it the least little bit and it was all I could do to bridle my resentment and, yes, anger.

If Dad, my sister, my boss, my commanding officer if I had one, the President, God, or any other entity over the age of three besides my mother, who would never ever do such a thing, were to push my face into a plate of food, especially if i were wearing my glasses which I always do, it would be a very particular set of circumstances that would save them from me jumping them and, at the very least, giving them a shaking they would not soon forget, with them laid out on the floor, me "mounting" them Trayvon-style, clutching them by the collar, and telling them purple-faced what I thought of their notions of humor, until I was satisfied they were sufficiently contrite.

But that would make me the bad guy, right? Let's go to the next step of this poll. What level of response is justified to this sort of intrusion on one's personal boundaries, and in particular what should happen to someone who does what I have proposed to do? I'm not actively hitting them (unless they resist then all bets are off), I'm not pounding their head into the linoleum, I'm just making sure I have their undivided attention to receive my very important words.

P.S. I was a camp counselor once and got pied at the end of a skit. No warning, if it had been scripted with me I would have been fine with it, but no warning and it ended up with my glasses getting broken. At that time I did what little I could to conceal my fury from the audience, which included small children, but I hope and think they will not soon do it again.

Livid - that's the word I'm looking for. Yes, livid.; 6/25/12, 2:40 PM
Nichevo said...: At least, I hope I'd be able to be as controlled as that. I might just start with a headbutt.

So Cracky, I guess I'm with you here. Of course, perhaps you and I are damaged goods with defective boundaries; we certainly appear to be in the minority; but I voted #2 as well.

In his defense if there must be a defense, it seems that his kids, who we would have to admit know best, seem to have taken it in stride.

People looking for other instances of Romney 'sadism" -

cutting the freaky kid's hair is one. If of course that actually happened, blah blah.

I myself am uncertain on the dog-on-a-roof thing - hard to imagine doing it myself - but ultimately if it was necessary, it was necessary.

Bit of unseemly relish in the "liking to fire people" and "not caring about the poor" remarks - all explicable, but a wiser man would have thought of how that all sounded.

Overall I would say Romney hadn't had much experience in being a subordinate taking crap from people. And I'm quite sure nobody has ever jumped him. Since he will never be in that position as President perhaps it is a good thing.

Anyway, Crack, I'll be voting for Romney, go ahead crap on me all you want, I feel Obama is so bad in so many ways that I'll have to take a chance on him. Since he is a Republican, hopefully the MSM will do its job and jump on any cultish activities, which of course they will not do to Obama.

But no, things like this do not leave a good taste in my mouth.; 6/25/12, 2:57 PM

If Romney does that...
	He's a goofy, fun-loving guy.
	He's rather sadistic. A bully.
	He's relating properly to males. Just don't do that to females.

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Romney's 5 sons on Conan.

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