Twitter is blowing up with mockery of the first of these two paragraphs:
Mr. Romney’s team has concluded that debates are about creating moments and has equipped him with a series of zingers that he has memorized and has been practicing on aides since August. His strategy includes luring the president into appearing smug or evasive about his responsibility for the economy.
Mr. Obama is not particularly fluid in sound bites, so his team is aiming for a workmanlike performance like his speech at the Democratic convention. He is looking to show that Mr. Romney would drive the country in an extreme ideological direction at odds with the interests of the middle class.
So, Romney has spent over a month memorizing “zingers” which he will then attempt to offer in a spontaneous and witty manner in the debates.
I don’t think this will go well.
Lowering expectations?
this is going to be hilarious. I hear he’s taking tips from Neil Hamburger.
It’s going to be like Michael Scott in “The Office”, but real.
Is there a hashtag for the mockery?
#MittZingers
I thought it was #RomneyShambles
that’s so six weeks ago. the attention span of twitter is 24 hours, maybe 48 tops.
Romney couldn’t convincingly yell for water if his hair was on fire, so I doubt that he’ll be able to pull off any “zingers” that don’t just fall comically flat.
“I mean, if something of that nature presents itself I will work to find a way to take advantage of the opportunity.”
With any normal candidate, it’s a decent strategy. But not only has Romney demonstrated a consistent gift for sound bites that come solely at his own expense, but he and his aides are operating in an alternate universe where what sounds to the wingnut like a devastating comeback is going to sound to the rest of the country like the ravings of a puerile asshole. And from Romney, they’ll sound like a guy desperately trying to imitate a puerile asshole, which in many ways is even worse.
This is going to be hilarious.
very too bad about the popcorn shortage Indiandem mentioned
Luring the president into appearing smug or evasive? what planet are they living on? (how did Barney Frank phrase that question – on which planet do you spend most of your time?) if wishes were horses, beggars would ride, as they’ve said for centuries.
Ah, Barney Frank and the “Obama is Hitler!” loonies during the health care debate — he was in fine form, so he was:
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-08-18/politics/frank.heath.care_1_health-care-rep-barney-frank-disrupti
on?_s=PM:POLITICS
The quote you recall:
President Obama, being more temperate than Frank, will probably not hit Mitt with another of Barney’s ripostes:
That “dining room table” bit is so classic Barney. I’m really gonna miss him. Hopefully he’ll take a job as a TV commentator or something.
yes, dining room table. It may be time for me to re watch my favorite miniseries of all time, the bipartisan forum on health reform. link to part 1
http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/bipartisan-meeting-health-reform-part-1
Obama was amazing (and funny). I highly recommend!
tpm comments have some great zingers for mitt
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/in-debate-romney-plans-to-drop-zingers-on
Yeah, sure, because the guy hasn’t embarrassed himself enough already give him a collection of stale, recycled, and tongue-twisting zingers that he has to insert at the appropriate moment during the most anxiety provoking experience of his life. Would be fun if this were The Gong Show and not a debate for the most powerful position on the planet.
Yeah, sure, because the guy hasn’t embarrassed himself enough already give him a collection of stale, recycled, and tongue-twisting zingers that he has to insert at the appropriate moment during the most anxiety provoking experience of his life. Would be fun if this were The Gong Show and not a debate for the most powerful position on the planet.
I didn’t read the James Fallows article on the debates. Did he consider the possibility that Romney would prepare for the debates by memorizing zingers? I suspect not.
Well, I won’t try to use Fallows as an example, but it does kind of amaze me how a lot of smart people still continue to use this old framework where the Republicans are worth taking seriously. Like they talk about how well Romney has done in past debates, but how may times has he debated a Democrat? It can’t have been more than maybe two or three times when he was running for governor.
Are we really supposed to use his performance in the Republican primaries as an indication of how he’ll do against Obama? The best you can say about him in that context is that he was the only one of the pack of clowns and charlatans on the stage who managed to fool anybody. He isn’t fooling anyone any more, so why do we have to keep pretending?
Mitt Romney sounds phoney when he’s speaking honestly off the top of his head.
Memorized zingers? That is going to be agonizing.
Sooo, God forbid they should try to win by discussing actual policy clearly and convincingly?
Oh wait, never mind. Go ahead, zing away, Mittens.
“Sweet Jesus” that’s the stupidest strategy ever. To do that, you’d need a more undisciplined debater than Obama. If you believe that Obama is not a great debater, then at the very least ya gotta believe he’s too disciplined and reasoned to even give Romney an opening.
Plus, a zinger or two is one thing, but a debate of only zingers and no substance is a very bad strategy for Romney to take, IMHO.
(btw, when you google “Sweet Jesus”, the like 3rd video down is Joe Scarborough’s “Sweet Jesus” reaction to Romney…it’s officially viral ya’ll..LOL)
I actually think this is a smart strategy. Romney can’t win a conventional fight, so he needs to take the perspective that he has a puncher’s chance of winning the debate, and that means trying to create a killer soundbite which everyone will remember while forgetting the rest of the debate. Romney is very likely to fall flat while swinging and missing, but asymmetrical warfare is his best bet.
–Mark Twain
The Germans said pretty much the same about fighting the US Army in World War II. And a Soviet officer wrote during the Cold War: “The trouble with planning against American doctrine is that the Americans don’t follow their own doctrine.”
Your right … and incorrect.
You are absolutely right in that Mitt has ZERO chance of a blowout on the issues. Obama simply sticking to his stump speech lines will guarrantee an average minus result for Obama. Won’t hurt him in the least, except for the 6 people in NC who are just waking up from 1977.
Therefore zingers is his only chance to look like he’s kicking butt. You know, bumper sticker stuff. But to do that, you gotta get it right. When was the last time that happened?
Reminds of the schoolyard when the nerdy asshole was asked: “you got a match?”
and responded: “yeah {snort snicker sniggle} MY FACE AND YOUR ASS!!!!”
I gotta get some popcorn flavored ice cream.
Do I have to watch?
A zinger for Obama: when Mitt expresses fake empathy for the 100%, smile, chuckle and ask if that’s one of those “Zingers” his staff’s been working on.
Love it!
This can only work if the Romney tech team have found Data’s emotion chip. I mean jeebuz, a lot of people bit and took Romney’s joke about opening windows on Ann’s airplane seriously. I don’t think people who did are stupid, it’s that Romney can’t deliver a joke. I don’t think he’ll do any better with zingers.
Hey – don’t knock it. Memorized zingers worked great for Sarah Palin.
Or at least they did wonders for SNL’s ratings. Remember Tiny Fey as Palin at the start of the debate? “Can I call you Joe? Good, ’cause I have a bunch of memorized zingers using the name Joe.”
Maybe Romney will have some rimshots as well.
Remember shortly after Palin was announced she began the complaining-about-the-media thing? So they asked candidate Obama what he thought of the alleged insult – part of his response was “I’ve been called worse on the basketball court”.
Something tells me Obama tends to win when he plays the dozens.
The only wat to stop Shak is to foul him. Then come the free throws.
Well, who expected him to study the issues?
I don’t think this will go well. ****
ah, the famous BooMan understatement
I’d pay money for a look at the list of zingers.
He’s been practicing “zingers” since August? That his staff supplied him with? This is why he stopped campaigning for some time? Will his handlers put a chip in his head to signal him when the appropriate time to drop the “zinger” comes? Jesus.
I don’t know — to me this stuff is even scarier than his ideology, whatever that might be today. His incompetence/childishness/dementia just shines through more brightly everytime he opens his mouth (or his staff does). This portrait of success in America might be the creepiest cultural revelation in my lifetime.
The only thing more stupid than memorizing zingers so you can “get” the other guy is TELLING the other guy that you’re doing it. Unbelievable.
Every single day, I continue to be thankful for their incompetence.
The only thing more stupid than memorizing zingers so you can “get” the other guy is TELLING the other guy that you’re doing it.
You know, that’s why this whole story doesn’t sound quite right to me.
Anyway, if Romney does decide to go this route, all Obama has to do is give him an incredulous double-take,laugh right at him, and continue to make sense.
That said, I will vote Romney if he tries a “Yo Mama so fat…” shot during the debate.
Tell you what, Quaker. If he does that, you go on ahead and vote for Obama. I’ll vote for Romney for ya!! After all, he’s a native son to me an all that shit.
Perhaps he’ll have one of those alleged earpiece/receivers that Dubya was suspected of using in his debate. Frisk him, O, when you come out to shake hands and go to your respective corners.
the mittster tossing bon mots?
what are they thinking? 99% of the effectiveness of zingers is their spontaneity, and he hasn’t a spontaneous bone in his body.
the mere thought of; the sheer spectacle of him attempting to inject his pre-written [no doubt stale being from august] zingers has a barnum and bailey three ring disaster written into it.
why not? the entire ratpublican primary was a circus of loons and losers…might as well keep the streak going.
YEAH!!!!
Romney (and his “team”) seem to be noticeably lacking in what has been termed “social intelligence”. In fact, Romney might be afflicted with a mild form of Asperger’s or some similar syndrome.