Friday, July 1, 2011

Romney's less than impressive performance at the AGC Business Conference

How did I miss this one? Mitt Romney appeared at the ACG Business Conference this past September. For those who claim the Romney isn't prone to gaffes, I encourage you to watch this video.

Romney is wise to lay low right now. He can ill afford another performance like this one.

Quotes transcribed by Technopeasant:
Sample lines from the video:

1) "I had 63 slips of paper. I thought it's going to take a lot of time to get 63 calls done."

Referring to promises Romney made as Governor to American soldiers in Iraq from Massachusetts to call their spouses or parents when he returned stateside.

2) "Before the kids wake up and we go waterskiing and so forth on Memorial Day I'm going to BANG OUT 3 or 4 of these calls and get started..."

Romney was told by one of the loved ones he called the word was getting around through e-mail he would be calling.

3) "So I made 63 calls on Memorial Day." (He then laughs or chuckles.)

4) " I was a little hesitant in making the calls, because this was before the surge was successful...what are we doing in Iraq...I was expecting a number of these spouses to ask me why are my loved ones still there, why can't you bring them home Governor, what are you doing to bring them home. I thought this was going to be a pretty tough series of calls, in least in some cases, not one complaint." (He acts surprised)

5) "Even though we (America) make extraordinary mistakes..."

6) " I did not catch a good wave." (allusion to the focus being on Iraq rather than on the economy before the 2008 GOP primary vote and why Romney did not gain the nomination.)

7) "Then the wave shifted and the economy became the focus and that is not in John's (McCain) wheelhouse."

8) "The things about politics is that it is not terribly predictable."

9) "Rudy Giuliani, who I thought would split the vote with John McCain ended up faltering so John McCain ended up getting a little more boost..."

10) "I think President Obama will be difficult to beat in 2012...he will do everything in his power to bring the economy back again and most likely in my view the economy will be coming back...recessions do end...the economy always recovers; it always has and it always will."

11) "I think we have a good shot at replacing President Obama in 2012." (see #10)

12) " Sarah Palin is terrific. This is a person who has brought energy, spunk and passion back into my party...she is one of the INSTIGATORS behind the Tea party movement..."

13) "We have Republicans that are moderates, Republicans that are conservatives and Republicans that are mainstream--half way in between.

14) "Thank God my party has some Hispanics running for office."

15) "The Governor of New Mexico is Hispanic-American (does not name her although he endorsed her after she won the primary).

16) "When John McCain sat down and probably put down a list of who were some of the leading women of the Republican party he could select as a VP, it was probably not a real long list.

17) "I respect both parties...I respect people who have different philosophies for the right course for America..."

18) "As long as we get that message across to particularly to women, Hispanics-Americans and to African-Americans then we have a shot to be a leading party in this country for years to come.

Previously when I posted these clips or lines I added my own comments. I will refrain from doing that today.

But I will make two comments:

a) Wouldn't #10 make a great ad for Obama regarding recessions ending and the economy always coming back?

b) How did Romney get so much into a 15 minute tape?


H/T Mitt Romney Central for the video. I find it mildly amusing that Jayde Wyatt included the caption, "Governor Romney continues to impress..."

Hot Air also discussed this debacle HERE

30 comments:

John said...

Hi RWN

Regarding 10), yes, the economy comes back at some point. That's the business cycle. However, that could take a very long time, and growth could be shaky and consumer confidence low. But of course the economy, for practical reasons, can't shrink forever. Now, a lost decade on the other hand - that is looking more likely by the day.

Just some comments. Doesn't appear to have been Romney's finest moment.

Anonymous said...

Are you kidding, RW.

-Martha

Right Wingnut said...

John,

I agree it wasn't his finest moment. Having said that, I concede that everyone has an off night from time to time. But...a performance like this one would be a disaster right now. That's why I believe laying low is a good strategy for him right now.

I'm trying to be as kind as I possibly can. :)

Right Wingnut said...

Martha,

Not only does he say several things that could potentially alienate the base, but he seemed rather flippant about calling the soldier's families.

In addition, I sensed a touch of arrogance.

Like I said, perhaps it was just an off night....

Anonymous said...

Please do not bring Techno opinions over here. That poor old man spends his entire day making up polls and theories with Sarah as the winner..every time. It's really sad.

Right Wingnut said...

Anon,

These are not Techno's opinions. He transcribed the exact words that came out of Mitt's mouth.

Interesting that you are so familiar with Techno. Why do you spend so much time there?

Noelle said...

I'm not seeing the gaffes. It may not have been his best speech. I think he's getting better and better every time, but I don't see anything he said here as being in anyway damaging.

Noelle said...

And the transcript was not the exact words that came out of Mitt's mouth. Only one error in the transcript was particularly notable, but there were several places where the transcript was not precise.

Right Wingnut said...

Noelle,

This one could hust him with conservatives if he said it at the wrong time...like a nationally televised debate.

13) "We have Republicans that are moderates, Republicans that are conservatives and Republicans that are mainstream--half way in between.

So...conservatives aren't "mainstream"?

I suspect he considers himself "mainstream." Does that mean he isn't a conservative?

Anyway...could just be a slip of the toungue....or not.

Right Wingnut said...

Noelle,

I would expect him to be a little more empathetic when talking about calling the soldier's families. He was a little too matter of fact for my liking.

Furthermore, did he support the surge or not? I truly don't know the answer to that. Do you know?

Massachusetts Conservative said...

I don't see a single quote in your list that would ever be a problem for his candidacy. This is probably the most trivial list of minor issues I've ever read.

Let's just say if this is the best you have against Mitt, you are in serious desperation mode.

See ya at the convention.

Noelle said...

He did support the surge. The incident took place before the surge's success, and at that time there was a lot of concern that we were facing a Vietnam type war. Public support for the Iraq war was deteriorating, and he expressed a concern prior to making the calls that the army spouses would be among those who were questioning the validity of our presence in Iraq. His point was that those spouses, and I assume their service members, continued to support the war effort.

The conservative/moderate/mainstream terminology was not the best, but it is hardly offensive. I think it lacked a little clarity, but he was trying to define the various groups of people within the Republican party, and I think he struggled to find the right phrase to refer to the group whose politics lie somewhere in the middle, between the conservative and moderate wings of the Republican party.

Romney expressed a respect for all of the people who comprise the Republican party. His terminology is flawed, but the sentiment is fine with me.

Massachusetts Conservative said...

So why are we bringing up a video from a year ago where Mitt made an uncharacteristically poor speech, and trying to use it against him?

There is basically nothing notable in this video whatsoever. It looks like a desperate attempt to blur the lines with Michele Bachmann and trying to say Mitt makes gaffes too.

If you wanted to say Mitt makes gaffes, just look at his "Hang [Obama] with the Misery Index" remark. This stuff is basically useless to your point.

Have you watched any of his speeches in the last 5 months?

Anonymous said...

Its just RW desperately looking for a romney gaffe, now somebody put up a list of queen palin gaffes.

BOSMAN said...

RW,

I'm not trying to be funny or anything, but I don't see anything wrong here.

I watched the video....read the 18 segments/issues/what ever, and I still don't see a problem or even a bad performance.

I'll admit, that I had a few, so maybe my judgment is a little foggy.

Maybe someone can shed some light as to what I'm supposed to be looking for?

Massachusetts Conservative said...

Bosman, there is nothing appreciably wrong.

He is "grasping for straws" as we like to say

BOSMAN said...

BTW,

Does this year old performance over shaddow all of Mitt's performances since this one? Are you hinting that Mitt may regress somehow to what you feel is a less than stellar performance?

Right Wingnut said...

MS,

This speech was last fall...not a year ago.

I actually complimented his decision to lay low for the time being. I truly believe it is the right strategy. In fact, I felt that way prior to viewing this video. I stated that last night.

Am I supposed to be shocked that you classify everything on that list as trivial?

Right Wingnut said...

Here's another one from today...Mitt can not afford these mistakes.

The DNC pounces on Mitt Romney's Thursday fumble, when the GOP front-runner denied having said President Obama made the economy worse:

Video at link:

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/58215.html#ixzz1QulF5rfg

Did Obama make the economy worse or not? It's not a multiple choice question...

marK said...

RW,

I can't help but think that you are trying too hard.

And laying low? What are you talking about? Mitt held a free-for-all, take-all-comers Q&A news conference just yesterday -- in the middle of a blue-state no less. You call that "laying low"?

Have you gotten yourself into a rut where anything and everything that Mitt does is wrong? If he has bacon for breakfast, would you fault him for slighting the cereal people? If he skips breakfast, would you fault him for not supporting the farmers? If he drank milk for breakfast, would you fault him for shafting the orange grove owners?

When one goes looking for faults, one will invariably find them; that I promise. On the other hand, if you look for the good, you will invariably find that, as well.

So you can choose to look for the bad, or you can choose to look for the good. It's your choice.

I used to look for the bad. I recommend looking for the good. You can quote me.
:)

Right Wingnut said...

MarK,

I like you. I realy do, but THAT IS RICH!

You've been fairly critical of Palin recently on Race for some rather trivial stuff...not much different than what I'm doing here.

I'll state it again. I actually complimented Mitt for laying low. It's a good strategy for a frontrunner. His own campaign spokesman confirmed that would be the strategy for the summer. His public appearances have been few and for between. He probably doesn't need to do more than he's doing. I believe the same applies to Palin. Why jump in now and get clobbered 24/7 before the real campaigning starts? Mitt and Sarah are both content to let Bachmann get destroyed by the media on a daily basis. TPaw and Cain, and Santorum are just about out of gas. I still say it will come down down to Mitt vs. Sarah. It's only a matter of time.

ellie said...

Martha, he is kidding. After all, he'd much rather have a gimmicky unqualified 'hot' woman in office, and someone stable and competent.

Anonymous said...

and not someone stable and competent, I meant to say. To much orange chicken tonight.

ellie said...

Oh sorry. that was me. Ellie.

Anonymous said...

for comment bringing up the "worse" comment yet again...


According to Special Report- the question asked of Romney today was about the stock market. When he said “I didn’t say he made it worse” he was speaking specifically about the market.

BKeyser on July 1, 2011 at 9:46 PM

If that’s correct, then this whole article is a red herring.


HalJordan on July 1, 2011 at 9:56 PM

from http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/01/hot-new-lefty-meme-did-obama-make-the-recession-worse-or-did-he-merely-preside-over-a-brutally-horrible-economy/

http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/special-report/index.html#/v/1034471109001/mixed-messages-from-mitt-romney/?playlist_id=86927 from a commentator at hotair.

Reader said...

Stupidest Post Ever.

I don't know who you are Right Wingnut, but you need to step away from the keyboard, and think before you post. I thought I was going to get a great price of meat on Romney, but this is seriously trivial. If anything I actually like him more because if it, and I doubt that was your purpose.

What a waste of a click.

Right Wingnut said...

What a waste of a click,

Bosman thanks you. LOL

Maybe you are Bosman. Hmmmm....

Doug NYC GOP said...

You have to forgive RWN. He's the one who has been "laying low" for awhile, since slinking off this site a few weeks ago.

Now he's trying to get back in the groove, by "cutting and pasting" a story which links back to C4P.

What a remarkable sense of humor he has and it's nice to see his "comeback" was done with his tounge firmly planted in his cheek.

That's the only why to read a joke of a post like this one.

You had to go back to September? LOL

If you want to talk about gaffes, how about that new version of Paul Revere's ride? It doesn't look good when someone sets out to promote American history, only to flub a well known aspect of it, then try to parse words later to recover.

Talk about re-enforcing the image of not ready for prime time.

Anyway, welcome back RWN.

Ohio JOE said...

"I like you. I really do, but THAT IS RICH!

You've been fairly critical of Palin recently on Race for some rather trivial stuff...not much different than what I'm doing here." BINGO, to be fair to MarK, Mrs. Palin is not the only candidate he has criticized. I guess that is his job.

Anonymous said...

Where's the beef? No gaffes here, move along.

Lori*