CSotD: The Three Faces of Mitt
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There is an emerging consensus about this election, at least among cartoonists, and that is that Mitt Romney is an ever-flowing source of inspiration. And in the few weeks that he doesn't serve up a lob that can be smashed back across the net, his runningmate will fill the gap by claiming to have run a two-minute mile.
This doesn't necessarily foretell the outcome of the election; as one particularly cynical friend said, the likely voting pattern will only shift if Romney says something that causes Obama to stop being black, though he didn't phrase it so delicately.
I don't think that's a major factor among the bulk of Romney supporters, but you don't have to dig very deeply to find it as a significant swing-voter issue, particularly when Mitt offers nothing for other non-aligned voters to latch onto.
Whatever role race plays in things, several pundits have suggested all along that the entire GOP strategy is to promote Romney's ability to not be Barack Obama — not in the sense of offering specific, substantive alternatives to Democratic policy, but very simply not being Barack (Hussein) Obama.
What is changing is that now that analysis is beginning to also come from the right side of the aisle as commentators who should be in Romney's camp grow frustrated with his inability to close the deal or at least to stop saying stupid things, whether secretly recorded or in front of large, public crowds.
The superficial he-said-she-said coverage of the fundraiser video has been drawing a parallel between Romney's disdain for lower income voters and Obama's 2008 observation that, in hard times, blue collar voters become concerned with religious matters and the Second Amendment (which, they never add, appears to have played out in reality).
But among those with a little more willingness to dig into the pile, there have been several who recognize that many of those he dismisses as moochers are essential parts of his core constituency.
We'll see if they notice that he just blew them off as irresponsible parasites on the system. I'd be surprised if they recognize their faces in the warped mirror he holds out.
Meanwhile, three cartoonists took different approaches to Mitt this week, starting with Mike Luckovich, who tied him in with the ridiculous kerfuffle over paparazzi and princess-worship:
But "empty suit" may be the least pointed criticism. Taylor Jones has a take that is more along the lines of David Brooks' harsh column, in which the conservative columnist compared Romney to oblivious, upper-crust doofus Thurston Howell III.
Jones is pointed in suggesting upper-class arrogance and a disdain for those he proposes to lead:
But it is left to Keith Knight — who generally tends more towards social commentary than political talk — to eviscerate Romney, using the breadth of real estate in his multi-panel "K Chronicles" to demand a little less flippancy and arrogance and a little more substance.
For this sustained and pointed effort, Knight picks up the trophy this time around:
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