Sunday Roundup

What does it look like when something catches fire? And what does it look like when it doesn't? This week we had a stark example of both. There was the incredible virality of the Kony 2012 video, which has become the fastest growing social media campaign of all time, having garnered over 67 million YouTube views in less than a week. Clearly the film has struck a nerve. The same can't be said of Mitt Romney's campaign, which is still struggling to go viral with the GOP base. Following a less than decisive Super Tuesday performance, Romney continued his Awkward Tour of America. After failing to ingratiate himself to Tennessee voters by reciting the lyrics to "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" on Monday, he ended the week in Mississippi, where he declared, "I like grits." Thud. Maybe he should hire the team at Invisible Children to make his next round of campaign ads.

 

 

 

Comments

[DeManted101]

10:50 PM on 03/11/2012

"...he should hire them (Invisible Children producers)...."

One thing we all know...he can afford them and anyone else he wants.

[atterburyhc]

08:45 PM on 03/11/2012

Romney has no clue, he says uber rich have to llittle influence in American politics , is he kidding, this is the last guy who will fight for the middle class, he doesn't know what middle class means and could care less, what an empty suit , he cannot connect to America because he only knows 1% , the rest of us, well he has eaten grits so its ok, he can relate, lol, and he thinks we are so dumb that such a lame, empty one liner is enough to convince us to vote for him, that is all this guy is, empty one liners and some flag waving, scary that anyone would fall for this guy

[WeAlwaysKnewIt]

06:47 PM on 03/11/2012

Romney is one of the wealthiest candidates to ever run for president. When I hear Romney solicit campaign donations, I hear a rich man begging to waste other people's money.

[John Galt IV]

06:56 PM on 03/11/2012

I can only assume this to be a joke. Romney's wealth pales in comparison to that of Dem heroes such as JFK & FDR.

I can only assume that Joe's personal wealth buying the POTUS for JFK bothered you greatly.

wow.

[dubhan]

07:19 PM on 03/11/2012

even adjusting for inflation no other candiate has ever been as wealthy as Romney and nothing you may wish can change that fact

[ikswoliw]

07:19 PM on 03/11/2012

So, you agree, Romney is one of the wealthiest... as posted

[DeManted101]

10:52 PM on 03/11/2012

This comment is just plain awesome !! Succinctly put, sir..Ms... !

[pmlinnlv]

05:18 PM on 03/11/2012

Romney seems to have a simplistic view on a broad range of issues. The one thing people view as a strength is his business background. However his tax policies alone would increase the deficit by est. $800 billion and line his own pockets by decreasing the rates on the types of income he earns. Anyone so self-serving and transparent has no business occupying the highest office in the land. With the global nature of war, economics, religion and other concerns, his rote replies are distortions of Obama's policies and achievements stated as things he would do. Since all presidents surround themselves with staff to distill world events, having a flexible flip-flopper like him would allow us to act rather than react. We could bomb Iran on day 1, Syria on day 2, drill our way to $2 gas on day 3, overturn Roe v. Wade on day 4, repeal Obamacare on day 5, create 50 million jobs on day 6, rest on day 7. Even God needed a day off!

[lagunasuz]

03:40 PM on 03/11/2012

All this noise about the Invisible Children; public schools have been supporting the Invisible Children for years. We have seen the same video or one very similar that is presented to our students every year along with a few of the Invisible Chidren and their volenteers. We raise money for them by buying things and donating money.
I am not too sure about this guy because he does not mention the support of public schools in the Invisible Children project and that support has been huge. We even send students there to volenteer.

[ntmessage]

01:54 PM on 03/11/2012

For me I like that Romney is a bit awkward. Many people are often this way because they have gotten their hands dirty and have been deep inside big problems and issues. In fact on the International Stage, as a politician and as a private citizen he has wrestled the problems that were too hard for others and fixed them. It is reflected throughout his executive experience. You can criticize the results of a couple here are there that could not be fixed, or the fix was not good enough for a few, but on the whole, you need to know what you are doing and posses the executive experience essential for success. Otherwise you have no chance to fix big problems and will just make them worse. So for me, they both have their place. One is a truly smart and experienced accountant type and yes a bit nerdy while the other smart in his own way, but more like an American Idol type that spends like a pop rock star with little idiosyncratic differentiation, as his posse just grows and grows out of control. Seeing the path the country is heading, I am willing to get more of my entertainment from American Idol and more of my governing from the accountant until everything gets cleared up. Revenge of the Nerds. Whatever. We need it desperately.

[GeeBee]

02:25 PM on 03/11/2012

Personally speaking, as the parent of an accountant, I would not have anything to do with one that changed his mind on every issue multiple times according to fashion or whim or outside influence. A real accountant will give you a straight answer based on the numbers.

[ntmessage]

03:08 PM on 03/11/2012

Any empirical examples of changes that were not based upon new data for Romney?

[crazyface]

03:40 PM on 03/11/2012

and many people are awkward because they have no grip. maybe romney's inability to connect with people does stem from a deep commitment to practical solutions, although this seems to be a stretch. or maybe it stems from his total lack of political conviction.

[WeAlwaysKnewIt]

06:19 PM on 03/11/2012

He made money destroying other people's dreams with a parasitic business. They don't call it vulture capitalism for no reason, it relies and depends upon deception. This is not rocket science people. Romney is awkward because deception is not a winning political tool. He has been called out for his flip-flops. In business deals, you can get away with it because there are fewer eyes and very limited public scrutiny.

[ntmessage]

08:20 PM on 03/11/2012

Currently we have too much political conviction and ideology and it is tearing the country apart. Nothing gets fixed and it is only getting worse. The trap question “what would you cut in government” has led both Obama and Bush to cut almost nothing in real terms. In fact Obama has increased discretionary spending 80% on his watch. It was total political conviction and the lack of distinguishing good spending from bad that has made Obama’s historic and record spending barely move the needle on real unemployment.

[distantdrummer]

01:30 PM on 03/11/2012

Speaking of "how do things look when they are on fire", how about the horror of US troops breaking into village homes and shooting families as they sleep. We are talking WAR Crimes. It is reported by Reuters that many of the bodies show signs of being burnt. Only Ron Paul, has called these wars needless and that they should end NOW! This is a "failed" war and a "failure" of Obama to not have stopped it soon after coming into office! These photos of these dead children, need to be the POSTERS put up around the World next to those of Kony. Lets change the world and start by voting for someone who values Peace. www.bush-it-usa.com

[pericles21]

03:11 PM on 03/11/2012

As much as I personally detest civilian casualties, let’s not start the blaming of our soldiers for it all - after all we are in the eras of Vietnams-2.

[steve12]

04:18 PM on 03/11/2012

I don't think you should blame all soldiers, but it sounds like the fault of a particular soldier. I wonder what sort of psychological tests these guys go through.

[Matthew Minard]

05:49 PM on 03/11/2012

how about after that soldier gunner down 16 in Afghanistan? Can we blame that soldiers now?

[bigkay]

09:37 PM on 03/11/2012

That leaves Ron Paul, unless we have a viable Progressive candidate, and it is too late, the fix is in!
We the American people need a parliamentary form of government, where we have numerous parties, it will end the corrupt 2 party system.

[Neli Borba]

01:27 PM on 03/11/2012

I came to the conclusion that in the world of today what is important doesn't matter; what is really important to most people is "fast fixes", and these don't last long. That is the reason that politics are not the "cure" for american problems. Fix the way people think first and then we will have good results. People see the red flags in presidential candidates but chose to turn a "blind eye" and are surprised when later on these "red flags" are flown fully on their faces.

[Eugene Berkovich]

11:53 AM on 03/11/2012

Now we all know that Romney thinks he likes grits. Maybe. Possibly. Until he doesn't.

Why should his breakfast convictions be any different?

[Djinn NY]

12:05 PM on 03/11/2012

In the midwest he likes bacon, in Pennsylvania it's scrapple.

[wdq1990]

06:31 PM on 03/11/2012

What is scrapple?

[Charlie Self]

03:28 PM on 03/11/2012

I don't understand why any candidate thinks their dietary choices define them for an area. My mother was born and raised in Virginia, and I've lived here for nearly 35 years. We had in common a distaste for "Georgia ice cream", AKA grits.

[April Star Davis]

11:52 AM on 03/11/2012

very likely the GOP will hire IC because its run by right wing christians

[WHATHA]

11:49 AM on 03/11/2012

You can't go viral if your audience lacks the technology and the ability to interface with it...

[LFox6]

09:56 PM on 03/11/2012

Excellent point

[OneFluOverTheWooWoosNest]

11:37 AM on 03/11/2012

"What does it look like when something catches fire? And what does it look like when it doesn't?"

"You know, I'm not willing to light my hair on fire to try and get support," Romney said. "I am who I am."

[WeAlwaysKnewIt]

06:22 PM on 03/11/2012

I am who I ain't seems to be the Romney answer. I ain't the guy that created that political record. I am the guy with a lot of money and I bank offshore.

[MoemoneyMoeproblems]

10:25 AM on 03/11/2012

I love your opening sentence! You are so clever! A good way to bash both America and its military, and the republicans. Im glad that I know where you stand, though. Geee Wizz!

[Lmlight77]

11:07 AM on 03/11/2012

Line 1, part 1: kony2012. Line 1, part 2: Romney not going viral. So how was America, the military, and *all* Republicans being bashed? Geee Wizz back?

[zogimperator]

11:13 AM on 03/11/2012

What on earth are you talking about?

[oneeasyrider]

01:53 PM on 03/11/2012

Romney = Thud! Need more clarification? Feel free to respond.

[Steve Sedlis]

10:22 AM on 03/11/2012

If Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum are the best the Repubs can come up with, then Obama has nothing to worry about come November, unless the voters fail to show up due to apathy. As Obama found out in 2008, all the promises in the world don't mean a hill of beans if the Congress continues to be impotent.

[Jefferson78]

01:43 PM on 03/11/2012

You make a good point, albeit blaming the wrong party. Obama flat out lied in 2008. He had an outright filibuster proof majority in Congress for two years and failed to deliver on his many promises. He runs the least transparent administration in modern history. He has made the US an impotent laughing stock internationally. Any Republican candidate would do better. The lack of fire comes from a desire to get to November and vote for anybody but Obama.

[steve12]

04:23 PM on 03/11/2012

It was filibuster proof, if you don't include the Corporate Democrats, like Nelson of Nebraska or Lieberman from Connecticut.This isn't parliamentary system, in which the party in power always follows its leader.

Will Rogers used to say that he doesn't belong to any organized political party, he's a Democrat.

[WeAlwaysKnewIt]

06:23 PM on 03/11/2012

Full of opinion.

[Charlie Self]

03:29 PM on 03/11/2012

Actually, the Congress forced impotence on the federal government instead of just being impotent.

[Kane]

10:21 AM on 03/11/2012

Shorter Romney: I love _______ (insert whatever crap your state is famous for).