"He doesn't hear himself the way that others hear him."
by Geoffrey Stevens
If the man weren’t so self-satisfied and insensitive, one could almost feel sympathy for Mitt Romney.
Poor Mitt. All he wants is to realize the American dream by becoming president of his country. He is spending scads of his own and, mainly, other people’s money in pursuit of that dream – so far, $179 million for advertising in swing states alone, with more than three months to go to election day.
Both Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson slapped him down publicly.
Also to that end, he is making the requisite newbie tour of Europe and Middle Eastern capitals to burnish his credentials as a foreign affairs savant. (Americans may not know where Syria is, but they think their president should.) Barack Obama, whose foreign experience at the beginning was as slight as Romney’s, did the tour with some success in the months leading up to the 2008 presidential election.
But poor Mitt. Canadians of a certain age will remember Joe Clark’s lost-luggage tour in the run-up to the 1979 federal election. Romney is making Clark’s stumbles seem like seamless procession of political and diplomatic triumphs.
He could not have gotten off to a worse start than he did in London on the eve of the Olympics when he gave an interview to NBC News in which, having patted his own back for his organization of the Salt Lake Winter Olympics, he criticized Britain’s state of readiness to stage this summer’s games. It was one thing for Brits to criticize their own preparations, which they did; it was quite another thing for a foreigner – especially an ambitious American politician – to land on British soil and venture similar criticism.
His hosts were offended, or at least found it expedient to profess outrage. Both Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson slapped him down publicly. Fleet Street, naturally, had a field day, trotting out a thesaurus of unflattering descriptions. He was “Mitt the Twit,” “humiliating,” “devoid of charm, warmth, humour or sincerity,” and “worse than Sarah Palin.” The Daily Telegraph even dismissed him as a “wazzock,” a uniquely British epithet meaning an idiot or dipstick.
I thought the most telling response came from one of Romney’s countrymen, the great sprinter Carl Lewis, winner of nine Olympic gold medals. “Every Olympics is ready, I don’t care whatever he said,” Lewis told London’s Independent newspaper. “I swear, sometimes I think some Americans shouldn’t leave the country. Are you kidding me, stay home if you don’t know what to say.”
That’s good advice, but don’t expect politicians in election year to heed it. Although Romney will survive the embarrassment of Europe, his gaffes reinforce his image of someone who is aloof and out of touch.
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd puts it this way: “The alarming thing about Romney is that he has been running for president for years, but he still doesn’t know how to read a room. He doesn’t take anything in, he just puts it out. He doesn’t hear himself the way the rest of us hear him.”
Dowd is no fan of Republicans, but her observation rings true. Mitt suffers from a condition that might be described as “unconscious condescension.” He can’t help himself.
He preens. He knows everything. He reminds everyone of the tight ship he ran in Salt Lake City in 2002. He’s very rich and very proud of it. He talks about all the money he made in business – $250 million or thereabouts. He offers to make a $10,000 bet with another candidate during a nationally televised debate.
He talks about his rich friends who own Nascar teams, about his wife’s Cadillacs (note the plural), and how he is building an elevator for his automobiles at one of his homes.
If he wins in November (or even if he doesn’t), I hope Stephen Harper invites him to Canada to give Canadians the benefit of his advice. Perhaps he could tell the PM, a big hockey fan, how the Toronto Maple Leafs can win the Stanley Cup.
About Geoffrey Stevens
Cambridge resident Geoffrey Stevens, an author and former Ottawa columnist and managing editor of the Globe and Mail, teaches political science at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Guelph. He welcomes comments at the address below. This article appeared in the Waterloo Region Record and the Guelph Mercury.
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