I've heard the word 'courage' applied to his showing up there at least half a dozen times on networks other than Fox.

Jonathan,
You are creating the enemy and then attacking him, they guy made a speech to a bunch of people in suits that happen to be black. He talked about his strong belief that what they had hoped for and what had actually transpired over the last 50 odd years has not worked. He has a different vision.
Was his speech courageous? For "Milk-Toast" Mitt it was pretty tough.
Jon, I think a better angle for your ire should be the fact that he only talks "courageous" when he has nothing to lose. When you are losing 90-10, you might as well go for it.
I think a better analogy might be "When you are skating on thing ice, you might as well dance, the pretty girl on the shore might be impressed"

Jay we disagree; I do appreciate your perspective, however.

If he had courage he would have integrity. He has neither.

Matt it is stunning to think what his dad might make of him now.

Totally low.

Implying with stolen pictures what Romney might think - with no evidence.

Trav I'm a dastardly, low fella. You have my number.

Real courage would have been for him to go in there and just say out loud what the right wing thinks of people of color, the poor, the non-christian, and the left. He makes me sick, that fucking superior grin when he was booed was disgusting. If a person was unsure of what the agenda will be for a romney administration it was all right there in his eyes, that disgust he feels for those who are his inferiors.

He went there to get booed. Anyone who thinks when he said he was going to tear "Obamacare" apart, piece by piece, that he wasn't posturing is nuts.

bobbot ad it's a shame, though understandable, that the audience booers fell into the trap.

Kenny 100%. Yes.

In fact, Mr. Wolfman, there was an element of courage to what Romney did. Romney has proven, over his time on the campaign trail, that he is incapable of relating to non-rich people of any race. When he ad-libs, he's lucky if he comes off with non-sequiturs instead of something offensive and self-sabotaging. It's not simply that he doesn't understand people, he doesn't know how to understand them.

Like a bull in a china shop - well, more like a load of bull in a china shop - he went to the convention without a script written to avoid all the land mines into which he mindlessly stumbled. He sneered the word "Obamacare" in a fashion that usually gets applause from his regular Klansman audiences, not the most socially involved members of the black community.

Basically, he looked like a fool and the enemy of everyone who believes in the personhood of African-Americans. He threw away his chance to build bridges to a racial group whom he has sabotaged, directly or indirectly, for decades. He would have done better if he hadn't shown up, and instead sent his apologists that he brought to the convention, several toadying black conservatives to speak to Faux News on his behalf. Instead, he was a disaster of his own making. Like it or not, that's courage.

Neut I don't believe for a moment that he wanted anything like bridge-building; his audience was not in the hall.

Who, other than "true believers," watches Fox? And where do I get all that "free stuff"?

jmac :)

nicely done, jw. courage. good christ.

daisy uhmhmm i'm betting, too, that ancient wisdom teacher would slap him silly.

Care is rooted in the Word:
`
Compassion/Care/Courage.
`
Mitt reminds me (NO!) of?
`
Alfalfa with a Moo-Cow Lick.
He got stuck under a PU Truck.
The Grease Pan Dripped Dirty-Oil.

He needs to wear a Big Toilet Plunger.
Maybe he order poor to Wear Burka,
Soiled T- shirts, and suck Baby Pacifier.
If Mitt wins he buy farmer a Big Yacht.

We haul to `Sea foreign cigar smokers.
He claims he (mitt) can hammer a nail.
He look like he crawled from baby crib.

Art the last moo-cow I read was in Joyce!

I was sitting in Jerry's car in a parking garage listening to NPR yesterday speak of this. I really was disappointed Obama's people just sent a televised message, but it seems the VP handled it pretty well.

But does Romney really think that blacks think he gives a shit about them.

I am really scared. The republicans only have this piece of trash to represent them, but history may very well repeat itself because we democrats sometimes rest upon our laurels

I live in a complex of 140 people over half are BLACK men,

When watching this being recapped on the news, the tables of domino players, card players and just plain TV viewers went up in arms about the courage issue.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? It sounds like they are saying he went into Iran"

And they just quit listening.
Someone needs to go to the REAl places where blacks are and watch things like this.

Being a white woman, immediately people are going to think my life at that point with that much hostility around me put me at risk.

Never.
I stayed in the roon watching with them. So does that make me courageous?

Here in Texas, I can easily say that not one black person will vote against Obama.

If the republicans had any sense, they would have brought in their own black candidate, then there could have very well been a republican in office next term.

This campaign is comical

btw my point being, most average viewers only hear certain words.

Dianne YES.

Jon,
interesting comments in return

TTE Yes; good comments!

I hadn't heard he showed courage but I had to quit watching all the news shows because the actors they all use annoy me. If people are judging being booed by people wearing suits as being courageous maybe those describing it are just wimps talking to wimps.

Just curiosity here but has Mitt ever had an actual job? Not one where he's using other people's money to make money but a real job where he has to do hard work and answer to a boss? I wonder if he knows that there are five levels of office visits (5 different costs) for a doctor and how many hours the average person has to work to pay for a level 5 office visit. At my last job I would have to work 20 hours or more before taxes to pay for a level 5.

The biggest problem I have with Mitt is he comes off as being stupid.

I think your analysis here is correct.

1. Romney didn't go to this event with any intention to build bridges. He went here with the express intention to play to his own base.

2. Normally, you can play to your own base by directly appealing to them, such as giving a speech to them or writing them a letter. However, you can also be more indirect, by interacting with other, third parties, and then using this interaction as a way of bolstering your own credibility with your base, or even with undecided independents. These third party groups can be groups that will endorse or support you (thereby helping you with the base or the independents) or they can be groups that will oppose you (thereby helping you with the base or independents).

3. Many people in politics today forget that "baiting" and "enemies" are actually not detrimental tactics. The sad fact is that throughout history, people fall for these methods during political campaigns. FDR himself said that the number one way to win an election is to get some enemies. It does more for you in terms of unifying your base, creating a narrative, and gaining volunteers and donations, than anything else.

4. Romney was trying to accomplish a number of things here.

a. He wanted to innoculate himself against Dem charges (aimed at independents) that he's racist and against building bridges. Sure, he's against that. But undecided folks may be wishy washy on the issue and a gesture like this may be all they need to give him the benefit of the doubt. Libs will never give him a pass on this issue, but moderates might, especially if they are 50-50 on issues of racism/bigotry.

b. It also plays to his base. We've all heard the paradigm refrain of white male conservatives who claim "they are the victims." We've also heard GOP accusations that black democrats are the biggest racists going. By Romney going here and getting heckled, he reaffirms these prejudices among a certain fraction of white conservatives. He is also able to imply, 2 or 3 months down the line that he IS in fact, someone who wants to build bridges, but look what happened when he tried----he was attacked! This will play into 3rd party issue group efforts to play the race card against Obama and his African American supporters, which is already gearing up. Romney can claim he was attacked for reaching out, and as such, he doesn't need to reach out again. OR, this event can be red meat thrown to his supporters, showing him being victimized by a large audience of angry blacks.

Any way, he wins. And it was done very indirectly and subtly, judo-style (he used the energy of the audience against them).

He basically just needed to go in there and be totally neutral and generic.

It was well-played on his part, but I still hope he loses the election.

L'H he does, yes, and I doubt that he is.

RW he'll lose.

To let you know that I am reading. But will not comment on Romney or Obama.

Personally, I'm sick of the whole thing. I'm going to flip a coin on election day. What is proposed will be altered and the dealers will spin what they have to. You cannot promise what you do not have. And so they lie. They all lie.

Congress rules. Rome is burning and the fiddlers stand on the balcony and play pretty songs.

By the way....the word courage should be reserved for heroes. Not ever for pols.

Ande I agree w your last point wholly.

Courage?

Courage is a Fox talking point. Period. You're right. Scanner is right. Rw is comprehensively right. The intended mission was accomplished.

What caught my attention in the comments was actually Dianne's - the subtext that it took courage to go in there with all of those fearsome Black People. I just looked at it from the standpoint of going in front of a hostile audience, but I think Dianne has a point. As I think you were trying to make with those photos.

Kosh yep. :)

Romney is indeed a strange bird.

Bud and worse.

Great work by by Jonathan as usual. Yes Romney did get the booing that he wanted so that he can use that on Fox news and other outlets. Touché for him. What would happen if a English politician went before a convention of Irish nationalists and praised the Queen of England and white washed the English atrocities committed against the Irish? Think there might be some booing?

Mauricio :)

Poor Mittens. It must have been terrifying to see that whole audience giving him a polite hearing until he referred to wanting to end the president's health care bill by deliberately using the derogatory term Obamacare.

If one listens to Fox, speaking to the NAACP would seem a mission tougher and more dangerous than trying to broker peace between the Hutus and the Tutsis in Rwanda.

No WONDER Mitt skipped Vietnam!

Diane-He could have just stayed at home, he was looking at converts as he comes from a long line of missionaries , do not dismiss his intent entirely.
I think it is racist for any of you that believe he does not think he can change African-American minds as they must be either superior or inferior to hold that view.
"Not one black person in Texas will vote for Romney" -I bet thousands will and some because of that speech.

Unpopular here or not, I will happily see Mitt in office over the continuing down trending of America that is being perpetuated by the current administration. "Hope and Change" is yet to be determined. Time to effect it with a changing of the guard in November.

Cathy, w respect, I disagree. I could never feel right abt giving Mr. Romney Court picks.

And I respect you greatly.

"By our agreements we will know; by our disagreements, we shall grow."

Cathy yes; and I'd respectfully ask you to consider the Court as you think on this, friend.