What Ann Romney Did NOT Say

[ProSense]

What Ann Romney Did NOT Say

by Little

Regarding Weatherdude's post on Ann Romney saying she worries about Mitt's "mental well-being" if he should win the presidency, I think it needs a closer look. Because I think what we just saw was a moment of candor, and one we should be grateful for.

Here's the exchange (and it's on video, toward the end):

Asked what her primary worry would be should her husband succeed in defeating President Obama on Nov. 6, Mrs. Romney replied, "You know, I think my biggest concern, obviously, would just be for his mental well-being."

"I have all the confidence in the world in his ability, in his decisiveness and his leadership skills, in his understanding of the economy, in his understanding of what's missing right now in the economy - you know, pieces that are missing to get this jumpstarted," she continued. "So for me I think it would just be the emotional part of it."

She doesn't say, "But he can handle it." She doesn't even imply it.

In answering the question of "what her primary worry would be should her husband succeed in defeating President Obama on Nov. 6," Ann Romney starts with her worry about whether Mitt can withstand the pressures of being president, which of course must be tremendous, then talks about other things that she thinks he would be good at—and finishes by reiterating that she worries about his mental/emotional ability to handle the pressure.

How do you, as the spouse of a presidential candidate talking to the public about that husband/candidate, NOT finish that statement with "But he can handle it" - unless you actually worry that maybe he can't? I mean, that just seemed like candor. It is very difficult to take anything from that answer except that Ann Romney is herself worried that her husband may not be able to handle the pressure of being president. Based on what? Your guess is as good as mine—but she's been married to the guy for decades. She knows him. And she has undoubtedly seen him under pressure.

Take a closer look at the way she constructs her response:

"I have all the confidence in the world in his ability...

..."So for me I think it would just be the emotional part of it."

'I have all the confidence in the world" about that other stuff..but on the emotional end—confrontation with Iran, perhaps—put me down as "iffy".'

That's just spine-tingly.

Should it count in our assessment of Mitt Romney that his wife—his very devoted and caring wife, I might add—appears to worry about her husband's ability to handle the pressures that go along with being president of the U.S.? I think so. When you consider the fact that Mitt Romney apparently has no moral aversion to lying, that he has changed political positions so drastically and so many times that it's almost impossible to tell what he as one human being actually believes about anything—that he put the family dog in a carrier on the roof of his car, for Christ's sake—the fact that his own wife worries about his "mental well-being" under pressure means something more than if all those other weirdnesses were not present: Mitt Romney is one messed up motherfucker.

Ann Romney is Mitt Romney's wife of 43 years. She knows Mitt Romney better than any of us can ever hope to. It should not only count that she, of all people, appears to be worried about Mitt's ability to handle being president—we should be profoundly grateful she got the chance to let us know. (Before the election, thank God.)

P.S. Imagine if Michelle Obama had said that.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/28/1137736/-What-Ann-Romney-Did-NOT-Say

Excellent point. What the hell was Mrs. Mittwit thinking?

WHAT THE HELL.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021433446






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[SmileyRose]

1. Could be the Kos poster is just being nit picky

Maybe Willard is emotionally weak and Ann is warning us, or maybe she was a human being for 5 seconds instead of a politicians wife.

President probably comes close to doing a person in. Carter only served 4 years and had to vanish to recuperate for awhile before coming back into the public eye. Reagan left already having trouble putting sentences together which is remarkable for a man of his eloquence and training. Poppy you can't go by, he has no soul. Clinton ended up in a bypass. WhistleAss completely disintegrated under the weight of his incompetence. So far Obama seems to be doing fine except he's turning grey before our eyes.

It takes it's toll and we all see that. So yes, Willard may be weaker than most, but it could be she's just watched most every president in her life get beat down and assumes it inevitable.

[ProSense]

2. "Maybe Willard is emotionally weak and Ann is warning us

"Maybe Willard is emotionally weak and Ann is warning us, or maybe she was a human being for 5 seconds instead of a politicians wife....It takes it's toll and we all see that. So yes, Willard may be weaker than most, but it could be she's just watched most every president in her life get beat down and assumes it inevitable."

We should thank her for the warning.

[ProSense]

3. Another thing, this

doesn't help:

Romney Univision tantrum part of pattern, including 1981 arrest for disorderly conduct
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021397795

[OldDem2012]

15. Ron Reagan's book, "My Father at 100"...

[link:http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/01/14/reagan-son-claims-dad-had-alzheimers-as-president|


Quotes:

"Three years into his first term as president, though, I was feeling the first shivers of concern that something beyond mellowing was affecting my father. We had always argued over this issue or that, rarely with anything approaching belligerence, but vigorously all the same. He generally had the advantage of practiced talking points backed up by staff research, but I was an unabashed, occasionally effective advocate for my own positions. 'He told me you make him feel stupid,' my mother once shared, to my alarm. I didn't want my father to feel stupid. If he was going to shoulder massive responsibility, I wanted him to feel on top of his game. If he was going to fulfill his duties as president, he would have to be." Pages 204-205

"Watching the first of his two debates with 1984 Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale, I began to experience the nausea of a bad dream coming true. At 73, Ronald Reagan would be the oldest president ever reelected. Some voters were beginning to imagine grandpa—who can never find his reading glasses—in charge of a bristling nuclear arsenal, and it was making them nervous. Worse, my father now seemed to be giving them legitimate reason for concern. My heart sank as he floundered his way through his responses, fumbling with his notes, uncharacteristically lost for words. He looked tired and bewildered." Page 205.

"My father might himself have suspected that all was not as it should be. As far back as August 1986 he had been alarmed to discover, while flying over the familiar canyons north of Los Angeles, that he could no longer summon their names." Page 218.


NOTE: Poppy Bush was the VP for Reagan's two terms, and the man who stood to gain the most either by ascending to the Presidency if something happened to Reagan (assassination attempt in 1981), or if Reagan could be manipulated/controlled due to failing mental faculties. The simple truth is Poppy Bush was the shadow President long before he was actually elected in 1988.

[Delphinus]

29. Had never heard any of this ...

quite interesting book. Think I'll have to check it out. Thanks for sharing.

[magical thyme]

19. I seriously doubt she's watched any president get beat down

".... it could be she's just watched most every president in her life get beat down and assumes it inevitable."

You're assuming she has the same level of political interest that we do. I doubt that. Ann Romney cares about Ann Romney. She worries about which house to winter in and which house to summer in. Which servant is she directing today. Which horse she is riding, in which order. What clothes to wear. Her sons. Her grandchildren. Their wives.

I doubt she's been more than halfway aware of who was president, never mind how the presidency effected them. For her, it's about the title and "ownership" and that it's "our turn now." It's not about actually doing the job.

She's only just learning how "hard" campaigning is. She's only just now beginning to realize how "hard" the actual job will be. Romney is probably melting down in front of her eyes. She's only just now beginning to see that he can't handle the campaign, and just now realizing it will only get worse from here.

That's why she made the gaffe. If she'd thought about this idea before hand, she would have raised it in private and had a prepared answer on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she was "in the moment" and could only answer what is just occurring to her now, what she is living now.

[Marcia Brady]

36. You're making a whole lot of assumption based on nothing

Ann Romney has been a politician's wife for a long time. Willard campaigned 4 years ago, he was governor before that, a gubernatorial candidate before that. She was the daughter-in-law of a long-time governor. She is probably much more politically aware than most.

Do not make the mistake of underestimating these people. That can be a very dangerous thing to do.

[magical thyme]

39. nothing but observation...

For somebody who is politically aware, she sure knows how to say the wrong thing every time she's in front of a camera or journalist.

She doesn't speak like she's politically aware. She doesn't dress like she's politically aware. She doesn't act like she's politically aware.

Every action she has taken to date suggests she is politically oblivious to anybody not in her bubble world.

All my opinion, of course. But can you show me an example of anything she has said or done that indicated political awareness?

[JDPriestly]

27. No. I think that Mitt has a mean temper most likely.

She absorbs it but it isn't easy. So many stories about him from the haircut to the dog on the roof to his "winning ways" when he plays sports with, was it his daughter-in-law, make a person wonder.

Remember the famous video of Obama just wiping some imaginary something off his shoulder? That's what a president needs to do. We haven't had very many whose egos permitted them to accept the little bruises that presidents have to deal with. But Obama does it well. At least it appears that way. He seems to stay happy and keep loving people even when it's tough. Mitt is not like that. Watch the hurt look on his face when he realizes that he is not being well accepted. That won't do in a president.

[Patiod]

32. An aside about Presidents going gray:

There was a column in the New Yorker about a book on hair, citing some of the book's interesting tidbits. One was that the Presidency isn't likely to turn Presidents' hair gray, but more likely it's that most of the men taking the job are at the age where they're going to start going gray anyway.

One of the biggest criticisms of Obama is his cool, but I find it intensely comforting after the previous 8 years. That meme about "I've got this" is funny, but it's also true.

I doubt even the firiest tea bagger will list "I worry that he'll crack under the pressure" in their Top 1000 complaints about the current President.

[SmileyRose]

35. Very good aside

No doubt President Obama has lost his cool behind closed doors once or twice (Like that whole Eric Cantor thing and rightly so) but even the haters don't bother painting him as unstable.

[KharmaTrain]

4. A Moment Of Rare Candor...

Personally I feel that the Stench has no real soul...just selfish needs. He's more into winning the election than actually governing (a typical rushpublican) and is truly clueless as to what he will do until he gets there...and then, just like dubya, he'll turn over most of the policy to neo-cons and "free marketers" that will lead this country down the economic shitters...but I degree...

I'll give Ann of 1,000 lies the benefit of the doubt...speaking what most loving spouses would or should say in a similar situation. It's hard to imagine the responsibilities that come with being the President and the pressures that do come with the job. Even in their comfort zone...maybe even moreso...winning would mean a drastic change in their lifestyle and one that is very daunting to look at. Willard hasn't really had a job since '06...so how quick can he go from zero into the nutcracker? It's a legitimate question to ask if he's capable to handle the job (competency) but I think trying to do psychoanalysis is pushing it a bit far. Willard is as flawed a candidate as I've ever seen not based on being "unstable" but just on being selfish and having no real core principals...

[ProSense]

5. I love these comments

"I'll give Ann of 1,000 lies the benefit of the doubt...speaking what most loving spouses would or should say in a similar situation. It's hard to imagine the responsibilities that come with being the President and the pressures that do come with the job. Even in their comfort zone...maybe even moreso...winning would mean a drastic change in their lifestyle and one that is very daunting to look at. Willard hasn't really had a job since '06...so how quick can he go from zero into the nutcracker? It's a legitimate question to ask if he's capable to handle the job (competency) but I think trying to do psychoanalysis is pushing it a bit far. Willard is as flawed a candidate as I've ever seen not based on being "unstable" but just on being selfish and having no real core principals... "

He's running for President. It's not time for a pity party. You raised a legitimate point. Mitt does not deserve the benefit of the doubt. It would not be afforded to anyone else.

[napkinz]

6. saw this image in another thread ... pass it along!

[ProSense]

7. Excellent. It's

"you people" who are the problem. "You people" don't like him."You people" are driving him crazy!

[ann---]

8. That worries me, too and

should worry any undecided independent (if there is such an animal!). Mitt is weak - he's used to people bending his way and the presidency does not offer that luxury.

[longship]

9. R&K for greatest page.

Thanks, ProSense.

[avebury]

10. K&R nt

[nenagh]

11. At about the 4 min point in Ann Romney's Radio Iowa 'Stop it, this is hard. you want to try it' tape

She is asked about Mitt and the presidential debates, she says,

'in all the past debates, he would find me in the audience and after each question, he'd look at me 'cause it was like! "Did I do O.K. Ann? was that O.K.?". And I love that cause he cares so much..

She goes on to say that they have such a good relationship and strong marriage and "I know that he measures himself and how he's doing by my face and how I think he's doing, so I know in these next debates it's going to be very important For me to be sitting in that audience"

(from the MailOnline Sept 21, 2012....'Stop it. This is hard. you want to try it?)

[JDPriestly]

28. Like a mother watching her kid in the school play.

That's not an adult-to-adult relationship do you think?

[nenagh]

34. Anything but an adult relationship...

Her terminology..Mitt looking for Ann's approval, is so revealing a statement..

But Ann doesn't grasp what she is telling us.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. The White House would be subjected to a reign of terror

Anyone who has observed past videos of him when under what would be considered a minimum amount of stress, can see that he continually struggles to maintain what is most likely an explosive temper. I expect she has spent her entire marriage tip-toeing around him.

He's a Pisces and certainly acts like one.

[grantcart]

13. There's an entirely different possibility here.

That she isn't self aware enough to actually think about Mitt at all and that she is projecting her concerns about how she is going to handle it.

[reformist2]

14. Mitt is used to working behind the scenes, cannot handle public scrutiny.

It's obvious all the criticism is getting to him... Mitt is way too thin-skinned to be president.

[olegramps]

16. It is difficult remembering all the lies and flips that he has told and keeping the story straight.

Liars need excellent memories. Not, so for those who just tell the truth.

[AlbertCat]

17. I need to put my glasses on

Here's how I initially read Ann's quoted words:


"I have all the confidence in the world in his ability, in his deceptiveness and his leadership skills, in his undermining of the economy, in his undermining of what's missing right now in the economy...."

[Delphinus]

30. Ha-ha!

Good one!

[Heather MC]

18. We need more Ann, please don't use her sparingly

Ann we know Mitt is brain damaged

[existentialist]

20. Ann Romney's statement

Last edited Sat Sep 29, 2012, 11:07 AM - Edit history (1)

would have finished a Democratic candidacy.

How many people remember Senator Eagleton?

[madrchsod]

33. dam i forgot about him...

he was gone within a few days.

[Ikonoklast]

21. Mitt Romney has been groomed for this his entire life.

He believes he's is the fulfillment of a prophecy.


The shock of losing will fracture him.

[TheOther95Percent]

22. As a wife, she would know his medical history.

As his spouse and the person who has seen him in his most unguarded moments, she would know the exact kinds of situations that bring out the worst in him. She, more than anyone, would be privy to his Achilles heel. The public may have seen a few previews (e.g., the Univision tantrum) but she's seen the whole movie.

She should have followed up with something along the lines that she's confident he's up to the challenge. It's very odd that she didn't. Rule numero uno for a dutiful political spouse is never criticize the other half in public. Hell, that's good advice for any couple. Have those conversations behind closed doors. She didn't. And that is very telling.

[highplainsdem]

23. It's also revealing that her sons' nickname for her is "the Mitt Stabilizer."

See this article, for instance:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57408318-503544/ann-romney-well-have-to-unzip-the-real-mitt/

Think of what Mittens has to be like in private for his sons to come up with that nickname for their mother.

[lonestarnot]

24. That is one of the ramifications of pigliCONs governing. They do not/are not capable of looking at

the big picture in any other way but to how their actions/policies will benefit richie rich. She's afraid he might lose one of his precious dollars and have to stay up all night worrying about it.

[awake]

25. This has yet to hit the MSM

If this gets half the play as the 47% tape in the Main Stream Media, then we can put a fork in him because his goose will truly be cooked. I think the campaign has already gotten to Ann and she wants out now.

Or maybe this is the set up for the all time restart Mitt drops out and the repugs get someone else.

[flamingdem]

31. It won't. They're gearing up to make Mitt the winner at Wednesday's debate

and the justification is that wives are off limits or something

[ProSense]

40. Mitt will use her "sparingly." n/t

[SaveAmerica]

26. So Romney and Boner would greet every crisis with a crying jag

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

37. So has Romney ever had counseling or therapy?

Has he ever been on the couch? There's nothing wrong with that, but I think it's something Americans have an interest in knowing, especially if he wants to make decisions that directly affect our security and that of the world. If he's having mental issues, it's not fair for them to become our issues as well unless we know about them.

[Scurrilous]

38. K & R