2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumRomney’s Cookie Comment Bites Back
In a campaign stop Tuesday outside Pittsburgh, Mitt Romney made what many locals considered a tasteless remark about cookies from a local landmark bakery.
With a plate of cookies in front of him, Mitt Romney speaks at a Tax Day roundtable event at the Bethel Park Community Center on April 17, 2012 in Bethel Park, Pa. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, met with four couples at the Bethel Park Community Center to talk about the deficit, health care and education. The meeting got off to a rocky start, however, when the governor sat down at a picnic table set with food and made an apparent attempt at humor.
Im not sure about these cookies, Mr. Romney said. They dont look like you made them, he said turning to one of the women at the table. Did you make those cookies? You didnt, did you? No. No. They came from the local 7-11 bakery or wherever. (The video from the local CBS station is here.)
The cookies, in fact, were donated from the popular Bethel Bakery around the corner from the community center, and once Mr. Romneys comment was broadcast on local airwaves offended residents took to Facebook and Twitter to complain. The episode was inevitably called CookieGate. The bakery is offering a CookieGate special Wednesday and Thursday: free half dozen cookies with every dozen purchased.
Initially, we were incensed that he would think that Bethel Bakery is comparable to the 7-11, said bakery owner John Walsh, a Republican. Mr. Walsh, whose parents opened the bakery in 1955, said he thinks the comment was made in jest and would like Gov. Romney to try the bakerys offerings in the future.
But some bitterness remained. Let him eat cake next time, Mr. Walsh said.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/04/18/romneys-cookie-comment-bites-back/?mod=e2tw
See video for income and taxes.......
http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/27/news/economy/romney_net_worth/index.htm
annabanana
(52,791 posts)We can't possibly hurt him worse than he hurts himself every time he opens his dumb rich yap.
Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)And I mean really, is this guy really this dumb, or is it just my imagination? He just doesn't really seem to be intelligent enough to be capable of all the things that are on his resume. He seems dumber than George Bush, I or II. I know some business people who are very successful, and I cannot imagine one of them reacting this way in any social setting.
Tin Foil Alert: Is it possible that this guy has been promoted as "future president Mitt Romney" for his entire life, in spite of the fact that he is as dumb as a box of rocks, and very socially awkward? His education, his career in business, his political career...is it all just a Potemkin village of attributes that someone thinks that a president should have?
I am starting to wonder if this guy is the most completely phony human being that I have ever seen.
nxylas
(6,440 posts)Do a YouTube search for "Senator Clint Webb" to see a comedy sketch that parodies just such a stooge.
immoderate
(20,885 posts)Also I have never, ever, heard him say, or seen him do, anything smart.
--imm
Wait Wut
(8,492 posts)Keep talking, Mitt. You're doing a fine job.
All we need to do to destroy this man is plant people in audiences and have them ask questions. Any questions. He'll take care of the rest.
high density
(13,397 posts)Cookie bakeries being slighted is an important topic in our daily lives, much like random comments from Hilary Rosen.
MindMover
(5,016 posts)guess that's what makes news today......
when an out of work, burned out, buzzed up rocker says he is going to chop the presidents head off, then somehow it becomes news, RANDOM Comments......hmmmm
morningfog
(18,115 posts)Bubble-boy can't relate no matter how hard he tries. He is the .01%
demtenjeep
(31,997 posts)and accusing them of not being in "their place in the kitchen"
JBoy
(8,021 posts)Would have been great if one of the women had said "No, I didn't make the fucking cookies. I've been at work all day."
what I would have said!!!
That's exactly what I thought, too. Hey, I was busy all day "enjoying the dignity of work."
Whisp
(24,096 posts)what a total ass that man is. dumb as a stump.
morningfog
(18,115 posts)Chemisse
(30,817 posts)I'm sure he wasn't looking at the male halves of the couples when he made the cookie remark.
He is so clueless.
EC
(12,287 posts)He was saying that the only good cookie is one baked by the woman of the house, wasn't he?
exactly what he was saying
AllyCat
(16,233 posts)Wonder if he has ever even made ramen soup? Oh wait. of course he hasn't. He's never been HARD UP FOR MONEY. Jerk.
Arkana
(24,347 posts)But it's just one in a string of "Hi, I'm Mitt Romney And I Literally Do Not Know How To Talk To Non-Gazillionaires" incidents.
LiberalFighter
(51,137 posts)Hawaii Hiker
(3,166 posts)then he's out of his element i guess...
He was probably so uncomfortable, what he really wanted to say was "Jesus Christ, i have to eat these shitty looking 7-11 bakery cookies with these heathens"...
MindMover
(5,016 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)MichiganVote
(21,086 posts)And just exactly how will there be anymore polish during a Romney than we formerly endured under the idiot Bush.
Come on. Bush made America a laughing stock with his dumbass comments. Again???Again???
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Botany
(70,594 posts)show up and insult your host's food and two businesses
peace frog
(5,609 posts)Botany
(70,594 posts)He is the most awkward man in the world.
BTW Hey woman, how come you aren't baking cookies in the kitchen?
I might be wrong but I think Mitt's loss this fall will be massive because he is a train wreck of a candidate.
I looked up Bethel Bakery and it is an institution in the community and the
type of place any politician would kill for to use to meet and greet "the people."
"Why look at you Mrs. Smith and your grandkids are just cute as can be here
let me give you one of Bethel's super oatmeal raisin cookies and I bet the kids
would like a couple of ones for themselves. So good to see you here today is
there anything you would like to talk to me about?" Mr. or Ms. Politician
aquart
(69,014 posts)They know this guy can't ad lib. They should have been familiar with every single thing that was going on or likely to happen.
But to sneer at his host's food offerings? JESUS H. CHRIST WHAT A FUCKING MORON!
Botany
(70,594 posts)Last edited Thu Apr 19, 2012, 09:49 PM - Edit history (1)
.... by doing his advance and or prep work for him. A sit down w/ those
folks around a picnic table should (w/ selected repug people) have been
a home run. The whole sit down was awkward as hell.
The people: We are afraid of losing the arts in our public schools
Mitt: Scratches face ..... Oh well that is something
The people: Look we will do our bit even if they have to raise our taxes
Mitt: yah ah ah voice (trails off)
***********
juajen
(8,515 posts)Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)unless it suits his agenda to be otherwise. A natural cluelessness.
demtenjeep
(31,997 posts)smarmy
jmowreader
(50,566 posts)Romney's biggest problem is that he's stiffer than a 2x4, which would be okay if he wasn't running against the most likable man in Washington.
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)I like that.
Crunchy Frog
(26,659 posts)burrowowl
(17,653 posts)of GB I: "A silver foot in his mouth"
demtenjeep
(31,997 posts)those look great. THANK YOU
not grill them as to where they come from
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,445 posts)I just hope the public doesn't decide that after 4 years of cleaning up the mess left by the last guy a majority (s)elected who people "wanted to have a beer with" that they want to elect a clueless out of touch plutocrat POTUS.
msu2ba
(340 posts)To paraphrase Lou Grant (who was talking about Ted Baxter): With Willard, you know he's going to put his foot in his mouth. What you don't know is how he's going to get the other one in there with it.
peace frog
(5,609 posts)PERFECT description of Mittens.
Bake
(21,977 posts)Keep talking, RMoney. See how many Americans you can piss off.
Bake
grantcart
(53,061 posts)First Romney doesn't have a clue what is sold at 7-11 (btw the commentary also avoids the obvious implication that Romney is looking down not only at 7-11 and their employees but the millions of people who buy snacks there) or what cookies for the regular people are like.
Second Romney doesn't understand the basic 'honored guest'. If you have ever travelled outside of the US and have been the guest of a family that has never hosted an American you will observe that regardless of how poor or destitute they are they will bring out their prized food on their best plates. Romney, or anyone running for President, should have observed that in this kind of setting people aren't going to 'stop at a 7-11' and buy any old crap for their 'honored guest' but go out of their way.
He simply doesn't understand the most fundamental dynamics of basic human interaction.
tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)He truly is out of touch.
Arkana
(24,347 posts)it becomes difficult to interface with organics on a meaningful level.
ArtiChoke
(61 posts)that always get a little chuckle from me, my coworkers must think I'm losing it.
Please accept this non-7-11 cookie from the excellent long-standing family-owned bakery around the corner, cuz damn, that was funny.
AllyCat
(16,233 posts)Thanks a lot.
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)of the update needs of every one of his creations, and Terlina III isn't exactly just around the corner, yanno.
Cut the guy some slack, he's like, what, 110 years old now?
livetohike
(22,165 posts)who is just learning how to fit in on Earth. He talks like he is on speed and then the things he says are so awkward and inappropriate. It really is odd. He doesn't know common manners.
Skinner
(63,645 posts)Pachamama
(16,887 posts)Diplomacy!!!!
I mean that seriously....You hit the nail on the head.....This event/interaction reveals a lot about Romney....more than just lack of manners, more than that he is awkward and uncomfortable around others, more than that he cant relate to people that are different from him. It truly shows that "he does not understand the most fundamental dynamics of basic human interaction".
I remember decades ago when I had first visited with the Achuar and Huarani tribes deep in the Amazon in Equador. When you visit the village the tribe honors you by inviting you into their hut. As you sit on the floor, they pass around a bowl with "Chicha", a fermented concoction that is made by the women of the village chewing the Manioc plant and then spitting in to the bowl. It ferments with the enzymes of the spit making a brew of sorts. Disgusting to you and I, but not them. I put it to my lips and sipped as little as I had to, but it would have been considered a great insult to the tribe if I refused.
I think of that interaction at the picnic bench...it would have been as if I refused to sit on the floor of the hut, turned my head and grimaced when they passed the bowl to me and then laughed and walked out. Translate that to Mitt Romney as Commander in Chief....if he cant interact with his own citizens at the most basic level, then how would he be in situations involving foreign relations with Nations of very different religions, culture and ways.
Very Revealing moment indeed....
grantcart
(53,061 posts)I had a similar experience with fried grasshoppers on the Thai/burmese border.
One of the main problems with neo-cons in general and the senior admin of the Bush administration was that none of them lived overseas except Powell and they never listened to him.
foo_bar
(4,193 posts)I realize this is sort of a stock DU trope, "OMG, the BFEE wouldn't slip up unless it was part of the plan!!1", but consider *'s criminal ignorance and smirky sense of entitlement in 2000: to people with a shred of empathy, intellectual curiosity, or non-privileged life experience, the human asterisk posed no threat to a thoughtful, considerate statesman like Gore, and that assessment would have been realized in any other industrialized nation or at any other time in history, but for whatever reasons (perhaps the 24/7 brainwashing and TV narcosis, dismantling of public schools and access to higher education, unwholesome food and polluted environments, etc.) we seem to inhabit a culture that systematically chooses Goofuses over Gallants, Sarah Palin's loss notwithstanding. Let's face it, the only gaffe that affected Money's campaign thus far involved mixing cheese with grits, whereas sounding like a morally detached plutocrat seems to enhance his prestige among people coveting Mitt's laissez-savoir-faire.
Arkana
(24,347 posts)He literally insulted these people and their products because he's so clueless and so out-of-touch and such a gigantic fucking snob that his brain literally doesn't have a branch path.
It reinforces a narrative. That's why it's important.
foo_bar
(4,193 posts)This one's vaguely cookie themed:
This is presumably photoshopped:
Sound advice for political campaigns:
Zookeeper
(6,536 posts)for all of us.". Them's fighting' words to the Rethugs!
MgtPA
(1,022 posts)Boy's Life? Highlights for Children?
Beartracks
(12,821 posts)tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)I overheard a couple of intake ladies at the hospital I work at in Philly talking about this. They were saying that he "looks down on the little man", is "condescending", etc.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)glogrrl
(6 posts)Mittens must have thought those cookies were made by those gay Girl Scouts.
DallasNE
(7,403 posts)Reminds me of Nixon going to peace protesters and wanting to talk about football. People like Romney and Nixon are just out of their league in social settings and don't know how to make small talk.
rufus dog
(8,419 posts)Based upon his "Let him eat cake" comment it appears that he is more than a bit annoyed at the Mittster.
There will be numerous similar statements from Mitt, because he is an elitist.
LuckyLib
(6,821 posts)each person sending an email to the rMoney campaign to let them know the baked goods were just fine. This could turn into a win for the bakery owner!
Ccarmona
(1,180 posts)one to pick up on this, but notice in the pic, there are no glasses and nobody's drinking the lemonade.
At least when Obama meets with people, he drinks a beer with them.
EC
(12,287 posts)he would have been taught MANNERS. I was taught at a very young age, do not remark about food put in front of you, unless it's something nice. When people share what they have for sustenance it should be welcome and appreciated.
On Edit: Maybe he was taught manners but thinks they only apply to the upper crust and not to the servant class. I'll bet he doesn't thank waitresses or clerks either.
Zookeeper
(6,536 posts)been embarrassed by his son's behavior in this instance.
Zambero
(8,974 posts)Romney must have a very long bucket list of who he intends to insult and/or alienate before departing for that great temple in the sky. I'll bet he clears the list and adds a few along the way, with time to spare.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)joshcryer
(62,277 posts)Tarheel_Dem
(31,243 posts)He was a crook, but a rich crook.
BB1
(798 posts)for the presidency have been nothing but dead wood. Somebody got away with W, but McCain and rMoney wouldn't or won't stand against a solid Democratic cadidate.
Even in Europe we think the Repubs are a bunch of waaaaaaaaay-out-there whacky wingnut zealots who contribute absolutely NOTHING to the well being of people anywhere.
Get yer single payer healthcare, get out of yer wars, send a mission to Mars.
Skittles
(153,211 posts)it doesn't make any sense - what sentiment was he trying to convey???
Drunken Irishman
(34,857 posts)A thought is this:
464646 22312546 9254385233 4466645644 551585 5588422 2223424
He then translates it into the most common aspect of the English language he knows. Sometimes, a thought will come out like this:
Dear Human, your weather is quite yellow. I like yellow. Yellow is warm. Cookie.
AllyCat
(16,233 posts)Skittles
(153,211 posts)that makes sense!
Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)Beartracks
(12,821 posts)mercuryblues
(14,547 posts)purposely made the remark. By doing do he insulted the people who provided the cookies and let them know he is better than them. He can't help himself. It fits right in with his lies when the truth would suffice. He does this to belittle people in order to make himself appear better than them.
Just yesterday someone posted about rMoney telling someone he was at Fenway Park and watched the Red Sox win the World Series. He could not have, Game 4 was played in St Louis. If rMoney was really at the game he would have remembered where it was played.
Then you have his very famous lie about watching his father march with MLK in Grosse Point MI. He could not just state facts about his father's civil rights record, (which seem impressive enough) then say he passed these beliefs down to me.
rMoney's claim that "Obama made the recession worse" is heavily documented on video, so is his claim that he never said that.
rMoney "I have friends who own NASCAR teams"
Im Mitt Romney, and yes, Wolf, thats also my first name. Mitt your first name is Willard.
AllyCat
(16,233 posts)Wonder what Rmoney's folks do every time he opens his mouth? Will he start getting scripts for meet-and-greets?
Zookeeper
(6,536 posts)like W. Neither of them would have been taken seriously, if they hadn't been born into power and privilege.
Skittles
(153,211 posts)if you try to figure out who is the dumbest your mind will go in an endless loop