WTF Politics: Knee Jerks

Mitt thinks he nailed the landing

Woke up this morning to news that protests against our American consulates in the Middle East had taken a turn towards worst case scenario. Four Americans, including our Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, were killed by an attack on our embassy in Benghazi. Before going to bed on Tuesday night, I was trying to piece together - through various sources - a somewhat disjointed story about the protests outside our embassy in Cairo. It seemed all the facts were simply not known - not surprising when you consider the situation was still fluid and tense. I had the good sense to go to bed and wait for further information. Sadly, no one gave this advice to Mitt Romney who issued the following attack on Tuesday night:

I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.

Then Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, double downed on the Romney campaign's statement and took to twitter at midnight ET with the following pleasantries:

Never satisfied to stay on the sidelines of any political or policy issue no matter how wholly unqualified she may be to speak on them, Sarah Palin weighed in with the following via her Facebook page:

All three knee jerk reactions came as a result of tweets sent out by diplomats at our embassy under impending siege in Cairo that dare suggested religious tolerance is good. Tweets that an Obama Administration official - perhaps anticipating the oncoming hyperbole and criticism from the right - pointed out were not approved by the White House. Apparently the details (both known and unknown), were all lost on Larry, Curly and Moe Mitt, Reince and Sarah who seemed to be alternately criticizing the President for "sympathizing" with the Egyptian protesters by agreeing with our American consulate workers who were trying to defuse an escalating situation AND for "not supporting" our American consulate workers who were trying to defuse an escalating situation. Confused yet? They are too.

So, after we all woke up this morning to the dreadful details of the lives lost in Libya, like most reasonable people, I assumed Mitt would dial back the unfounded criticism a bit today. Nope. He decided to ratchet up the rhetoric instead. Calling a press conference to slam his political opponent before his President could even make a scheduled statement on the unfolding, volatile and complex diplomatic situation from the Rose Garden.

Sigh. Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha... please take the wheel.

WTF Politics: Paul Ryan starring in a remake of Liar, Liar

Like many of you, I expect a certain level of truth-bending by politicians. It may not be right, but I'm not particularly surprised when facts and numbers are fudged a little to support their proposed policies or political victories. Until Paul Ryan entered stage right. He'd already convinced a lazy press corps and even lazier electorate that he was some kind of congressional budgetary genius - changing Medicare dramatically and using that savings not for deficit reduction as he'd like for us to believe, but rather more tax cuts for the wealthiest among us. A trick worthy of Houdini, but he wouldn't be the first or last politician to benefit from an easily produced, packaged and delivered storyline.

Rather, what struck me was his newly uncovered penchant for lying about the stuff you’d expect to hear from a guy holding court at the hotel bar trying to impress a pretty girl sitting within earshot. Ryan, who famously prides himself on an uncommon (among his congressional peers) physique, claimed in a radio interview to have a “two hour and fifty-something” marathon under his belt. He also insinuated in the same interview that he was a multiple marathon runner when in fact, his sole marathon – where he came in slightly over four hours – had taken place 20+ years ago. Not having run marathons myself (personally, I think 26.2 miles is meant to be driven), I’m humble enough to know that those who do train for and run these ridiculously long distances are of a different breed. They take pride in their running times and unfortunately for Rep. Ryan, keep records of these kinda things.

Next we hear Paul Ryan is not only Forrest Gump in his own head, but he also fancies himself an American Sir Edmund Hillary. In a 2009 newspaper interview, the P90Xing, washboard abs having Congressman claimed to have accomplished close to 40 climbs of Colorado’s “Fourteeners”. For those unfamiliar with the term (read: me), “Fourteeners” means mountains with 14,000-foot peaks. As you would imagine, crazy people who climb heights that most only want to see from inside a comfortable airplane cabin while enjoying a cocktail (read: me) take these accomplishments pretty seriously, as they should. For the second time since Ryan’s truth challenged speech at the GOP Convention, the Romney campaign had to double back and clarify the prior physical feats of their own in-house Tony Horton.

I don’t know why these little white lies would bother me any more than Ryan’s false Medicare or Bowles-Simpson deficit commission claims, but alas, they do. To me, it indicates an inherent readiness to shade over the truth and worse, the unmitigated gall to think runners, mountain climbers, media and VOTERS are too dumb to know better.