Mitt Romney went out of the 2008 Presidential Campaign the same way he got into it, lying. Here’s what he said:
“In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror. This is not an easy decision. I hate to lose,”
“If this were only about me, I’d go on. But it’s never been only about me. I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, in this time of war I feel I have to now stand aside for our party and for our country.”
Let’s analyze:
Big Lie #1 – anytime a politician claims it’s not about them, they are lying. Romney wouldn’t be human if a big chunk of his desire to be president didn’t have a lot to do with his own ego.
Big Lie #2 – he’s getting out of the campaign as a sacrifice during a time of war. Let’s be honest. He’s getting out cause he blew about 40 million of his own fortune and realized he wasn’t getting the job he was chasing. I would respect him more if he simply said “I’m getting out because my wife is uncomfortable with me spending any more of our money on a now clearly futile campaign for the White House”
We would have demanded Bin Laden. Given a timetable and then attacked the Taliban when they declined to turn him over. In fact, I think the Bush Administration should get high marks for restraint and an appropriate and timely use of force in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.
(PS – I’m sure the paragraph above is going to manage to tick off both Republicans and Democrats. Deal with it.)
Where the Bush Administration faltered, and where Gore might not have, is they simply lost track of the plot. Bin Laden went from “wanted dead or alive” to not being important enough anymore for us to worry about whether we’d captured him yet. Bush couldn’t help himself from getting us involved in Iraq. Now John McCain says we may be there a 100 years. And still Bin Laden roams free. Where’s the outrage over that?
If we hadn’t attacked Iraq, perhaps we’d have caught Bin Laden by now. Perhaps we’d be safer. We’ll never know.
B
But please, make sure to buy the next round for Mitt. He’s a bit tapped out right now.
PPS – I believe Mormons aren’t supposed to drink alcohol. Didn’t mean literally that Romney should begin drinking. I’m all about respecting people’s religious choices.
