The Sun's not yellow it's chicken

zeitvox:

Source reveals Romney “Jimmy Carter Strategy”

Salon | Craig Unger »

The source, who has firsthand knowledge of private, high-level conversations in the Romney camp that took place in Washington, D.C., last week, said that at various times the GOP strategists referred to their new operation as the Jimmy Carter Strategy or the October Surprise.

…He said they were jubilant about their new strategy and said they intended to portray Obama as a helpless, Jimmy Carter-like president and to equate the tragedy in Libya with President Carter’s failed attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran in 1980. “They are so excited about it,” he said. “Over and over again they talked about how it would be just like Jimmy Carter’s failed raid. They feel it is going to give them a last-minute landslide in the election.”

The source, however, said he was dubious about the tactic. “To me, it is indicative that they have lost touch with a huge portion of the electorate,” he said.  >continue<

Perhaps the source suspects the scheme, already reverberating with all the subtlety of a laugh track among conservative punditry, smells like ad hoc desperation.

I have to agree with the original story, rather than your assessment, in that it demonstrates a Romney camp that is out of touch.

The true error in this is in the fact that it is precisely the same FAILED strategy that the Romney camp is supposedly trying to distance themselves from, and they can’t see it!

The Romney people have campaigned exclusively towards his own base. They have made no efforts what so ever to win over independents and disgruntled Democrats — “Reagan Democrats” — but, rather, they seem hell bent on chasing away as many as possible. Romney Could have balanced the ticket, for example, chosen a Veep with appeal outside the traditional Republican base, someone acceptable to liberal-to-moderate independents and angry Democrats, but instead he chose Ryan.

Romney could have given non-Republicans an excuse to vote for him, instead he gave them a reason to vote for Obama.

And let’s not forget Romney’s insane “47%” speech. There was no earthly reason for Romney to make the comments. The people in that room were already supporters. The people in that room had each donated the equivalent to the Medium U.S. Household Annual Income to be in that room. If they didn’t count as “Supporters” than who on earth does?

The point is, Romney was standing in a room full of people whom he had no need to pander to, yet that is exactly what he did, and he did it at the expense of the people he DOES need to pander to.  Never did he consider the people whose votes he does not have, never did he pander to the people who aren’t supporting him, the people he needs to win over if he wants to be President.

….this “Jimmy Carter” strategy is the exact same thing, the latest example.

Never mind that regard for Carter has changed dramatically over time.

Exactly. Who does a comparison to Jimmy Carter appeal to? Whose votes does he win over with such a strategy?

THE PEOPLE WHO WERE ALREADY GOING TO VOTE FOR HIM!

The right wing hates Carter, but virtually the entire rest of the planet looks on him quite favorably. He’s often been called “America’s most successful/popular EX President.” You’re not going to sour Obama for the reasonable people with such comparisons. In fact, Romney is more likely to bolster Obama’s numbers!

Now, as always, The Romney camp is driving away the people he needs. He’s pandering to his own base, the voters he’s already got, at the expense of the voters he needs… and nothing can make him see this.

Romney and his staff are out of touch with America already, and they aren’t even in office!