Mad Mitt
If you haven’t seen the Mitt Romney video yet, treat yourself. It’s a spectacular meltdown, one that has everyone talking. Still, it’s not entirely clear who came off looking worse — Romney or AP reporter Glen Johnson.
Yesterday, during a few quick comments on the campaign trail in South Carolina, Romney and Johnson got tangled up in a tense, awkward spat about whether or not Romney has lobbyists running his campaign. It was like bad grade-school slap fight — the children clumsily flailing at each other while a crowd gathered to gawk stupidly.
As with all good fights, sides must be taken. After the jump, choose yours. It began with another of Romney’s talking points. He was once more belaboring the idea that he’s a businessman, and an outsider, and therefore the perfect guy to set those evil Washington fat cats back to a life of righteousness.
“I don’t have lobbyists running my campaign,” Romney said. “I don’t have lobbyists tied to my…”
Just then, Johnson cut him off. Maybe it was the result of hearing too many of Romney’s platitudes. Maybe he was struck with the sudden urge to do what too few journos have the balls for — call bullshit when you see it, regardless of whether you’ll be branded a rogue reporter, or even unprofessional. Or maybe Johnson was just having a bad day — terrible lunches on the trail, from what I hear. Whatever the reason, Johnson immediately laid into Romney.
“That’s not true, governor,” Johnson said. “That’s not true. Ron Kaufman is a lobbyist. How can you say you don’t have lobbyists working for you?
“Did you hear what I said?” Romney shot back. “Did you hear what I said, Glen? I said I don’t have lobbyists running my campaign [emphasis added], and I don’t have lobbyists running my campaign.”
“But he’s an advisor,” Johnson said.
“He’s an advisor,” Romney allowed. “But the person running my campaign is Beth Myers. And I have a whole staff of deputy campaign managers.”
After some more bickering about what a senior advisor is or isn’t, Romney returned to saying that Washington is full of drunks and puppy kickers and the town should be razed (OK, he said some more stuff about not having lobbyists on his campaign.) Then he was whisked away by communications director Eric Fehrnstrom.
That wasn’t the end of it, though. Romney approached Johnson after the event to reinforce the point that he didn’t have lobbyists working for him. Johnson wasn’t buying it. (And neither are a lot of others, incidentally.) Which made Romney even more pissed.
“Listen to my words, Glen,” Romney said. “Listen to my words.”
“That’s semantics,” Johnson said. “Running your campaign and giving you advice? Come on.”
After that exchange, Mitt smiled and walked away, while Fehrnstrom called Johnson unprofessional and told him to keep his opinions to himself. Then someone in the crowd called Johnson rude and ugly. Which was funny, and a bit ironic considering the source.
Johnson did look a bit snivelly at points, but it should be noted that he didn’t seek Romney out the second time. Nor the third when, on the press plane as the campaign headed from South Carolina to Nevada, Romney invited the reporter up to his cabin to continue the discussion.
Doubtless, plenty of people will hold Johnson responsible for continuously challenging Mitt. How unbecoming of a reporter. How audacious. How dare he? Most people, Romney and Fehrnstrom included, seem to think that reporters are really stenographers, charged with the task of dutifully copying down everything the candidate says, even if it isn’t true.
Those same people have forgotten that part of the media’s job is to challenge things that don’t pass the smell test. At least it used to be back when Edward R. Murrow did this kind of shit regularly.
Not that Johnson is in that club. He simply knows that Kaufman is a lobbyist, and that he’s a senior advisor, which may not be running the campaign, but it’s damn important. Kaufman is certainly someone who “has the ear of the candidate.”
No, Johnson isn’t Murrow. He’s just a guy who heard Romney obfuscate one too many times, a guy who watched Romney continually wiggle free of the truth while tying everyone else up in his verbal knots. And so Johnson decided he’d had enough of that.
That’s what I saw, anyway. Romney will probably disagree. Which isn’t all that surprising. After all, he has a problem with that word — saw.
January 18th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Johnson was called ‘unprofessional’!?!? Reporters are SUPPOSED to do that, not to sit by and idly take notes. If we had more reporters like Johnson we might be in a lot better shape. Romney is such a weasel. Of course advising a campaign is helping run a campaign. Pleeeease.
January 18th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Perhaps you could have touched upon whether it is also the media’s job to challenge Democrats? Or is it only Republicans? No Democrat ever gets such treatment. In particular, Glenn Johnson is a embarassing syncophant suck up to Hillary Clinton, as much as he is an obnoxious unprofessional twit to Mitt Romney.
Your article doesn’t address the difference in treatment Democrats and Republicans receive from this supposedly objective journalist. You can’t explain that so well, apparently.
“Clinton Calm in Hostage Crisis”
January 18th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Keep calling them out Glenn. We need more not less of true reporting. Thanks for probing for the truth and being persistent while a professional in doing so. You have confirmed my wife’s belief that any one named Glen are obstinate as hell.
Thanks Again.
Glen J.
January 18th, 2008 at 11:11 am
This morning on CNN Politic Ticker, Mr. Johnson was described as “late of the Boston Globe”. Anyone following the Romney campaign knows the negative bias the Globe has against Mr. Romney. This altercation does more to raise questions about Mr. Johnson’s credibility and the media that keeps perpetuating this story than it does about real issues.
January 18th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I agree. If Mitt Romney says the sun rises in the west, who are we to argue? For shame!
January 18th, 2008 at 11:24 am
B.S. should be called on both sides. And when they ping your candidate for it, don’t get defensive - get mad, for you are being lied to and exploited by those you believe in. One should vote on principle, not on who has the shiniest facade. That seems to be where many American’s are at - “ooh, it sparkles!” Let’s grow up and expect some honesty and integrity from a candidate. Until we demand it, they won’t give it, because right now the public seems just fine
with settling for the lesser of two evils. Not all of us, though.
January 18th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
I find it beyond ironic that the person telling Johnson to be professional and keep his opinions to himself is Eric Ferhnstrom, a former Boston Herald reporter, who almost punched out the mayor of North Adams during a post-NECN interview in 2002.
January 18th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Keep calling them out Glenn. We need more not less of true reporting.
The media gets hailed as “truth seekers”. Yes, they do usually dig down to the whole truth of things. The problem is that only part of the truth ends up in print.
There are already bloggers out there reporting that some of Romney’s lobbyists “have ties to the U.N.”, with the slanted implication being that Romney will have to pay them back later on to the benefit of the U.N. and the expense of U.S. interests. Never mind that at least one of those lobbyists was working towards correcting errors or oversights (intentional or unintentional) made by the U.N. to the detriment of the U.S. Also, never mind that it’s not unusual for a lobbyist to serve multiple interests that may even conflict on a certain level.
January 18th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
“Lobbyist” is to “advocate” as “pig” is to “cop.” One imagines that most of the professional operators in the political arena have consulted for many people in many capacities. Leaving aside the fact that Romney can be slippery as an eel, asking if he has lobbyists running his campaign has more than a whiff of the “so when did you stop beating your wife” to it.
January 18th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I think the media should only be mean to Democrats. That way it’ll be fair. Unfairness hurts democracy.
January 18th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
One more time. Politicians are SUPPOSED to have agendas. Reporters are not. Why is that so tough to follow?
January 18th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Ever wonder why people can see the EXACT SAME CLIP and come to completely opposite conclusions? Some find Romney to be coolheaded and adept at clarifying his intended meeting and the role lobbyists have in his campaign while others see him as angry and evasive?
Well, I saw an interesting article today that may be related. It answers why Mitt is stuck with the label flip-flopper depsite that his competitors have changed their positions just as much. Have a look.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Are Glen Johnson the reporter and Glen Johnstone the blog commenter the same person?