Steve Rattner vs. Mitt Romney:
Delusions About the Detroit Bailout: WHEN Mitt Romney takes the podium at Ford Field in Detroit today, he’s likely to include yet another sharp denunciation of the government’s rescue of General Motors and Chrysler. That Mr. Romney would traverse Michigan trashing a program that saved tens of thousands of jobs at the Detroit-based automakers doesn’t necessarily mean he’s politically tone-deaf…. Mr. Romney may have the primary politics right — though with a majority of Michigan voters supporting the rescue, he may want to pivot deftly before the general election in November. But on the substance he’s dead wrong…. Mr. Romney evidently hasn’t felt a need to be consistent or specific…. [His]gist is that the government should have stayed on the sidelines and allowed the companies to go through what he calls “managed bankruptcies,” financed by private capital. That sounds like a wonderfully sensible approach — except that it’s utter fantasy…
Benjy Sarlin: Media Fixates On Near-Empty Stadium Rather Than Romney’s Speech:
Mitt Romney’s big speech in Michigan Friday was delivered before a crowd that organizers pegged at roughly 1,200. Apparently the seats had sold out so fast that the campaign had been obliged to shift from its initial venue to a larger space. The site they found was the enormous Ford Field Stadium. The problem: it seats 65,000 people. So early-on the campaign was faced with the issue of how to make it look like he wasn’t addressing a near-empty arena. Their solution was to set up the seats in the middle of the field. However, despite those efforts, a live feed of the event clearly showed tens of thousands of unfilled seats and Romney’s speech had an audible echo as his voice bounced around the cavernous space…
Benjy Sarlin: Romney Camp Can’t Hold Back From Editing Endorsements:
The latest blow up is over a pair of newspaper endorsements that Romney received this week, both of which were generally positive but tempered with some criticisms of his position on various issues where they disagreed. The latest came on Friday, as the Romney campaign sent out another newspaper endorsement, this one from the Arizona Republic, that left out sections criticizing Romney’s position on immigration policy as well as his skills as a campaigner. It did also leave out some more positive passages as well on his foreign policy views. As reported by TPM this week, Romney’s campaign recently e-mailed out an endorsement from the Detroit News that left out a paragraph criticizing his handling of the auto bailout…
Travis Waldron: Romney Slams Santorum's Support For Education Law He Also Supports | ThinkProgress
Pat Garofolo: Romney's New Tax Plan Gives the Richest 0.1 Percent a $264,000 Tax Cut:
Previously, Romney had said that he’s not concerned about the very rich and is “proposing no tax cuts for the rich.” But during this week’s GOP primary debate, he reneged on that position, saying, “number one, I said that we’re going to cut taxes on everyone across the country by 20 percent, including the top 1 percent.”… [N]early half the benefit of such a cut would go to the richest 5 percent of Americans, with more than 25 percent of the benefit going to the richest 1 percent, compared with current policy.
Steve Benen: The Maddow Blog - Michigan: where the trees are 'the right height':
The clip has been making the rounds…. Josh Marshall argues the video "has been scientifically proven to be the best Mitt video in history."… [H]ere's Mitt Romney, speaking in Michigan, trying to explain why he loves the state:
A little history -- I was born and raised here. I love the state. It seems right here. Trees are the right height.
I like -- I like seeing the lakes. I love the lakes. Something very special here. The Great Lakes but also all the little inland lakes that dot the parts of Michigan.
I love cars. I don't know -- I mean, I grew up totally in love with cars.... I love cars. I love American cars."
There was apparently some glitch in Romney's programming during that appearance, but I've been assured the campaign tech team has given the candidate a full diagnostic. As for why Michigan trees "are the right height" -- unlike those other rascally states, where the trees are either too tall or too short -- I'm yet to see someone explain what on earth Romney was talking about.
Romney: My Wife Drives 'A Couple Of Cadillacs':
First, he repeated his bizarre and widely-mocked line about liking Michigan because “the trees are the right height.” Then, he played into the out-of-touch patrician narrative he’s trying to shed when he said his wife drives not one, but “a couple of Cadillacs.”… Campaign aides told reporters after the event that Ann Romney has two Cadillac SRX SUVs, one in California and one in Massachusetts.
