Politics: Romney?s Awkward Courtship

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Politics Romney's Awkward Courtship Michigan experiences Mitt's charm offensive. Can they learn to love their native son? By David Weigel Posted Monday, Feb 27, 2012, at 11:26 PM ET FLINT, Mich.—Mitt Romney's advance team has a simple mission: Make the candidate look like he's already president. Maybe he was sworn in when you weren't paying attention. To see him, you had to sign up with the campaign, show up early, prove your harmlessness to the Secret Service, and find a place in a theater-in-the-round set-up where the candidate is flanked by whale-sized American flags. Romney showed up in casual chic: dress shirt, blue jeans, dress shoes. The speech took advantage of only a third of the room—curtains clipped off the rest of it—so the crowd, mustachioed security, and media pen were pushed together for maximum effect. (Clearly, the campaign had learned its lesson from the less-than-epic staging of his Friday economic speech.) Romney paced the stage in front of a bleacher full of Kettering University students. "Kids can't find work," said Romney. "This is something I've heard Dick Armey say: It used to be that the American dream was owning your own home. Now, the American dream is getting your kids to move out of your home!" The Kettering students, serious-looking in matching gray T-shirts, did not laugh. The rest of the crowd did. They were being asked to whipsaw between jokes like this, brief descriptions of what he'd do in office, and patriotic musings on the common man. "Everywhere I go, I see people who love this country," said Romney. "I'm proud of the fact that when we ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Sneaky Tactics Obama's Campaign Is Using To Make Life Difficult for Republicans in Michigan Can Finding Something Morally Repugnant Really Make You Puke? Pitchfork Rebellion: Can Protesters Waving Farm Implements Bring About New Rules for Pesticide?	Advertisement
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