Mitt has Run-In with AP Reporter Glen Johnson
Gov. Romney maintains his dignity while Johnson loses his composure.
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More footage here. At the end there if more discussion not shown in the video above.
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I won’t write much of this but will refer you to a good write-up done by Jon at Blogs for Mitt. Here’s part of what Jon had to say:
Maybe life on the campaign trail is getting to Glen Johnson. Maybe he’s been relegated to a middle seat in the back of the campaign trail. Whatever the reason may be, his behavior in this situation is disgraceful. You don’t see this coming from Liz Sidoti, Michael Luo, or any of the other MSM reporters assigned to cover Mitt. While each of them may have their own personal bias and issues, at least they keep them to themselves. Last time I checked, the job of a reporter is to report, not to challenge a candidate to a verbal duel. Regardless of that fact, Johnson lost this duel.
Memo to Glen Johnson: Words mean things. Mitt means what he says when he tells you who runs his campaign. It’s his campaign organization – you don’t have better insight into it than he does. It’s called a vacation. Consider one. End Memo.
~Nate Gunderson
BTW - Thanks to Nevadagirl for the heads up on the video.
UPDATE:
Click here for a post from the past about Glen’s Agenda Journalism called:
Associated Press’ Glen Johnson = Hack
Headlines are all the matters - What More Need I Say?
Glen Johnson – Same Garbage, Different Article
Hugh vs. Hack (Glen Johnson)
Rush Limbaugh: “Pure Hit Piece” Referring to AP Article on Polygamy in Romney’s Past
Can you believe this?
So Glen, Both Rush Limbaugh and Hugh Hewitt have said that you are a Hack Reporter with an agenda. Is Rush a Sr. Romney strategist?
UPDATE #2:
January 17th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Hold it together Glen, will ya? Not just unprofessional, R-U-D-E.
January 17th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Jim Geraghty / National Review Online:
MITT ROMNEY
Glen Johnson vs. Mitt Romney
“In this exchange at a Staples, AP reporter Glen Johnson is factually right — if Romney doesn’t have lobbyists running his campaign, he has them as unpaid “senior advisers” — but strikingly snippy. Romney’s press guy Eric Fehrnstrom takes him to task for being unprofessional, and I generally think it’s a bad idea for campaign correspondents to yell out objections during a candidate’s remarks. ”
“Okay, I admit, when Code Pink protesters disrupted the NRA candidate forum, I did yell, “taser her.” But that was an effort to the other, higher-caliber options for dealing with disruptive folks at their events..”
It is interesting how people assume that providing advice to someone is tantamont to running thier campaign. Last time I checked Romney had a plethora of advisors on a variety of areas.
If Romney is writing the checks either Mitt, or Ann, is calling the shots.
January 17th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Glen Johnson’s article on the episode posted here: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jKsPiM8YW32h21HRebuncfg3jZcAD8U7SRQ00
I notice that Glen did not overly attack Mitt in the article. I think he got scolded already and was told by management not to go for revenge.
Overall, Glen looked real bad in the video. Nice to have such media available to view by the masses so they can make their opinion of who was out of line.
January 17th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I saw the headline on Drudge first and read the transcript of the exchange. The video showed Gov. Romney in charge and in command of both the facts and the situation.
Glen Johnson looked and sounded like a punk.
Did you notice that woman come up at the end of the video after Eric Fehrnstrom verbally spanked Johnson. She was not pleased with Mr. Johnson’s rude behavior and let him know it. Good for her.
January 17th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Someone help me with the Romney pull-out from South Carolina. I understand that he wants to win delegates and has Nevada in his hands, however, he obviously wants to hurt either McCain or Huckabee by giving up on SC. Which one is he trying to hurt? My guess is McCain, because McCain needs to be brought down, and Huckabee can bring him down, but he doesn’t really have a chance to win with non-evangelicals.
January 17th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Great quote Stephen. If these left wing media folks criticize Romney because he’s rich and has been writing the checks, you are trying to have it both ways if you try to make it appear Romney is indebted to lobbyists when he is the one who’s been bailing himself out. It was as Romney was saying, it is a contrast to other people running who have lobbyists running their campaign and are indebted to their interests.
January 17th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Linda,
My guess is he’s trying to hit McCain, especially because his “presupposition” that McCain will win is trying to build up expectations for a McCain win.
January 17th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I think he’s actually happy to let Fred or Huck “Die” in S.c.. Only one of those two can leave SC with their campaign alive. By participating (if mccain wins) he’d be proclaimed the loser too. Good strategy I think.
January 17th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
You could also say that Mitt is looking at this race from a delegate perspective and he’s not relying on the Florida winner takes all approach. He’s the only one that’s winning out West and he may be staking his claim as the best in the West. Nevada borders California and McCain’s Arizona. I’m not sure. The media could look at this as McCain getting the momentum into Florida and if he wins there…he could be the MSM’s nominee…and even on The Corner their wondering if Romney’s giving it to McCain.
They could be right…I’m not sure. I think Romney’s going to spin it as a victory for him…he’ll get delegates out of SC and will win most of them in NV.
January 17th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Watched it again. Woah, that Glen is ready to snap. It’s kinda dangerous for candidates out there.
January 17th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Johnson was a jerk, I liked the lady at the end saying he was rude. Gee the MSM has no agenda, ha. Since when does a reporter break into a candidates remarks and start arguing with him. I wish some of the reporting on the web was fairer the politico reporter makes it like Romney got upset with him, when Mitt maintained his cool. The headline at MKH’s blog at Townhall was ‘Romney gets Testy’
January 17th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Linda,
I wouldn’t say that Romney has pulled out of SC. He is actually increasing his media buy in the state till Saturday. However, he apparently feels his time would be better suited in NV which also votes on Sat. More Delegates are at stake in NV. I imagine his internals polls show what some of the public show, that he is running behind McCain and Huckabee and Fred is coming on strong. That’s why the “lowering of expectations” game yesterday. If things go well, Mitt can claim Victory in NV and deliver a victory speech instead of a concession speech, if he finishes fourth in SC it was a state he had left, 3rd is a good showing for a state he left early, 2nd is amazing victory.
January 17th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
I hope you will post this interview Glenn Beck has been sending this with his e-mail newsletters. He interviwed all sorts of this people this day but this one is great. He really shows Mitt knows how to make things more efficient. I was trying to find a way to post it but I guess I’ll put it down in this reply.
Mitt Romney interview
Audio Available:
January 16, 2008 - 11:13 ET
GLENN: Well, he now leads in delegates. More people have voted in Michigan last night than all of the other primaries combined. He’s either number one or number two in every race and it is Mitt Romney. Hello, Mitt Romney, how are you, sir?
“Social Security’s the easiest (to fix) and that’s because you can give people a personal account, you can extend the retirement age and you can calculate the initial benefit based on inflation for higher income people rather than the wage index which goes up so much higher. Those simple arithmetic changes will keep Social Security from bankrupt.”
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: I’m doing terrific, Glenn, thank you.
GLENN: I bet you are. Congratulations. Feeling good today?
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Yeah, feels really good. I tell you, as you say I’ve been able to do either first or second in each of the contests and, of course, with Wyoming a first and Michigan a first, that gives me a good start.
GLENN: How are you shaping up? The next one is Nevada? Is that Saturday?
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Yeah, Nevada and South Carolina. The media attention has always been on South Carolina although interestingly South Carolina has 24 delegates at stake and Nevada has 34. So we’ll be playing in both markets and I think I’ve got a better shot at coming in first in Nevada. In South Carolina John McCain is way ahead. Of course, he battled some years ago and has put a lot of money and time into it here but, you know, you never know.
GLENN: Right. I will tell you, Mitt, that something that we have talked about before, the economy. I have been very concerned about the fundamentals in our economy for quite some time and you have been my economy guy the whole time. If somebody’s got to deal with the economy, because of your experience of, you know, building companies and great turnarounds, you are the guy. In a way, I mean, it’s going to be real bittersweet for you because you know what’s coming with the economy but you also know you’re the guy to fix it. So it’s good for you.
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Well, there’s no question but that the economy is the issue people face, short-term or long term. You really do want to have somebody who knows something about how jobs come and go, how we stay competitive with other countries, where our dollars lie and how you rein in Washington waste and push Washington to do those things which actually builds our economy stronger. So, you know, it is what I do, as they say, and that would suggest that I’ll get a boost and I think I got a bit of a boost in Michigan because I was willing to talk about the economy and say, look, we don’t have to be pessimistic and look at our shoes here. We can see a return of American strength and there’s no reason to think America can’t lead the world.
GLENN: There’s a couple of articles that are out today. One is in U.S. News and World Report and the other I think is in the Boston Globe. They say Michigan signaled the end of the Reaganomics because everybody, including you, was talking about bigger government. That’s what the article was saying. Do you find that accurate?
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: No, of course not. I love how the liberal media is dying to put at rest any conservative thought. The answer is stop the growth of government and instead to return to the individual the ability to make their own decisions. So, for instance, my healthcare plan does not give people government insurance. It lets them buy their own private market insurance. And that’s by far the better way to go. Government insurance is way too expensive. It’s run by bureaucrats. You don’t want the people who ran the Katrina cleanup running their healthcare system. So it’s just, you know, as obvious as the nose on your face but somehow Democrats just don’t see that.
GLENN: We had David Walker from the GAO. I don’t know if you know him, but he’s the U.S. comptroller general. I had him on television last week. The guy never did interviews because he’s not a left or right guy. He’s just right or wrong. And he’s not a political guy. First interview he did was 60 Minutes. I believe we did the second interview and we’re doing an hour with him on Friday on radio. This guy is out now ringing the bell and he’s been a quiet guy for a long time and he says our debt is not sustainable. How do you get the American people to understand that, you know, giving people money to help with their heating oil is not going to fix this economy. It is the massive overspending in Washington. And not just the earmarks but Social Security, Medicaid more specifically, and prescription drugs. It’s got to be fixed. How do you get that message across?
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Well, I think the best way I’ve been able to get it across, and it is in my view why I’ve been able to do as well as I have in the season so far is that I say quite bluntly and with a major sign that’s standing up behind me says Washington is broken. We simply cannot keep on going the way we have gone. We have to deal with the challenges we have. The good news is Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security can be fixed so that they don’t have to weigh down our entire economy. The annual spending is —
GLENN: How? How do you fix it?
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Well, yeah. Well, Social Security’s the easiest and that’s because you can give people a personal account, you can extend the retirement age and you can calculate the initial benefit based on inflation for higher income people rather than the wage index which goes up so much higher. Those simple arithmetic changes will keep Social Security from bankrupt.
GLENN: Hold it just a second. I can — hold on. I think I just heard a politician say “Extend the retirement age”?
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Those are the three major levers you have, changing the retirement age, giving people more of their income going in or their Social Security withdrawal going into private accounts, and having a lower rate of inflation on the calculation of initial benefits for higher income individuals. Those are the arithmetic ways to make this work. Other than having a tax increase. And the problem with a tax increase is you slow down the economy, which is the last thing you need in this nation.
GLENN: Do you ever get to the point, do you and your wife ever lay in bed and just say, what did we get ourselves into? I mean, I don’t think we’ve ever seen a primary like this before. I mean, if there’s anybody that seems to be taking it from all sides, it’s your candidacy. Do you ever just say to your wife, what are we doing?
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Well, we say that all the time, but what we know we’re doing is running in this race because I don’t believe that the Republican party is going to nominate a good man, Senator McCain, who is somebody who voted against the Bush tax cuts, who authored a bill to give illegal immigrants the right to stay here forever, if you will a form of amnesty. I fellow who authored McCain/Feingold which devastated our First Amendment and has made money an even bigger political player in political events. I just don’t think that’s the right course to take and for many reasons I think Mike Huckabee wouldn’t be our nominee. So I look at it and say if they are not going to be able to it, somebody’s got to. We’re going on as long as the American people say that the accommodation of, if you will, Reagan’s coalition of social economic and foreign policy conservatives are what are needed to lead this country.
GLENN: Okay. So tell me then, because this is something I’ve been asking on the air and my listeners can’t give me an explanation on John McCain. Explain why — I mean, every conservative knows who this guy is, and I admire that he never changes — you know, he knows what he believes and he just, you know, he bucks the system and says I’m going forward and that’s what it is, but he’s wrong almost every single time. How is it that he’s got this momentum?
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: You’d rather change than be wrong, but it is a combination. I read an article just a couple of days ago that said actually he was opposed to Second Amendment rights and then he has changed and now is in favor of Second Amendment rights and he, of course, voted against the Bush tax cuts but now he says that he wants to make them permanent. So, you know, he has had his fair share of points on which he has evolved as he’s described it.
GLENN: Wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait. That’s not evolution. I mean, if there’s a clear case to be made some case for flip-flop, it’s John McCain. He was just trying to hand free amnesty out to everybody and was like, wow, you know, that was a bad idea; we shouldn’t do that. That, at least with your abortion thing, you had an explanation. I don’t understand how McCain’s not being labeled a flip-flopper.
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: You know, I think it’s just too hard for people to imagine because of the brand he’s been able to establish over the years and I don’t have any problem with a person changing their mind to do something which I think is right. I have to take a position which I think is right. And if somebody can go through life for decades and never find that their experience causes them to change their mind, then they probably shouldn’t be in public office. I’m not going to be critical of somebody changing their views from time to time.
GLENN: But hang on.
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: But I can tell you when their views are wrong, I’ll point it out.
GLENN: The first time we spoke, I don’t know if you remember this, I said to you — I was very, very skeptical and I said before you came on the air, I’ll going to ask this guy for his pivot point and if he can’t tell me the moment that it crystallized in his head on abortion, if he can’t tell me the wallpaper color of when he realized, “Wait a minute, I’m on the wrong side of this issue,” he’s lying to you. And you told the story about when you changed and you didn’t hesitate at all and I knew it was a valid pivot point. I’m a pivot point guy because I’m a alcoholic. I knew — I can tell you the moment I said I’ve got to change my life. That’s not the case with John McCain. That’s a flip-flop. When it comes to taxes, you don’t support them back then and now, “well, I’ll make them permanent but I’m not really sure if I would do more tax cuts now.” That’s a flip-flop. He doesn’t even understand what tax cuts do.
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Well, I do think you have to have an appreciation for the fact that if you reduce taxes, and particularly if you reduce them in the right way. You actually can grow the economy and make it possible for the Government to get more revenue and take less revenue away from the American people. And that’s, you know, that’s a very fundamental perspective and I know there were a lot of people, myself included, who didn’t think that made a lot of sense a long time ago but you know what? The more I’ve aged, the more I recognize how brilliant Ronald Reagan was.
GLENN: Let’s just, let’s play a game here and let’s just say that you are the guy facing off the other side. Who would you rather face?
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: You know, I don’t know who that would be. I have to be honest with you. All three of the leading contenders are so extraordinarily liberal that I find it very, very hard to pick among them. I think it’s going to be — I do think it’s going to be a Republican victory if I’m the nominee. I think if I go up against Hillary Clinton, I’ll be able to say, Senator Clinton, you worked very hard to create a healthcare plan but there’s a big difference between your plan and my plan. My plan got passed and yours didn’t. And number two, mine didn’t cost more money. It was paid for with money we were already spending. Yours cost, your new one cost $110 billion more. You impose one plan on the entire nation; I let each state craft their plan within guidelines that we helped put together. And number four, you give people government insurance; I don’t do that. I let them get free market insurance.
GLENN: Mitt Romney, thank you so much. We’ll talk to you again, my friend.
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Have a great day.
January 17th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
The A.P Interview on the surface does not bode well for Mitt. The reporter got under his skin and the immense pressure Mitt has to deal with showed. Mitt is a remarkable person and a human being like any of us. I the reporter was very rude and disrespectfull to Mitt. However some times you just have to let people vent and move on. The reporter would of looked even more of like a jerk that he was with a hidden agenda. The reporter should never make the news they are only to report it and broke a cardinal rule! This wont have much legs except the few in McCain and Huckabee camps that will try and exploit it with the help of teh MSM.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
John, I disagree. I think this did Gov. Romney a favor by letting us see how he behaves under fire. He keeps his cool, stays on issue and does not make the kind of personal attacks the other candidates do with anyone who disagrees with them. It shows that Gov. Romney can be passionate about something and stay in charge. Very presidential!
January 17th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Mitt’s coming to town tomorrow morning - I need to remember to get him to sign my book this time! As mymanmitt.com is reporting, he has a 15 point lead here in Nevada, and seems to have it locked up. I’d kind of like to see him stay in SC and fight there as well. Obviously there are lots of pros and cons to that. I guess we have to believe that Mitt obviously gets this, and has made the best decision. From what I understand he will already be in Florida by Saturday afternoon, and so will make his speech from there. This is obviously where he feels his next big battle will be and he’s gearing up for it. I believe he and Rudy are the only ones spending any money there right now. The way the polls are looking for Rudy, Mitt has a chance to take him out there and hopefully end Rudy’s run before Feb. 5.
January 17th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Hahaha, the woman at the end is great. She’s right too.
I think Romney showed that when he is in a state of righteous indignation, he can hold it together and state the facts with authority. Its an excellent trait in a profession that features a number of rivals, enemies, and just plain liars who will come at him trying to get under his skin and keep him from getting his message across. He stays focused and gets the truth out there in those sorts of situations. When he succeeds at that, he makes his adversary look like an idiot… and sometimes “rude and ugly” too.
January 17th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Check out Powerline. They have chronicled this AP reporter’s unprofessionalism. I find it hard for AP management to justify this nonsense–that was ridiculous.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/01/019569.php
January 17th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
John S. Maine, I disagree. Mitt kept his composure and he showed some “fire-in-his-belly”!
January 17th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
At NY for Mitt (http://nyformitt.blogspot.com/2008/01/mitt-sets-record-straight-with.html), we pointed out the following:
Mike Allen at Politico.com reports the following:
McCain — the target of Romney’s original comment about lobbyists — had frequent dealings with lobbyists when he was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
And McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, is a former lobbyist.
That was Mitt’s point in all this: McCain’s campaign is in fact run by a former lobbyist.
January 17th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
This bears repeating.
This point was what got this entire discussion going: McCain’s campaign is RUN by a former lobbyist, Rick Davis.
Mitt has unpaid advisors who are former lobbyists. But, McCain’s campaign manager is a former lobbyist.
January 17th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I thought Mitt dealt with Johnson’s harangue, effectively and fairly. Consider the following:
1. Johnson’s basic assertion was invalid. Advising someone is different from running an organization. (Johnson knew he was twisting words - it was classic Huckabeenean)
2. Johnson may have verbally titillated his fan base, but in the eyes of most, his actions have solidified his position as a diminished man.
3. The picture of Johnson sitting on the ground while Mitt was giving his press conference also provided a visual metaphor that paralleled the level of discourse offered by Johnson and Mitt. Johnson’s questioning illustrated his base attempts, while Romney exuded civility, impeccable reason, decorum, and taste.
Lesson learned: Mitt Romney has once again proved that succeeding is just a way of life.
January 18th, 2008 at 12:08 am
I just blogged on this and I have to disagree about the article by Johnson not being nasty. Ask yourself what the purpose of the article was?
I have just read an article that was a twist of truths from beginning to end. The point of the article by Glen Johnson was to call Romney a liar for asserting that he is not a Washington insider.
“Romney Criticizes Rivals Lobbyists” By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Republican Mitt Romney said Thursday he could govern in the country’s best interest because “I don’t have lobbyists running my campaign,” although Washington insiders are on his senior staff and registered lobbyists are top advisers.
Today I watched a video of an exchange between a very rude and out of control reporter, Glen Johnson. He accused Romney of having a campaign run by lobbyists. Romney corrected him firmly but politely, explaining that his campaign manager was running his campaign. Johnson then said that he had a senior staffer who was a lobbyist. Again, Romney corrected him and said that the lobbyist was an unpaid, part-time adviser and was not on his senior staff. He even took Johnson to his plane where he showed him an organizational chart. Notice above that with a twist of words, Johnson implies that the lobbyist is on the senior staff even after learning the truth.
This reporter is cunning and in a vindictive reaction to a run-in with Romney that he, Johnson, caused, he used his pen in retribution. I would challenge him to write a similar piece on every candidate running, showing the background of each of the hundreds of paid and unpaid advisors. The candidates all have advisors from Washington who know how things are done in a presidential election.
Johnson’s article goes on to criticize Romney for having a former Senator as an advisor. Again, to make the case that Romney is being dishonest by pretending not to be a Washington insider simply because he has people who know the ropes is astonishing. Johnson’s proof was to cite a few times Romney has been in the company of a lobbyist. Imagine how difficult it would be to measure how much time a candidate spends with each of the hundreds of people that are working closely with the campaign.
It is clear that the point of Johnson’s article was to call Romney a liar. It is also clear when one listens to the video that Romney is making the point that he is not beholden to any special interest groups and has no strings tied to him for favors. Glen Johnson has let his hatred of Romney show on his face, in his voice, and in his words. The press has decided to chose our nominees for us. Time will tell if they will be successful.
January 18th, 2008 at 12:09 am
Shoot, wish I could edit that. I forgot it wouldn’t format like in my blog. I quoted only one paragraph from Johnson’s article then go on with my commentary.
January 18th, 2008 at 12:49 am
As I am reading these comments it disturbs me that an advertisement to support John McCain is in the right hand column of this blog. How does that happen? It must have been paid for by his lobbyist campaign manager.
January 18th, 2008 at 12:50 am
Johnson abilities have been exposed and found wanting. An antagonist who cannot deftly score a political body blow when in direct verbal combat is a man whom exudes lesser ability and skill. Trying to score points against Romney, by writing about Glens and Mitt’s encounter, after the fact, solidifies Johnson’s loss and underscores a man bereft of any sense of self or journalistic integrity.
Romney, on the other hand exemplifies what it is to be a gentleman: controlled, prescient, and wise. All of which are welcome and essential traits for a President.
January 18th, 2008 at 1:03 am
So was this hothead AP Glen the same reporter that took a spanking from Mitt in Massachusetts when he asked a loaded question and ended with, “Well I do represent the people,” and Mitt says, “No, I represent the people. You are supposed to be unbiased.” What a hoot! I love that clip, but admittedly it coulda sent the reporter into a tailspin to where he’s pacing outside of Mitt’s house a couple times a week. If it is this same Glen as another site seems to suggest by juxtaposing the two vid clips, he should be on a watch list. Don’t news organizations screen these people?
January 18th, 2008 at 1:52 am
I just decided to click on the McCain ad about 20 times. I think everyone here should as well. Let’s put McCain’s money to use.
January 18th, 2008 at 3:29 am
The following is directly from the AP home page. I think Glen Johnson does NOT represent what the AP is *supposedly* trying to accomplish in their journalism endeavors.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The AP respects and encourages the rights of its employees to participate actively in civic, charitable, religious, public, social or residential organizations.
However, AP employees must avoid behavior or activities - political, social or financial - that create a conflict of interest or compromise our ability to report the news fairly and accurately, uninfluenced by any person or action. Nothing in this policy is intended to abridge any rights provided by the National Labor Relations Act.
Here is a sampler of AP practices on questions involving possible conflict of interest. It is not all-inclusive; if you are unsure whether an activity may constitute a conflict or the appearance of a conflict, consult your manager at the onset.
EXPRESSIONS OF OPINION:
Anyone who works for the AP must be mindful that opinions they express may damage the AP’s reputation as an unbiased source of news. They must refrain from declaring their views on contentious public issues in any public forum, whether in Web logs, chat rooms, letters to the editor, petitions, bumper stickers or lapel buttons, and must not take part in demonstrations in support of causes or movements.
January 18th, 2008 at 9:02 am
This Friday morning CBS morning news showed only this much, paraphrased:
Romney: I have no lobbyist running my campaign,
Johnson: That’s simply not true!
Then the camera stopped, and the anchor woman said Mitt was testy and losing it maybe because of the tension of the race.
END
After seeing the full clip above, you can see how the media can cut and snip and then leave biased commentary to make people think Romney is a liar and a slimeball and a Washington insider. Shameful.
Since the media is trying to create the illusion of Romney being a Wash insider, I’d love to see him come out swinging by continuing to hit this point hard, in respect to the other candidates, esp McCain. “If you (the MSM) want to talk about this, then let’s talk about it.” If that will be the litmus test, then let it be, because how can not most people realize that McCain is the consummate insider?
January 18th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Romney is not a liar or a slimeball but at every corner the press is going to continue to try and paint him as so. They wanted to see him lose control. I have dealt with people in public meetings who were much more disrespectful and confrontational than Glenn Johnson. The best reaction is to smile and say sorry Glenn your just wrong. That eats them up even more.
January 18th, 2008 at 9:43 am
INTERESTING! Zogby Poll shows a swing to Mitt is SC!! Yesterday Mitt polled 19% up from 12% the day before the Michigan Primary. McCain was 24% down 2 from the day before and Huckabee was 22% down 1 on Thursday. Zogby poll averages polling results over 3 days similar to Rasmussen so total poll is different than Thursday’s. Momentum? Stay tuned! Who knows what’s going to happen in the next 24 hours!
January 18th, 2008 at 10:32 am
For the bloggers and folks that comment here, I just want to thank you. You all give a different snapshot of the events as they unfold, and the different perspectives are important for all of us to take in. Then debate a bit if necessary. It’s like Gov. Romney stated, it’s ok to change an opinion to the correct answer. I pray the american people open their eyes, ears and above all, their ‘minds’ to listen to all the candidates and carefully weigh how each of them can help america. My personal opinion is that, in the end, the economy will trump all. With immigration and iraq close behind. When there is a growing number of americans who continue to have financial problems in their daily lives, and the dems want to take MORE money out of their pockets? It just makes no sense. I believe Gov. Romney has a “punchers” chance if he sticks with the message and people continue to listen.
Again thanks folks. I really enjoy reading your blogs, and the comments that follow, and the different perspectives put forward. It’s what makes this particular website very enjoyable. The bickering that occurs in our congress between the repubs and the dems could learn a bit by dropping by here………..boats.
January 18th, 2008 at 10:38 am
I just sent info@ap.org an email complaining about Glen Johnson’s obvious bias, and how this reflects poorly on Associated Press. They might not care, but I don’t think they like to be in the spotlight either.
Speaking out is how things like this get fixed.
January 18th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Thanks JOEL for providing the email address to the AP. I have echoed your sentiments via an email to the AP wrt Mr. Johnson’s lack of respect for not only Gov. Romney, but his entire profession…boats
January 18th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Joel,
Thanks for the AP link. I just sent a complaint to them and suggested they assign someone who can keep his personal bias out of his job, and reassign Johnson to cover the plight of the polar bears.
January 18th, 2008 at 11:03 am
“Gov. Romney maintains his dignity while Johnson loses his composure.”
Nice spin, did you watch the same video I did…..cause i’m pretty sure mitt shoved his whole foot in his mouth..then got angry about it ….(This probably won’t get posted but it was fun to watch) Cool under pressure that a boy mitt…….thank you for the entertainment!
January 18th, 2008 at 11:04 am
ComMITTed to Romney or Romney should be ComMITTed…..
January 18th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
The press is labeling Romney a liar. Joe Scarbough took up for him on mornig joe. Schuster is totally anti Romney. Scarbough told him that Glenn needed to look at McCains campaign and defended Romneys comments. It is refreshing to hear but frustrating to see all of the hatred that Romney is dealing with.
January 18th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
ABC news reported the exchange also, and not surprisingly their spin was negative to Romney and positive to Glen. They reported it as if Glen had won the exchange and proved that Mitt Romney was caught in a lie about his campaign being run by lobbyists. Disgraceful, but it is what I’ve come to expect. I stopped watching ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and MSNBC a long time ago. I turned on the local news to catch the weather and that is why I happened to hear that ABC report. After having watched the exchange between Romney and Glen on the internet I knew the true story, but if I had just had access to what ABC said then it would have looked really bad for Mitt. They covered Glens accusations without including Mitt’s defense.
Mitt handled the idiot reporter very well. I didn’t see any sign that he lost his cool. He struck just the right amount of firmness in his defense. Romney should take the press on when they act like that.
January 18th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Attacking the MSM is ALWAYS a winner for Conservatives! Remember George H.W. Bush’s on air fight with Dan Blather CBS News?
January 18th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Mike,
Why do think your comment wouldn’t get posted. Johnson’s perplexed rant was shown in its entirety.
January 18th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Mike,
I did watch the video. Didn’t Romney say lobbyists were not running his campaign, and then didn’t the reporter challenge Romney on this point? And then wasn’t the fact substantiated that a lobbyist is NOT running his campaign, but a woman he named, and then he further said that there was a lobbyist he has as an advisor, who happens to be a friend of his, and whom is unpaid?
I don’t get the foot in mouth comment. It seems Romney is being attacked for the very uniqueness he brings to the table, due to the media spinning. Hopefully this doesn’t prove to hurt him, and hopefully he can turn this around to be a very strong point. Because he is an outsider. And in the insiders would like the public to think he’s not.
January 18th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
The Press Vs. Mitt Romney
By Kevin Drum
I thought I would post a short article. I an amazed that these liberals are claiming Romney lied. I’ve already gone over my views on this so I won’t repeat myself but I hope it is very clear that this commentary from Answers.com is dishonest:
Jan 18, 2008
Answers.com
(Political Animal) THE PRESS vs. MITT ROMNEY….Is Mitt Romney getting the press treatment usually reserved for Democrats? Ezra Klein investigates.
For myself, I’m not so sure — though certainly the press corps seems to personally dislike Romney in a way that Republicans usually avoid. But the real issue here seems to be the size of the lies that Romney tells. Tell a small lie (”my campaign isn’t run by lobbyists”) and the press hounds you to the gates of hell. Tell a big lie (”my trillion dollar tax cut will pay for itself”) and they yawn. So guess what most candidates do?
January 18th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Oh, one more thing, if anyone wants to help out with the discussion to try and educate the masses, hope over to Drudge and leave a comment.
January 19th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Joel, thanks for the email address. I sent an email complaining about Glen Johnson.