http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2012/10/19/1051081/obama-romney-al-smith/
does this give insight into the character of both men?
First, there’s President Obama, who chose to focus his jokes for the evening on the most ridiculous news stories of the campaign cycle in an implicit critique of the media and a funny, likable act of self-deprecation:Perhaps most importantly, Obama went confidently after his performance in the first debate. “I felt well-rested after the nice long nap I had in the first debate,” he joked. And he went on to “apologize to Chris Matthews. Four years ago I gave him a thrill up his leg. This time, I gave him a stroke.” He made the crack that a lot of other people made that evening, telling the crowd that “I learned there are worse things that can happen to you on your anniversary than forgetting to buy a gift.” It was a comprehensively self-aware dissection of his own performance, one that was aimed at dispelling lingering doubts about where his head was in the first debate, and reassuring the audience that he was fired up for the final debate before the election.Romney, by contrast, spent more time on attempts to land hits on Obama:He started out by basically explaining that he was Jack Donaghy, telling the audience. “A campaign can require a lot of wardrobe changes. Blue jeans in the morning, perhaps, suits for a lunch fundraiser, sport coat for dinner, but it’s nice to relax and wear what Anna and I wear around the house.” But that and jokes about the fact that Romney doesn’t drink were about as far as Romney was willing to reflect on himself. His task for the evening didn’t seem to be to make himself likable, but to make Obama seem suspect.
the rich and their delusions of grandeur of entitlement seem to lack the gene that gives the rest of us, empathy.
When, at the end of his routine, Romney turned sincere, he sounded ashamed of it. “Don’t tell anyone I said so, but our 44th president has many gifts and a beautiful family that would make anyone proud,” he said. “In our country, you can oppose someone in politics and make a confident case against their policies without any ill will. That’s how it is for me. There’s more to life than politics.”
Amen
