The last WASP
Gingrich is unburdened by any inner guardrails. He loves combat. As a campaigner, he can be loudmouthed, unscrupulous, and angry. It’s a style that fits the public mood, and it has been validated through the decades in our culture. We’ve been taught to trust a let-it-all-hang-out spirit over an ethos of emotional restraint. Unfortunately for Romney, if there were a yearbook for presidential candidates, he would be deemed “Least Likely to Weep in Public.” It’s an irony of Romney’s candidacy that his genuine reserve is taken as confirmation of his inauthenticity.
If Romney doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve, he doesn’t wear his riches there, either. He seems uncomfortable with his own success, a classic WASP trait. When he says he makes no apologies for his wealth, he clearly would rather not be talking about his wealth at all. Donald Trump surely would advise him to mention his net worth, and inflate it, in every interview. But he lacks the brassiness of the natural braggart.
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The last WASP in the presidential race is Ron Paul. Seriously. Mormons are by definition not WASPs.
vegconservative on January 27, 2012 at 9:25 PM
Can a Mormon be a WASP?
Flange on January 27, 2012 at 9:25 PM
WASM?
aquaviva on January 27, 2012 at 9:26 PM
WASPs have lost their sting, and Mitt Wrongney exemplifies this in spades.
MelonCollie on January 27, 2012 at 9:26 PM
Well, that’s a new twist.
In future, Rich, leave the contortionists’ art to experts. We wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.
ElectricPhase on January 27, 2012 at 9:27 PM
An(other) early Valentine to Rich’s heartthrob.
Get a room, Rich.
james23 on January 27, 2012 at 9:27 PM
Okay Rich this is gonna be a tough assignment. We’ve covered everything else so your job is to make Mitt Romney appear…heh…excuse me. You have to make Mitt look….hahaha
What?
Like a human being.
Huh?
Well, that’s what it says here on the memo. Your story should play down Mitt’s plastic personality, his pre-fabricated gestures and all his basic phoniness. Make him sound like Poppy Bush.
Are you EFF-ing kidding me?!?
No it’s signed by Poppy himself. Direct orders. Good luck.
Ted Torgerson on January 27, 2012 at 9:28 PM
Yes! It’s true! Romney is like Nick Carraway. And Gingrich is Gatsby. And you know how that one turned out.
Rational Thought on January 27, 2012 at 9:32 PM
Vomit. After the last two days, I’m totally finished with the National Review.
poorrichardsnews on January 27, 2012 at 9:32 PM
I thought Romney said he was Mexican last night?
Punchenko on January 27, 2012 at 9:34 PM
Rich Lowery knees won’t survive this election.
portlandon on January 27, 2012 at 9:39 PM
Romney fights like a girl.
AshleyTKing on January 27, 2012 at 9:39 PM
…But the public in 21st century USA would never elect an angry person to be president.
Hence, Newt will never be president.
itsnotaboutme on January 27, 2012 at 9:40 PM
No.
itsnotaboutme on January 27, 2012 at 9:40 PM
Romney’s problem with being LDS (aka Mormon) is that Mormons are inherently “collectivists” in their ideology.
We think of Utah as conservative and “right-wing” which in many respects they are, but in the greater sense they focus on “the mission” of their church as the be-all and end-all of their existence. They would love to bring everyone under their unique Utopian umbrella of ideology.
Pretty much the same as Obama wanting to bring the world into line with his collectivist Utopian ideology.
Same as Islamists striving to achieve their specific collectivist Utopian Ideology.
And bringing the globe under the umbrella of any given collectives Utopian ideology is the agenda of any given Socialist/Communist agenda.
All these collectivist ideologies running counter to our Federalist Constitution and free-trade capitalist market place.
Romney is no conservative. Populist maybe, but he’s not a conservative.
Lawrence on January 27, 2012 at 9:41 PM
Except Mitt Romney’s not a WASP, he’s not a White Anglo Saxon Protestant. Unless someone changed the definition of Mormon?
He’s the WASP proxy in this election, and God Bless him he just doesn’t possess that inherent quality all WASP possess, that it’s a WASP centered universe. Really it’s one of Romney’s more attractive qualities, that he doesn’t belong to the WASP demographic.
Dr Evil on January 27, 2012 at 9:57 PM
Has NRO made any statement about the Abrams hit piece?
INC on January 27, 2012 at 9:57 PM
Lowry can’t figure out what he thinks about this election cycle, every week, a new and contradictory angle.
AYNBLAND on January 27, 2012 at 10:15 PM
Actually, I would about agree with this assessment of Romney. Though honestly, I think the idea that he doesn’t emote is, a little exaggerated. I think we’ve come to expect our politicians to act like showmen, and occasionally thats fine. Reagan was a showman after all, and used his skills to effectively advocate for conservatism. Romney, while a very articulate and charismatic individual in his own right, isn’t a showmen.
Romney moves and talks like a highly effective businessman. He’s articulate, but his articulation isn’t geared towards winning a crowd. Instead he is trained to clearly articulate ideas, programs, business maneuvers, and so on and so forth.
Now, I can certainly understand why many people would be put off by that. Reagan, Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama, are all showmen to one degree or another.
Here is the thing though, we don’t NEED, nor should we WANT every president to be a showman.
There are many talented, gifted individuals in the world, but many, perhaps most, cannot get up onto a stage and convince you they’re your best friend. Should we exclude them from consideration into higher office because of this?
No, of course not! Showmen are such a small part of the population that they cannot possibly provide all the talent and all the expertise we need. How many Reagans out there will we never know about because they weren’t good in front of a camera? We can’t say for certain, but probably more than you’d think. Most people AREN’T good in front of a camera.
Besides that, some of our greatest presidents were NOT showmen. Jefferson HATED speaking in public because he had a lisp, Abraham Lincoln had a voice like gravel. In fact, the vast majority of our early Presidents WEREN’T showmen.
Our first real showmen of a President was FDR, and for all the praise people heap on the man, many of our problems can be traced to him. After FDR we had a greater and greater number of showmen in the presidency, and with the exception of Reagan, most of them were disasters!
Now, Romney is less of a showmen than we’re used to. However, he is articulate, he does leave a fairly good impression, and he is more charming than most people I know.
So he’s not a showman, but he’s not a complete slouch either, and that should be FINE!
WolvenOne on January 27, 2012 at 10:17 PM
bu11shite
bluealice on January 27, 2012 at 10:23 PM
yes. It might do you some good to catch up.
bluealice on January 27, 2012 at 10:24 PM
You know what I’m thinking.
ElectricPhase on January 27, 2012 at 10:24 PM
Is, that a question?
Despite widespread belief, I’m not psychic. So I really don’t know what you’re thinking.
WolvenOne on January 27, 2012 at 10:32 PM
Sorry, I thought it was obvious. If he’s more charming than most people you know, you need to get out more.
ElectricPhase on January 27, 2012 at 10:38 PM
How can a Mexican cum Michigander be a WASP?
Scribbler on January 27, 2012 at 10:45 PM
Yep, yep, yep. Someone referred to Mitt as “nouveau riche” the other day which was totally wrong. Romney would be the perfect WASP but for the fact he’s not an Anglo Saxon Protestant and doesn’t drink.
Buy Danish on January 27, 2012 at 10:48 PM
While I fully admit that I’m not the type to attend a lot of parties, its not as if I don’t get out. I work around people, I have my own circle of friends, I’m fairly well known and liked in my community, though admittedly it is a small town.
Most people I know, would either freeze up the moment a camera was on them, or would shift around uncomfortably, eyes darting from left to right. It’s a sign that a person is a bit self conscious, and most people are to some degree or another.
Romney speaks clearly and articulately under situations that would send most people running away screaming. When he’s not making a speech he seems to, actually enjoy working a crowd. That’s not to say he’s the master of it, but I’ve seen his eyes light up more than once, and that counts for a lot. Keep in mind that, most people wouldn’t enjoy that. The crowds are loud, chaotic, and each and you’re completely and utterly the center of attention in that sort of situation. Most people don’t enjoy that, in fact most politicians don’t enjoy it, they fake it.
I once saw Jesse Ventura finish working on a crowd. I was staying away from the whole affair however so I have a unique vantage point. The moment he turned away from the crowd the smile vanished from his face only to be replaced by a look of, indignant annoyance. Oddly enough, his eyes didn’t really change all that much from when he was working the crowd, so thats what I general pay most attention to.
You can train your facial muscles to keep a fairly pleased expression even when you’re not feeling it, but the look in your eyes tend to betray how you’re really feeling.
Romneys eyes tell me that he, really is enjoying himself more often than not. He doesn’t appear to enjoy the debates much, but I think he’s getting over that, or at least he’s getting better at covering it up.
So I’d rate him as being reasonably charismatic, not a showmen but quite a bit better than most average individuals.
WolvenOne on January 27, 2012 at 11:13 PM
Does Lowry know what the P in WASP stands for?
angryed on January 27, 2012 at 11:25 PM
In that sense, I really don’t think they’re any different from any other Christian faith that seeks to bring people into the fold.
No, not the same at all because they don’t use coercion and they’re not interested in a theocracy. Hence, their heavy bias towards political conservatism.
NukeRidingCowboy on January 27, 2012 at 11:49 PM
So what is a Mormon? It is not Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, Shitao, Tao/Dao, Wiccan…is it separate like the afore-mentioned?
HawaiiLwyr on January 27, 2012 at 11:55 PM
The first WASP was Henry VIII!
Seth Halpern on January 28, 2012 at 12:11 AM
WASP = White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
Gingrich = Catholic
Author = mistaken
Same thing works for Romney…not protestant.
WASC or WASM maybe…of course I’m not sure either of them are Anglo or Saxon either. They might be Germanic, Celtic, or even Nordic (though I’m pretty sure they’re aren’t)
Pattosensei on January 28, 2012 at 12:41 AM
See? I knew you werent a Christian.
Jailbreak on January 28, 2012 at 12:47 AM
Yes, if you look at its system of doctrine, it is different from Christianity. Indeed, it shares more in common with Islam if you look at its origin story, symbolic statements, ritual behavior, and distinct doctrine, although there is a limit to that comparison too, and some important differences.
Scribbler on January 28, 2012 at 12:57 AM
Exactly. And when he actually lands a punch, it’s when you back is turned.
BuckeyeSam on January 28, 2012 at 6:24 AM
If Rick Lowery knows as little about what I don’t know about as he does about what I do know about, then he knows nothing about anything at all. The republican establishment is destroying what is left of itself to try to preserve what little credibility they have left – and I do mean left.
Old Country Boy on January 28, 2012 at 8:30 AM