Romney isn't cool, and that's not a bad thing

Republicans have a hipness complex. These are Web videos that few voters will ever see, but they’re clearly coming from the same part of the Grand Old Psyche that compelled John McCain to run the Paris Hilton ad last time around. They’re a way to have some fun and score some points. But they also betray some discomfort with, and even resentment of, Obama’s coolness.

This is a silly thing to worry about. Most voters don’t care about the “have a beer with” factor — two of the past three Republican candidates have been teetotalers, after all. Young people already vote Democratic in overwhelming numbers, and the coolness hang-up runs counter to Romney’s attempts to cast himself as a sober economic turnaround artist.