Mitt's End of Days: Go Kamikaze!

Greg Sargent over at WaPo's The Plum Line blog explains Romney's final days strategy:

There's been quite a bit of consternation among reporters lately about Mitt Romney’s refusal to answer their questions. And rightly so. But let’s be clear on why Romney is refusing to engage reporters. If he did, he’d face questions about the mounting instances of dishonesty his campaign has resorted to in the final stretch — potentially tripping him up and placing all the dissembling into even sharper relief.

In the race’s final days, Romney has adopted what you might call a Kamikaze strategy. His campaign is cranking out a startling number of falsehoods and sleazy attacks, drawing widespread condemnation in the media that could ultimately crash his campaign, because that condemnation dovetails with Obama’s closing character argument against him.

Greg goes on give examples and some really hot links to to give-and-take, including some pretty harsh criticism from Ohio newspapers.

The Toledo Blade:

In the fi­nal few days of the pres­i­den­tial con­test, Mitt Rom­ney ev­i­dently rec­og­nizes that his op­po­si­tion to the fed­eral res­cue of Gen­eral Mo­tors and Chrysler is costing him voter sup­port he needs in Ohio and Mich­i­gan. So the Re­pub­li­can nom­i­nee is con­duct­ing an ex­er­cise in de­cep­tion about auto-in­dus­try is­sues that is re­mark­able even by the stan­dards of his cam­paign.

The Youngstown Vindicator:

So, how is the GOP presidential standard bearer responding to the widespread denunciation of his charge against the president? By refusing to withdraw the TV campaign commercial playing in Ohio, and even doubling down — with a radio spot that comes close to repeating the charge, and expanding it to include GM.

It does not seem to matter to Romney that every legitimate news organization that has reported on the story has reached the same conclusion: There is no truth to the claim that Chrysler will be eliminating jobs in Toledo and other plants in the U.S. so as to build Jeeps in China. Nor is there a basis for his saying that GM is cutting jobs in America and creating them in China.

Is this any way to win Ohio? The Romney campaign thinks so. Read Greg's entire post for the complete insight.

Here's a compendium of Mitt Romney's Full Monty of Bamboozlement:

Romney's canned response to Sandy?

Read Think Progress's report on the faked canned goods event. An excerpt:

Just to be safe, campaign aides reportedly spent $5,000 at a local Wal-Mart on supplies that could be put on display. When supporters arrived at the rally-turned-relief event, they were treated to the 10-minute video about Romney’s life, which was first unveiled at the RNC. The event ended with supporters lined up to hand over supplies and meet Romney. But according to BuzzFeed, this donation process was also staged:

Empty-handed supporters pled for entrance, with one woman asking, “What if we dropped off our donations up front?”

The volunteer gestured toward a pile of groceries conveniently stacked near the candidate. “Just grab something,” he said.

Two teenage boys retrieved a jar of peanut butter each, and got in line.

When it was their turn, they handed their “donations” to Romney. He took them, smiled, and offered an earnest “Thank you.”

Earlier this year at a primary debate:

Okay... Now Romney clarifies his position through a statement released by his campaign:

I believe that FEMA plays a key role in working with states and localities to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. As president, I will ensure FEMA has the funding it needs to fulfill its mission, while directing maximum resources to the first responders who work tirelessly to help those in need, because states and localities are in the best position to get aid to the individuals and communities affected by natural disasters.

Note, as many have, that the statement doesn't guarantee anything. Promising that he will "ensure FEMA has the funding it needs" means anything from current funding to zero. Gutsy statement.

As for a gutsy statement, here's Mitt Romney trying to make the case that Barack Obama is in bed with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and Hugo Chavez:

I don't do well in Spanish, but the visuals tell me Romney is calling our center-left president a communist. Sheesh.

Mitt Romney is a coward. His Kamikaze move here at the end, if it works, says less about his depth of character than it does about the values of the American people. If it doesn't work, Romney will have to retire from politics, and Americans can hold their heads high.

Bonus bamboozlement:

Barack Obama offered government money to save the auto industry. Mitt Romney wrote an infamous op-ed entitled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." Smoking gun quote:

IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.

Barack Obama (and George W. Bush) wrote Detroit a check. Advantage Barack.