Romney's Churchill fixation backfires
Jonathan Jones 1:53pm
A
couple of weeks ago Mitt Romney used Winston Churchill – or his bust, at least – to attack Obama. This week, he used the former Prime Minister to defend his flip-flopping.
Or at least, he thought he did. Here's what he told a town hall in New Hampshire on Wednesday:
'In the private sector, if you don't change your view when the facts change, well you'll get fired for being stubborn and stupid. Winston Chuchill said, "When the facts change, I change too, Madam".'
Unfortunately, as NBC have pointed out, the line wasn't Churchill's at all. It is usually attributed to John Maynard Keynes, but even that may be aprocryphal.
So has another attempt to get over his record backfired on Romney? As Abraham Lincoln famously said, "You betcha!"
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Vulture
September 30th, 2011 2:23pm Report this commentIt's John 'Maynard' Keynes ( as in the winegums) Jonathan.
As for Romney, he's a serial loser like all republican 'liberals'. Like his old man before him. When was there last a 'liberal' Republican president?
How can the man who failed to beat John McCain beat Barry Obama who beat McCain? The logic escapes me.
and I'll go to bed at noon
September 30th, 2011 2:30pm Report this commentIn a sane world, of course, Lord Keynes would be a completely acceptable role model for any politician. In the modern GOP, you might as well start quoting Lenin.
London Calling
September 30th, 2011 3:13pm Report this commentCan we have Winston Churchill’s Bust back? , it will scare the crows away from London…
and I'll go to bed at noon
September 30th, 2011 3:23pm Report this comment@Vulture
George Bush senior comes to mind. Also, though everyone forgets it now, his son ran in 2000 as a "compassionate conservative". Going back further, Reagan adopted many policies that would now be considered heretical by the right, repeatedly raising taxes and compromising with the Democratic congress on several occasions. As for Richard Nixon, none other than Noam Chomsky (!) described him as "the last liberal president", as he imposed price controls, created the EPA and supported national, single-payer healthcare. As for Eisenhower, his name is a byword for moderation, and he was despised by the right of his party for that very reason.
So, if we restrict ourselves to the postwar period, which only makes sense given the drastic realignment of US politics under FDR, the answer to your question is... all of them, at least by modern Republican standards. But don't worry. You just keep maintaining your fantasy that what the American people really want is a candidate who'll promise to abolish the welfare state and go after the gays. Let me know how that works out for you.
TomTom
September 30th, 2011 3:47pm Report this commentRomney makes himself look a flake. So Obama returned a bust of Churchill at the end of the loan period, big deal: he was only half-American after all ! Besides, quoting someone like Churchill who was wrong on so many issues and could not change his mind even if facts did change, reflects the same sclerotic approach that has screwed up Western policy for years.
It is time US Presidential Candidates got serious or Putin will have them for breakfast
Mike
September 30th, 2011 3:55pm Report this commentI thought it was Disraeli to Gladstone.
Phil
September 30th, 2011 6:57pm Report this commentMitt made a mistake. We all know he meant to quote Churchill when he famously said:
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."
But the media won't tell you that.
Carlos
September 30th, 2011 9:05pm Report this commentGuys, you should've fought a little harder to keep the colonies, if you had, we wouldn't have so many fools running that new country.
Baron
September 30th, 2011 11:50pm Report this commentJonathan, just as well it wasn’t the messiah who's gaffed, if it were, you wouldn’t have a chance of doing a blog on it, the sleepy progressives an opportunity to deride the Republicans.
Roy
October 1st, 2011 2:59am Report this commentIt's nothing unusual to have Americans miss-quoting British personalities. Let's be fair, any of the contestant line up for a new president would be better than the one in charge at the moment.
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