Romney gave the right answer . . . Still, I kept wishing for a little more red meat. . . Nevertheless, I wonder: If, say, Newt Gingrich had gotten this question, might he have been able to create a mini–Sister Souljah moment, challenging the very premise of the question?
I could not help but to think of a movie I like when I read that paragraph, and I hope my use of it is not too obscure for those who've not seen it.
In the black comedy "Kind Hearts and Coronets" the main character, Louis Mazzini, says of the two women he is seeing at the same time, "While I never admired Edith as much as when I was with Sibella; I never longed for Sibella as much as when I was with Edith." That's how men often are, they want qualities blended into one woman what they find in two; and that's how voters are too. We want a composite candidate. I like Romney the same way Mazzini admired the stylish and upstanding Edith; but I wish he had more of Gingrich's manner about him because Gingrich's confidence in his knowledge inspires. He certainly did that for me for a long time.
Mazzini ultimately rejected Sibella because, despite her raw appeal, her overall qualities made her unfit to be the bride of a Duke when Mazzini finally ascended to that position. Like Edith, Sibella was beautiful; but, unlike Edith she was exciting; but she was an adulteress and she was petty and scheming. That is sadly how I see Gingrich too now that the race to the nomination has been going on. But, talk about the longing for Sibella; when I saw Romney last week on CNBC being interviewed by the easy-going Joe Kernan I was forced to pay more attention to the way he answered than to what he was saying. Every sentence had "uhs" and "ums" and the like and none of the questions were hardball at all. I kept wishing Gingrich was being interviewed. All I can say that I hope Romney gets over his tentativeness. He needs to inspire. |
