Monday, August 6, 2012

Rope-a-Dope


Muhammad Ali vs. Heavyweight champion George Forman at the “Rumble in the Jungle”, October 30, 1974

Do you remember Muhammad Ali and the “rope-a-dope” tactic?  As a fighter, he let his opponent “punch himself out” while he conserved his strength.

Our 2012 presidential campaign is in its last 100 days, and it is definitely a fight.  Political punches are being thrown left and right as the candidates contend for the title of POTUS.

We hear that the campaigns are “too negative,” meaning that their advertisements tend to highlight the negative characteristics of the opponent instead of the positive characteristics of the candidate.

In actuality, “negative” is an understatement in describing the juggernaut the Democratic Party has unleashed against Governor Romney.  The former governor is under broadside attack.

Michael Moore captures the political essence in an interview reported by the Associated Press:

“[Obama] has a conscience.  He knows the difference between right and wrong, and I’m hoping in a second term…he’ll be the Obama that we want him to be.”

That’s the key.  Our culture tells us that Obama wants to do the right thing, while Romney does not.  As evidence, the Democratic Party brings a list of accusations against the former governor:











These are not assertions from a deranged person; most are from the leadership of the Democratic Party.  In fact, the last three come directly from the Obama Campaign, MoveOn.org, and the Majority Leader of the United States Senate. 

But continuing with the “fight” metaphor, it is worth watching Governor Romney’s response to the attacks and insinuations.  One thing he doesn’t do is engage in a counter-punch strategy.

Keep that in mind as you watch the response of the Obama Campaign to the “you didn’t build that” speech.  The campaign tendered the traditional political excuses: “He didn’t say that!” “It was taken out of context!” “He didn’t mean that!”

The Obama Campaign spent time, money and energy trying to land counter punches.

The Romney Campaign takes a different approach.  Governor Romney either ignores the attacks or issues a one-line response such as, “Put up or shut up!

Does it appear that Governor Romney is successfully using political rope-a-dope against president Obama?  We will know in November.

In the meantime, for all of you who don’t recall how the “Rumble in the Jungle” turned out, here is a look back at “The Greatest”.

UPDATE 8/7/2012:
Linked by The Blogfather! Thanks, Professor Reynolds.  Also linked by WSKY 97.3 FM in Gainesville, FL.  Thanks, Chip.

UPDATE 8/7/2012:
And now we have a new ad from Priorities USA Action that tells us, "Mitt Romney killed my wife!"

UPDATE 8/15/2012:
In a continuation of the accusations, Vice President Biden says, "Romney wants to...put y'all back in chains."

UPDATE 9/14/2012:
The Obama Campaign claims Romney wants to hurt the middle class.  The Wall Street Journal strikes back.

UPDATE 10/2/2012:
Mitt Romney doesn't like his garbageman!

UPDATE 10/11/2012:
Mitt Romney is a liar!

6 comments:

  1. "These are not assertions from a deranged person; most are from the leadership of the Democratic Party."

    I submit that the leadership of the Democratic Party are indeed 'deranged persons'.

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  2. The "Big "Lie " gambit only works if one is gaining traction and momentum. It doesn't seem that the Unrepentant are -that - convinced. The Liar side seems to feel this is a game that anyone can play. This leads to them joining in and the "Big Lie " grows into "The Big Absurdity "
    This seems where we are quickly arriving. At some point the lies break contact with reality and just spin. Watching the "serious " journalists report this crap with -all -the -seriousness and gravity they can muster is to watch comedy become reality. It makes a joke of the speakers and all else the say.

    It 's entertaining if not very productive. Americans love a spectacle. Especially when the serious and seemingly well -intentioned get hoisted by their own growing absurdity...

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  3. These are not assertions from a deranged person; most are from the leadership of the Democratic Party.

    So they're not assertions from a single deranged person.

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  4. The Democrat Comeback Plan - not for this year that is for sure. But watch for it in 2016.

    Money quote:

    Thus does Moral Socialism beget Economic Socialism. You would think if you looked at the situation objectively that it was a plot. That might be confirmed if you remember that the Moral Socialists and the Economic Socialists were united at one time under the Progressive banner.

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  5. but what's interesting in all of that is to look at them today, with the quivering mess that is Cassius Clay and what George Foreman has become, I think I know who I would prefer to be.

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  6. Let's not kid ourselves. Mitt Romney is a weak candidate, for a variety of reasons. He represents the least popular wing of the GOP, and combines the perception of a threat to the New Deal with weakness on social conservatism, alienating a huge swath of voters who would otherwise be eager to vote against Obama. The only reason he's even competitive is that Obama is so very, very, VERY bad. This election is shaping up to be a contest of who the voters hate most, a pure 'lesser evil' election, and the danger exists of a repeat of 2008, where a lot of people who normally vote GOP just stay home.

    ReplyDelete