So, the presumptive Republican nominee for President walks into a Pennsylvania convenience store and is "blown away" by the technology:
"You press a little touchtone key pad…You touch this, touch this, touch this, go pay the cashier and there's your sandwich. It's amazing!"
Sigh...how is it that people so clueless about the way most of us live our lives can be a vote away from running the show?
Still bitter about the recall, eh? ;-)
Posted by: Tom McMahon | June 18, 2012 at 09:42
Oh say it isn't so.
Posted by: MA | June 18, 2012 at 13:48
Nah...I'm an equal opportunity sigher.
Posted by: Bill Geist | June 18, 2012 at 13:53
There are many such stories. Reagan, making an impromptu stop at a Boston bar, wants to "buy a round" for the handful of patrons there; has no idea what a round of six or seven beers costs; has to borrow $20 from one of his Secret Service contingent. George H. W. Bush seeing a laser-scanner at a checkout line at a grocery store, marvelling about how strange and wonderful this is...NONE of them are "in touch" with the common person. With few exceptions, like Clinton, they come from generations of wealth.
Posted by: Tim Morrissey | June 19, 2012 at 07:42
LOL...I instantly thought of the Bush/Scanner story when I saw this one. Had forgotten about Ronnie.
Posted by: Bill Geist | June 19, 2012 at 08:46
Have you heard the full, unedited version? Don't get me wrong, I think most politicians are out of touch, but the full version sheds light on what he was really talking about.
Posted by: WH | June 19, 2012 at 14:27
Nice catch, WH...here's the full version and the edited clip side-by-side: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/msnbcs-andrea-mitchell-doesnt-apologize-for-taking-romney-out-of-context-plays-more-of-clip-instead/
Posted by: Bill Geist | June 19, 2012 at 15:29
Reads like an NBC edit of a story. Believe the real story involved Romney talking about the efficiency of the private sector and the stone-age mentality and slug-like speed of government.
Posted by: Gary | June 20, 2012 at 11:15
You jumped on the bandwagon way too soon and bought what was being sold regarding this Romney episode.
The bigger message here: If a smart guy like you can fall for this, how in the world are those not as brilliant or inquisitive supposed as you to know what's accurate or not? Sometimes the leaders (and those controlling the message)are scary, but most often it's the followers that don't question stuff that should scare us more.
Posted by: LT | June 21, 2012 at 08:37
I should scare the shit out of everybody :)
Thanks for calling me a smart guy...but, this example wasn't. I was swamped, needed a quick blog post...and bit on the story that was written BASED on the MSNBC deception.
Sadly...that's how much of this stuff goes. We're all moving so fast that fact checking is impossible and urban legends are created.
For my bandwagon jump, j'excuse. My comment above with the link to the side by side comparison is worth a view.
Posted by: Bill Geist | June 21, 2012 at 15:27