One thing about Yankees...

by shamanic

They don't mince words. From the Concord Monitor of New Hampshire:

If you were building a Republican presidential candidate from a kit, imagine what pieces you might use: an athletic build, ramrod posture, Reaganesque hair, a charismatic speaking style and a crisp dark suit. You'd add a beautiful wife and family, a wildly successful business career and just enough executive government experience. You'd pour in some old GOP bromides - spending cuts and lower taxes - plus some new positions for 2008: anti-immigrant rhetoric and a focus on faith.

Add it all up and you get Mitt Romney, a disquieting figure who sure looks like the next president and most surely must be stopped.

Sidenote: There are two things I particularly love about this. First, the fact that something called "Reaganesque hair" is an actual political asset in America just cracks me the hell up.

Second, and I've seen this bandied about a few times as the year has grown late, the idea that Republican candidates can be built from kits. Because after all, the "perfect" Republican candidate apparently just needs a string of anti-whatever bromides to pour from its mouth, and muscular, pivoting arms with hands molded in a functional grip for holding the terrorist-smiting (and tax smashing, and immigrant crushing) implement that is useful that day. Mitt Romney isn't far off. Mike Huckabee's hands are all wrong -- open to be pressed together in prayer. To the foreign policy Republicans, that's weakness. John McCain, like Bob Dole before him, doesn't have full use of his arms and hands, both having been badly injured in service to their country. Giuliani's hands are so covered in slime he'd never get a good grip on anything.

The Monitor's got it right though -- Mitt Romney is a nearly flawless GOP automaton candidate in his current incarnation, and he should be stopped. I'm still hoping that Republican voters recognize John McCain as the sane choice on their side and that he ends up the nominee.