Mitt Romney for President My Man Mitt: Romney Wallet Meme

This story in the Wall Street Journal today is as irritating as they come. It begins:

Mitt Romney lost three of the first five big Republican contests and lags behind in most major state and national polls. Yet he is still widely seen as a credible contender for the nomination thanks mainly to one trait: his wallet.

A senior aide to Mr. Romney says the millionaire investor plans to spend as much as $40 million in the campaign. Mr. Romney spent $17.4 million of his own money on his campaign through the third quarter of last year, according to the Federal Election Commission.

By comparison, Arizona Sen. John McCain raised a total of $31.4 million in individual donations during the same period. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee raised $2.3 million.

It is only in the graphic that accompanies the story that one realizes that Mitt has raised only slightly less money from donors than the former front-runner, Rudy Giuliani. In fact he has raised about $15 million more in donations from others than has John McCain!

Forgetting for the moment that one's wallet is not a trait (a word normally used to describe personal characteristics), if the reporter were to write about the financial situation with any degree of fairness, that final paragraph would read, “Mitt Romney has raised $47 in individual donations and by comparison Arizona Sen. John McCain raised a total of $31.4 million during the same period.”

Unfortunately, such an approach does not support the mindset of the writer: Mitt can only win because of his fat wallet!

Returning to the idea of "trait" that was misused by the reporter, it occurs to me that people are in fact quite impressed with the traits (personal characteristics) that have enabled Mitt to load up the wallet so disapprovingly referred to by the reporter: intelligence, ethics, organizational talents, and hard work. Can we imagine any better real "traits" for our next president to have?

Mike B.


	6 Comments: I was so irritated with this article that I felt inclined to write the author about her inaccurate reporting. Who knows if she'll ever read it, or if she even cares how deceptive it is written. It blatantly misrepresents Romney's campaign and his accomplishments throughout this campaign. By Steve, at January 24, 2008 at 3:09 PM Yeah, I love that. How did Mitt get that "wallet" -- wasn't it by his skills, intelligence, and hard work? Just what I want in a President, someone who knows how to create success! Besides which, it shows how dedicated he is to his campaign for the presidency that he's willing to spend his own hard-earned money on it. If you're going to invest in a project, don't you feel better to know that the people in charge have their own money on the line, too? And of all papers to come up with this...the Wall Street Journal? Seriously? By Teej MacArthur, at January 24, 2008 at 3:43 PM I wrote her the following: Ms. Holmes, From the title and content of your article a casual reader would tend to develop a negative impression of Romney. The statement of “Mitt Romney lost three of the first five big Republican contests,” is a biased glass-is-half-full pessimist viewpoint. If you are not aware the exact same statement can be made for McCain; while Huckabee has lost more and the others candidates have lost all five of the five big Republican contests. The then articles compares the $17.4 million of Romney’s personal contribution to the $31.4 and $2.3 millions of individual donors for McCain and Huckabee respectively. This is an apple to an orange comparison and worded to be slanted against Romney. You also made no mention of the $5 million that Romney raised the day after his 2nd place in New Hampshire. This type of writing should be in the op-ed section and not a news article Ron in Austin By Anonymous, at January 24, 2008 at 4:05 PM After reading the post and the article, I went online and ponied up another $50 for Mitt. Perhaps Ms. Holmes should consider signing on as a fundraiser for Mitt. Her pitch worked for me. I encourage my fellow Mittheads to respond in kind. - Brick By Anonymous, at January 24, 2008 at 4:24 PM Mitt started this race as a virtual unknown and no natural base of support outside of some western states. He has EARNED every vote he has gotten so far. It's been an uphill battle in the face of a hostile press that also gives favorable treatment to his opponents.Perfect example is David Shuster saying right now McCain is in the lead,which the latest polls says romney is leading. He's also hucking the Huckster. I really don'tbelive Mitt's ads have gotten him all that many votes. Most have been from free media and personal appearances. By Anonymous, at January 24, 2008 at 4:35 PM Did you mean $47 million? By Anonymous, at January 25, 2008 at 6:54 PM Post a Comment