Saturday, February 09, 2008

Woofer of the Week

A few days ago, I touched on how the Republicans are pulling a naked emperor bit in attacking the Democrats on the national security-terrorism front.

Two related things today:

-- On the front of the ProJo, a McClatchy story tells us how US-enabled Pakistan is losing ground to militants.

-- And in bidding farewell to Mitt Romney [whose headline-making former dog, Seamus, got ink earlier in the campaign], New York Times columnist Gail Collins is on-point:

Mitt invested more than $40 million of his own money and $50 million of other people’s on his race, which comes down to about $8 million per state won (North Dakota says thank you!) or around $324,000 per delegate. It was an incredible bargain compared to the $60 million Rudy Giuliani spent on zero delegates, but still not exactly the kind of return on investment he was used to getting in the private sector.

“We’re going to keep on battling. We’re going to go all the way to the convention,” he told his cheering supporters Tuesday night as his loyal wife, Ann, stood by looking somewhat unenthusiastic. ....

POP QUIZ: What reason did Mitt Romney give for dropping out of the presidential race?

A) I’m down to my last $40 million.

B) I just discovered Tagg let another illegal immigrant mow the lawn.

C) I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.

Yes! Continuing his near-perfect record of referring to political opponents as sinister forces bent on undermining the nation, Romney said he was dropping out so the Republicans wouldn’t lose the race to the Democratic terror-surrenderers.

Can you see the next nine months stretching out before you, people? Envision the pages on the calendar flipping. Hear the incessant drone of terrorsurrenderterrorsurrenderterrorsurrender? Welcome to McCain vs. Yet-to-Be-Named-White-Flag-Waver.

Other than repeatedly offering to give up any civil liberty the Bush administration felt it might need, Romney never talked all that much about the war on terror as a candidate. He was more interested in denouncing illegal immigration. Until he got to Michigan, where he became Friend of the Workers Mitt. If that primary had gone on any longer, he’d have been picketing with the writers’ union.