Gaffes and resonance

Tacoma Narrows Bridge by Gary Peterson

I had to go to the hardware store and on the way there I passed a local Chik-fil-A. The number of people at it was staggering. There were at least 100 cars waiting for drive through and the lot was packed. Earlier, at Legal Insurrection, I saw a picture from another local Chik-fil-A and it too was packed. 

I wonder what the nationwide figures for the number of people involved in this spontaneous protest are? They must be on the 100s of thousands.

Meanwhile the press has been busy banging the drum about Mitt Romey's "gaffepalooza" of a European trip. My favorite bit from that Times article was, "Romney found himself attacked for being 'racist and out of touch' by Palestinian leaders following remarks he made in Israel."

Well, there you have it, Romney is unfit for the Presidency because he offended the perpetually outraged Palestinians. Next we'll be hearing that the North Koreans are mean-mouthing the bungler.

Of course most Americans don't really care about Romney's so-called gaffes: the London Olympics are a bit disorganized (and, ironically enough, while the press was tut-tutting his remarks the White House was apologizing to Krauthammer for its attempt to lie about returning Churchill's bust); the pretend citizens of the pretend country of Palestine are a worthless lot who are prone to blow themselves up in pizza parlors; and the Polish gaffe? It strikes me that a staffer telling reporters who were bellowing questions about gaffes to "kiss my ass" is a mighty thin gruel.   

Forget the polls for a moment and look at what is resonating with people. "You didn't make that" followed by some two-bit mayors and aldermen using the power of government permitting to punish a business owner for his thought crimes brought out thousands upon thousands of people in protest. Meanwhile, all the efforts of the partisan gaffe-spinning press has only led to further bleeding of their circulations and TV ratings.

You can babble one narrative after another. It doesn't matter unless the narrative resonates with the public. Right now it looks like the American public has had its belly-full of class war and all the other BS from an administration that can't create anything but debt, unemployment and intimidation.