The Big Three are like anthropologists who've stumbled across a strange, new tribe:
“I am not a frequent visitor to the state,” Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, told a banquet of conservatives in Mobile, Ala.
Back in Iowa, Santorum bragged that he had visited all of that state’s 99 counties. Here, Santorum was flailing for any Alabama connection. He recalled a story about the time that a political opponent had trash-talked Pennsylvania, by saying it was “Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but Alabama in between.”
The crowd laughed softly and seemed to understand that this was not a compliment to Alabama.
Romney’s efforts to connect focused on food. “I got started right this morning with a biscuit and some cheesy grits,” he said in Jackson, Miss. “I’ll tell ya — delicious.” In other states, the former Massachusetts governor’s campaign had stretched out giant versions of the state flag as part of his backdrop. But Mississippi’s flag — which incorporates the Confederate flag — was set behind a tractor, limp and almost invisible.
Gingrich, who was born in Pennsylvania but represented Georgia in Congress, is the most Southern of the three. He played that up, tossing out references to Wal-Mart and bass fishing.
Showing off his superior knowledge of grits, he declared in Dothan, Ala.: “I like grits. I like cheese grits. I like grits with gravy. There’s a number of ways you can have grits.” But Gingrich also fumbled. He railed against the Chevy Volt, calling the electric vehicle too liberal — an “Obama car” — because “you can’t put a gun rack in a Volt.”
The line fell flat. A Volt can accommodate a gun rack, according to the manufacturer. But you probably wouldn’t want to install one in a sedan — the familiar kind of gun rack is better in a truck.
Two voters interviewed by WaPo checked in from a clearly irony-free comment zone:
Some Southern voters said they had been won over by one candidate’s pitch: people respected Gingrich’s intellect, or were drawn by Santorum’s stand on abortion. In Pascagoula, Miss., retirees Elizabeth Davis and Mimm Bilbo went to a Romney rally undecided — and came out convinced.
“He was genuine. I think he could do a good job. He’s not in it for the money. He likes to turn things around,” Davis said.
Beforehand, she said, “I wished he wasn’t Mormon. I wished he was Christian.” Then, she said, she recalled Mormons doing good work in the community. “I thought about it, and I never had any problem with Donny Osmond being Mormon.”
“I am not a frequent visitor to the state,” Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, told a banquet of conservatives in Mobile, Ala.
Back in Iowa, Santorum bragged that he had visited all of that state’s 99 counties. Here, Santorum was flailing for any Alabama connection. He recalled a story about the time that a political opponent had trash-talked Pennsylvania, by saying it was “Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but Alabama in between.”
The crowd laughed softly and seemed to understand that this was not a compliment to Alabama.
Romney’s efforts to connect focused on food. “I got started right this morning with a biscuit and some cheesy grits,” he said in Jackson, Miss. “I’ll tell ya — delicious.” In other states, the former Massachusetts governor’s campaign had stretched out giant versions of the state flag as part of his backdrop. But Mississippi’s flag — which incorporates the Confederate flag — was set behind a tractor, limp and almost invisible.
Gingrich, who was born in Pennsylvania but represented Georgia in Congress, is the most Southern of the three. He played that up, tossing out references to Wal-Mart and bass fishing.
Showing off his superior knowledge of grits, he declared in Dothan, Ala.: “I like grits. I like cheese grits. I like grits with gravy. There’s a number of ways you can have grits.” But Gingrich also fumbled. He railed against the Chevy Volt, calling the electric vehicle too liberal — an “Obama car” — because “you can’t put a gun rack in a Volt.”
The line fell flat. A Volt can accommodate a gun rack, according to the manufacturer. But you probably wouldn’t want to install one in a sedan — the familiar kind of gun rack is better in a truck.
Two voters interviewed by WaPo checked in from a clearly irony-free comment zone:
Some Southern voters said they had been won over by one candidate’s pitch: people respected Gingrich’s intellect, or were drawn by Santorum’s stand on abortion. In Pascagoula, Miss., retirees Elizabeth Davis and Mimm Bilbo went to a Romney rally undecided — and came out convinced.
“He was genuine. I think he could do a good job. He’s not in it for the money. He likes to turn things around,” Davis said.
Beforehand, she said, “I wished he wasn’t Mormon. I wished he was Christian.” Then, she said, she recalled Mormons doing good work in the community. “I thought about it, and I never had any problem with Donny Osmond being Mormon.”
No comments:
Post a Comment