While the Hillary-Obama showdown is getting most of the big headlines today -- and Christina Bellantoni is blogging the Democratic campaign from Iowa -- the Republican side of the presidential campaign has incited an interesting little blog-feud over Mitt Romney's speech this past week.
First, some necessary background: Townhall.com executive editor Hugh Hewitt is a popular radio talk-show host and blogger who is not so much a doctrinaire conservative as he is a Republican Party loyalist.
Hewitt served in the Reagan administration, was the first executive director of the Nixon Library, and generally adheres to the "11th Commandment" of not speaking ill of fellow Republicans. His biography and his attitude sometimes put him at odds with other bloggers on the right, most of whom pride themselves on being independent conservative voices, rather than partisan political operatives obligated to toe the party line.
This division was very clear during the 2006 mid-term election season. Hewitt had just published a book, "Painting the Map Red," that was billed as "the insider's blueprint for building a permanent Republican majority," and he was perceived by some bloggers as a Republican cheerleader who failed to anticipate the Election Day debacle for the GOP, during a time when many other conservative bloggers were openly disenchanted with the Republicans in Congress.
So, fast forward to December 2007. Having published a book about Mitt Romney, Hewitt finds himself under suspicion of being a cheerleader for the Romney campaign.
With that background in mind, then, imagine the reaction from conservative bloggers Thursday, when Hewitt wrote of Romney's speech about his religion:
Mitt Romney threw a long ball today and scored. There can be no objective argument against that conclusion. ...Hewitt's insistence that this enthusiastic appraisal was "objective" particularly incensed Allahpundit, the anonymously sarcastic blogger at Michelle Malkin's Hot Air site:
Thus, objectively, the speech cannot be judged as other than an extraordinary success for Romney. (Emphasis added)
And yea, the punditocracy looked upon what Mitt hath wrought and said, "It is good." ...Nobody is really arguing that Romney gave a bad speech. It is generally agreed that Romney did well, within the framework of his effort to regain the Iowa momentum from Mike Huckabee. Here's Stephen Dinan's take:
It's not so much that I disagree ... but insisting repeatedly upon its success as an objective fact is a weird rhetorical ploy which reads like a transparent attempt to delegitimize critics as being, in an almost clinical sense, out of touch with reality. ... Of all the people commenting today about this, there's only one who sounds like he's coming unglued. And it ain't any of Mitt's critics.
He looks the part of a president, and today he showed he can occupy a podium and deliver a bully pulpit-style speech.But for Hewitt to say that no "objective" criticism is possible . . . well, the large number of conservative bloggers linking to that Hot Air post (including Ace of Spades, Sundries Shack and Junkyard Blog) indicates a widespread resentment of that "weird rhetorical ploy." And this objectively hilarious parody by Iowahawk suggests that Hewitt is risking his credibility by employing such rhetoric.
Hewitt seems indifferent to the criticism, continuing his "pundit consensus" bandwagon argument on Romney's behalf, which provokes a snarky response from Allahpundit.
Could this dust-up over Romney will turn into a full-scale flame war between Hewitt and other bloggers? Let's objectively pop some popcorn and watch.
-- Robert Stacy McCain, assistant national editor, The Washington Times
Comments (1)
Here is one comment from SGS:
As I am deaf, I was unable to listen to the speech of Mitt last Thursday. I did watch the live video, but there was no closed caption. I could not understand the historical event that was going on right in front of my eyes.
It was some 30 minutes after Mitt completed his speech when I finally was able to read the speech. And what a speech it was! I was unable to read through it without stopping. I have been reading a lot the past year on the meanings and purposes of our Constitution and on how our Founding Fathers intended for us to protect our rights, even from the national government itself, if needed. I have read books on the Revoltion War, and I saw all of the sacrifices those men and women with deep love for their country have given. I saw the true wisdom those patriots had.
So, with that in mind, I read the Speech (and yes, I am calling it the Speech. I had to stop a few times to wipe away the tears. I could not read it without stopping, nor could I now, after having reading it 5 or 6 times already. The Spirit who brought those men and women together to form the Standard for the whole world was present in this Speech. It felt to me as if George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, even John Adams and all of the other men who were in that room on that fearful day in 1774 was here once again, still very much alive. None of the powerful and amazing books I have read impacted me as much as this Speech did, and with so few words! Even now as I am typing this (and today is Saturday!), I am weeping. I weep because I know this is a man who has the same love, the same desire and same anxieties as those Fathers standing right there before us. There is no one better than Mitt for this time in our history.
However, I also weep because I have seen the attacks on this Speech. It significants to me that we are at the point of no return. We have gone astray too far from the path our Fathers had set us upon. If we as the country could not see thus, then there is nothing that can be done for the country itself. We need to understand that Mitt will not be the man who will save this country, nor can any candidate in this race from either side. Only God can, and we know He will work only through the men and women who are anxious to acknowledge God in all of their daily doings. We do not need only the religious man or woman to lead us. We need the leader who understand very well what makes this country special. We need the leader who understand the blessings God has bestowed on us, and how our rights are inalienated because they came only from Him. And we need the leader who can bring the right people together. There is only one person who can do all of those, and more. This is why we need Mitt. So, please vote for him, so that we may continue to have the hope for this country, which once was great, and can still be, as we have been reminded in this Speech. Thank you.
~ SGS
Posted by ranzel | December 9, 2007 11:43 PM