Wimping Out

You think the media is a little pissed off at Mitt Romney over shutting them out of his Israel trip and only letting them in at the last minute?

I'm going to say "yes".

In 1987, this magazine created a famous hubbub by labeling George H.W. Bush a “wimp” on its cover. “The Wimp Factor.” Huge stir. And not entirely fair—the guy had been an aviator in the war, the big war, the good war, and he was even shot down out over the Pacific, cockpit drenched in smoke and fumes, at an age (20) when in most states he couldn’t even legally drink a beer. In hindsight, Poppy looks like Dirty Harry Callahan compared with Romney, who spent his war (Vietnam) in—ready?—Paris. Where he learned ... French. Up to his eyeballs in deferments. Where Reagan saddled up a horse with the masculine name of El Alamein, Mitt saddles up something called Rafalca—except that he doesn’t even really do that, his wife does (dressage). And speaking of Ann—did you notice that she was the one driving the Jet Ski on their recent vacation, while Mitt rode on the back, hanging on, as Paul Begala put it to me last week, “like a helpless papoose”?

Like I said, the Romney campaign declared war on the Village back in early July.  Only one problem:  the Village has now decided to fight back.  Things just got interesting, because as Mitt is finding out, the only thing worse than our fickle, power-hungry, egotistical press is our press in a bad, bad mood.  On the other hand, the plan to attack the press worked wonders for Sarah Palin.

Too bad Mitt Romney isn't Sarah Palin.  McCain was on to something in 2008 after all.  After all, when Bibi Netanyahu owns your testicles...yes, you get called a wimp.