Saturday Open Thread [1.18.14]

So there is a Mitt Romney documentary that was filmed during both his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns that will be debuting on Netflix next week. It was screened at Sundance last night, and Sahil Kapur of TPM lists the five big revelations from the documentary:

1. Mitt Romney did not prepare a concession speech until well into election night when it was clear he was going to lose, and probably lose badly. In the opening scene of the movie, Romney, his family and campaign aides sat in a living room, the TVs turned off, with his sons tracking the election results on their laptops. The family patriarch was getting crushed by the president, and an adviser said he was probably going to lose Ohio. “So what do you think you say in a concession speech?” Romney said, looking around the room. Silence.

2. The film humanizes Romney in a way that his family, friends, advisers and party failed to do when it mattered. Whatever people thought of the man before, they might come away liking him at least a bit more after watching “MITT.” The film portrays him as a selfless, loving father and husband who’s down-to-earth, self-effacing and even a bit funny! When an adviser told him he was winning the popular vote on election night, he wryly reminded him that that was only because the numbers from California hadn’t come in yet. […]

3. The movie inadvertently bolsters one of the most devastating critiques of Romney’s candidacy from Republican and Democratic opponents: that there wasn’t much conviction driving him during the campaign other than his belief that he would be a great president. One could interpret this lack of ideological passion as evidence of open-mindedness and pragmatism, but many voters interpreted it as opportunistic shape-shifting.

For all his laments that the country was on the wrong track, the closest Romney got to a policy prognosis was that taxes on businesses were too high. “They don’t know how hard it is for businesses to succeed,” he said, presumably referring to Obama and his party. It was a strange driving force given that U.S. taxes — including corporate taxes — have been at a 60-year low when measured as a share of the economy. Nor was Romney seen in the film showing any passion for the rest of the platform he campaigned on, like repealing Obamacare, rolling back abortion rights and balancing the budget.

4. Romney and his sons were very aware — and concerned — about Obama’s political talents. “We’re really nervous just thinking about President Obama — he’s a great speaker and he has the mantle of the presidency,” said Josh Romney just before the first debate.

“He’s a very good debater. He’s a lot better than the other guys,” said Mitt Romney. “When I get intense it looks like I’m angry and mad, and my eyes are in caves anyway.” After the first debate, which Romney won handily in the polls, he didn’t get his hopes up. “Sitting presidents,” he reminded his inner circle, “get crushed in the first debate … and then they come back prepared.” […]

5. During the 2008 presidential contest, Romney struggled mightily with the image of him as a flip-flopper. “The flipping Mormon,” he joked while looking at the newspapers, conceding that John McCain had successfully tarred him. He agonized about becoming a punchline. “There’s literally nothing I can do. Do we put on my website what my positions are? Do we answer the flipping charges?” he asked. “It’s so damaging to me. Is there any way — it’s like trying to convince people that Dan Quayle is smart. You’re not going to convince people that Dan Quayle is smart. … And maybe I’ve gotta live with that. ‘Oh you’re flippin’ everything.’ In which case I think I’m a flawed candidate.”