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Go Home Mitt Romney As Tarantino's Superman

THE PLANK FEBRUARY 7, 2008

Mitt Romney As Tarantino's Superman

BY AUTHOR INFO NEEDED

I had one last thought about Mitt Romney that seemed worth sharing before the clock strikes twelve and he's officially yesterday's news.

I was not a fan of the Kill Bill movies, but I did appreciate one scene, near the end of KB2, that displayed the genius for pop banter that had characterized Quentin Tarantino's earlier films. In it, David Carradine explains (not entirely accurately) that Superman is unique in the comic-book universe: Whereas most superheroes' secret identities (Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker) are their true identities--the people they were before their parents were murdered or they were bitten by radioactive spiders or exposed to gamma rays or what have you--Superman was born Superman. It's Clark Kent that is the invented alias, the pose, the "costume." And in the way Superman plays Kent--weak, self-doubting, cowardly--we see his critique of the human race.

It occurred to me that the same is true of Romney's desperate, if never terribly persuasive, impersonation of a conservative Republican. That persona--angry, simple-minded, xenophobic, jingoistic--is exactly what Romney (who is himself cultured, content, and cosmopolitan) imagines the average GOP voter to be.

Here's the Carradine clip:

--Christopher Orr

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10 comments

Brilliant connection, Mr. Orr. Possibly the most brilliant thing I've read on this blog. Subscription renewed!

- timcrim

February 8, 2008 at 12:06am

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Props. Just, props.

- guyminuslife

February 8, 2008 at 12:21am

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Obama on Romney: “That’s the kind of poorly thought out comment that lead him to drop out,” Obama said. “It’s a classic attempt to appeal to people’s fears that will not work in this campaign. I think that’s part of the reason he was such an ineffefctive candidate."

He's good at twisting in that knife. I have to be honest here: I prefer this Obama to the "Yes We Can" rock star. Not that he shouldn't reach out to Republicans and preach uplift. But a witty, wounding barb every now and then doesn't hurt

- CharlesFosterKane

February 8, 2008 at 1:17am

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It took me a while to click on this link, but I'm glad I did. Fantastic observation. And what an absurd speech by Romney.

- redemption438

February 8, 2008 at 10:11am

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CFK, I'm with you, but I give Obama props for not twisting that knife until Mitt dropped out. That way it doesn't hurt him among Republican-leaning voters, since Mitt is no longer a going concern, but it still looks like anti-Republican knife fighting to Dems who want to see some blood drawn. It speaks to his legislative MO of keeping his options, and lines of communication, open with his opponents as long as possible to try to bring them on board. Contrasts with Hillary's default style of sticking the knife in her opponents' chest first and then asking for their votes.

- rhubarbs

February 8, 2008 at 10:18am

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Rosebud, contrast Obama's "Yes, we can" mantra against Romney's "No, they haven't" and you can see in an instant just how off Romney is.

- blackton

February 8, 2008 at 10:20am

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Well...he DID kind of twist it at the debate: "Well, he hasn't gotten a very good return on his presidential campaign, has he?" This to me is one of his most Kennedyesque attributes, the dry wit. To be fair, Romney's goose was already pretty cooked at this point.

blackton, good call.

- CharlesFosterKane

February 8, 2008 at 11:12am

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Absolutely brilliant Mr. Orr.

I could never muster up any real animosity toward Romney, but he appears to be just another one of those candidates who runs for office simply to sit in the big chair.  He doesn't seem particularly driven by any sort of real ideology except a generic brand of cultural conservatism (that he even managed to look away from in his Massachusetts days) and do-gooder-ism.

I suppose we can all huff and puff about how phony the act was.  I found it a bit humorous because it did seem to be obviously disingenuous at points and in an era seeking authenticity, that is going to make more than a few hair on the back of the neck stand at attention.

But beneath the act, I saw a guy who is a simple pragmatist who wants to do the right thing.  Maybe he should try to play an understanding dad to a bunch of rowdy misfits on a television sitcom instead of sticking around politics.  He certainly has the hair for it.

But I'll never forget the "bling-bling" snippet on YouTube (to me, the video highlight of the campaign thus far).  I am reminded of a quote during the 1988 Republican presidential race (that I think was from TNR) describing Pete Dupont as being so square that he made George HW Bush look like the Godfather of Soul.  Same thing here.  I'm guessing Mitt has a great White Guy Overbite on the dance floor.

- Lundell

February 8, 2008 at 11:13am

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Do Mormons dance?

- boneill

February 8, 2008 at 12:32pm

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I am a fan of Karen Tumulty's work but, as Jon Cohn also notes, her outside-the-box suggestion that

- Anonymous

February 4, 2009 at 2:30pm

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