"You People"
The reason the media focuses on gaffes and misstatements during political campaigns is because that's where you get a glimpse beneath the polished veneer of the campaign: a look beneath the mask, if you will.
Ann Romney, the wife of presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, gave us an unintended peek beneath the carefully laid mask of the Romney campaign today with two bombshell words: "you people."
Here's the context, from an ABC News interview: "There are so many things that will be open again for more attack, and you just give more material for more attack, and that's the answer. We've given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and about how we live our life." 1
I'll put aside for the moment the discussion about whether Romney should release more of his tax returns to the public: Other, far more prominent individuals have already addressed this at length, with most of them saying he should, if for no other reason than to get the brouhaha over with before the GOP Convention in Tampa, Fla. I want to concentrate on that last sentence, and on two words in particular.
"We've given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and about how we live our life." Emphasis mine. By the time I'm done writing this commentary, I imagine Romney's people will be on this, trying to say that Mrs. Romney meant the media when she said "you people." But I also think the damage is done.
When I saw those words, two things came to mind. First was H. Ross Perot, whose independent 1992 campaign effectively ended when he used these two words to address the NAACP. The context then was: "Financially, at least, it's going to be a long, hot summer. I don't have to tell you who gets hurt first when this sort of thing happens, do I? You, your people do. Your people do." 2 As before, emphasis mine.
There was less malice in Perot's statement in 1992 than in Mrs. Romney's today, but those words nonetheless cost him: his support in the polls plummeted, carrying him from a serious contender to an also-ran.
The second thing to come to mind was a quote by Leona Helmsley, the so-called "Queen of Mean" who became infamous for her words: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." 3 Again, emphasis mine.
Regardless of what the Romney campaign will say Mrs. Romney meant, to me, the real meaning couldn't be more clear.
Ann Romney, the wife of presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, gave us an unintended peek beneath the carefully laid mask of the Romney campaign today with two bombshell words: "you people."
Here's the context, from an ABC News interview: "There are so many things that will be open again for more attack, and you just give more material for more attack, and that's the answer. We've given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and about how we live our life." 1
I'll put aside for the moment the discussion about whether Romney should release more of his tax returns to the public: Other, far more prominent individuals have already addressed this at length, with most of them saying he should, if for no other reason than to get the brouhaha over with before the GOP Convention in Tampa, Fla. I want to concentrate on that last sentence, and on two words in particular.
"We've given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and about how we live our life." Emphasis mine. By the time I'm done writing this commentary, I imagine Romney's people will be on this, trying to say that Mrs. Romney meant the media when she said "you people." But I also think the damage is done.
When I saw those words, two things came to mind. First was H. Ross Perot, whose independent 1992 campaign effectively ended when he used these two words to address the NAACP. The context then was: "Financially, at least, it's going to be a long, hot summer. I don't have to tell you who gets hurt first when this sort of thing happens, do I? You, your people do. Your people do." 2 As before, emphasis mine.
There was less malice in Perot's statement in 1992 than in Mrs. Romney's today, but those words nonetheless cost him: his support in the polls plummeted, carrying him from a serious contender to an also-ran.
The second thing to come to mind was a quote by Leona Helmsley, the so-called "Queen of Mean" who became infamous for her words: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." 3 Again, emphasis mine.
Regardless of what the Romney campaign will say Mrs. Romney meant, to me, the real meaning couldn't be more clear.