Starring Mitt Romney

I finally recalled what Romney's VFW speech reminded me of: some imagined Tricky Dick oratory to the nation, in Philip Roth's political satire, Our Gang:

Now I know there are always those who would prefer that we take a weak, cowardly and dishonorable position in the face of a crisis.... [H]owever ... the actions I [would take] ... are indispensible to our dignity, our honor, our moral and spiritual idealism, our credibility around the world, the soundness of the economy, our greatness, our dedication to the vision of our forefathers, the human spirit, the divinely inspired dignity of man, our treaty commitments, the principles of the United Nations, and progress and peace for all people.

Of course allowances must be made for a few anachronisms--the right now disdains treaties, roundly despises the United Nations, and regards "progress and peace" with nihilistic suspicion--but otherwise Mitt Romney seems the very essence of the lugubriously brooding, secretive and paranoid Dick Nixon more and more each day.

Comments

[japa21]

At the current rate of decomposition, he will pass Nixon on all points well before November.

[dr.e]

And, don't forget, Dick Nixon won.

[mdblanche]

Except of course that Nixon was still recognizably human.

[AnneJ]

And yet Nixon won. Twice. It's not the politician it's the voters.