Obama’s Lonely Campaign

Published in Il Foglio
(Italy) on 2 June 2012
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Linda Merlo. Edited by Tom Proctor.
Bill Clinton Defends Manager Romney and Strikes Democratic Strategy

In his time as a manager at Bain Capital, Mitt Romney did a "sterling" job of the highest quality and “I don’t think we ought to get into the position where we say this is bad work; this is good work.” To Barack Obama’s great shame, the person who spoke these sentences is not a roaring radio show conservative, a banker or a Republican politician, but – drum roll, please – none other than Bill Clinton. On CNN, the former president defended Romney’s career in the private sector, the same career that Obama strategists in Chicago had put in the meat grinder a few months ago, reducing it to a smelly political pulp. The sitting president’s argument is that Wall Street greed is original sin, so Romney is a candidate who has been branded for life. That’s how Romney has been represented in a number of ads and events that now stretches toward infinity.

The argument of his Democratic predecessor -- a guy who has, historically, been attentive to the demands of finance – rings differently: Romney’s business is good stuff, “fair game,” and if we take the Democratic path of demonizing Bain and the like, we’ll end up hurting ourselves very badly. The mayor of Newark, Cory Booker and Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts – both Democrats with ultra-Obama pedigrees – have delivered judgments in line with Clinton and remain opposed to the principles behind the Obama campaign. In a few seconds, Clinton liquefied not only a fraudulent representation of society (the good citizens against the Wall Street bad guys), but the glue of the entire electoral strategy.


La campagna solitaria di Obama

Bill Clinton difende il Romney manager e bacchetta la strategia dem


Nel suo periodo da manager a Bain Capital, Mitt Romney ha fatto un lavoro “sterling”, di altissima qualità, e “non credo dovremmo metterci nella posizione di dire ‘quello è un pessimo lavoro’. Quello è un buon lavoro”. Per grande scorno di Barack Obama, chi ha pronunciato queste frasi non è un ruggente conservatore radiofonico, un banchiere o un politico repubblicano, ma – rullo di tamburi – Bill Clinton. Alla Cnn l’ex presidente ha difeso la carriera di Romney nel settore privato, la stessa carriera che gli strateghi di Obama a Chicago hanno messo nel tritacarne qualche mese fa per ridurla a una maleodorante poltiglia politica. L’assunto del presidente in carica è: l’avidità di Wall Street è il peccato originale, dunque Romney è un candidato marchiato a vita. Così ha fatto rappresentare Romney in un numero di spot ed eventi che ormai tende all’infinito.

L’assunto del suo predecessore democratico – un tipo storicamente attento alle esigenze della finanza – suona in modo diverso: il business di Romney è roba buona, “fair game”, e se noi democratici prendiamo la via della demonizzazione di Bain et similia finiremo per farci molto male. Il sindaco di Newark, Cory Booker, e il governatore del Massachusetts Deval Patrick – entrambi democratici con pedigree ultraobamiano – avevano espresso giudizi in linea con Clinton e opposti ai principi che ispirano la campagna elettorale di Obama. Clinton ha liquefatto in pochi secondi non soltanto una piatta e truffaldina rappresentazione della società (i buoni del popolo contro i cattivi di Wall Street), ma il collante di un’intera strategia elettorale.
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