Romney spokesman made sexist and homophobic remarks about Mrs. Obama, Hillary Clinton

Would you expect anything less from the Republican nominee?

Interesting that we haven't heard boo from Mitt or Ann Romney.  You'll recall two weeks ago they were more than happy to talk non-stop about how they felt Democratic consultant Hilary Rosen had shown disrespect to women.  But when the Romney campaign's own spokesman - and mind you, Hilary Rosen doesn't even work for the Obama campaign, this guy does work for Romney - is found to have tried to cover up a series of sexist and homophobic comments about First Lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, and the wife of Romney's remaining serious (well, somewhat serious) opponent in the GOP primary, you don't hear boo from Mr. or Mrs. Romney.

Wonder why that is?  Maybe Mitt and Ann Romney don't care about women at all. We'll find out if they keep this spokesman on staff.

Romney, flip flopper or "severe conservative"?

President Clinton is urging the Obama campaign to label Romney a "severe conservative," as Romney recently described himself, rather than focusing as much on the flip-flopper label.  The thought is that Romney is going to redefine himself to the middle for the general election, and this preempts him from doing that.

I've always been concerned that Romney's flip-flop nature would help him in the general election.  I've heard more than one Democrat or Independent say that Romney wouldn't be that bad a President since we all know he's "really" a liberal who's just pretending to be a conservative.  The thing is, how do we know that Romney wasn't simply pretending to be a liberal all those years he was in Massachusetts?  After all, what better beard for someone who wants to rise in Massachusetts politics?

And ultimately, that's the great danger of a Romney presidency.  It's not entirely clear whether he'd govern as a liberal Democrat or a "severe conservative," as he oddly, and comically, put it.  And while President Obama hasn't always been as wedded to his convictions as we'd like, Romney makes Obama look downright mono-maniacal.


More here.

Trayvon, Zimmerman and a word about photos

By now we're probably all familiar with the iconic photos of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman.  The one, undated, dressed in Hollister and looking all of 12 years old.  The other, just as undated, dressed in Gitmo orange, unshaven, wearing an earring, and looking a bit like an immigrant.

Then I saw another photo of Zimmerman leaving the courthouse this past weekend, and he looks nothing like goofy Gitmo guy.

It's interesting how photos influence our judgment.

Have we even seen a photo of what Travyon Martin looked like this year?

Why does it matter, you ask?  It mattered when everyone thought Trayvon looked like he was 12 in that ubiquitous undated photo. By looking 12, he looked all the more innocent, and the crime become all the more outrageous.  The sense of loss and outrage was greater.  But we never did find out when that undated photo was taken (I never could figure out why no one in the media simply asked his family).  And don't tell me that the Gitmo-esque faux mug-shot of Zimmerman didn't influence a few minds either.

Photos are magical.  But they don't always tell a truth.