Mitt Romney: Shut up and leave me alone

Since Mitt Romney has been on his overseas adventure, he has taken a total of three questions from the press. The press – as is their wont – keep asking questions, however. And this is now causing tantrums on Team Romney:

When members of the press tried to ask Romney about some of the mishaps on his trip, his traveling press secretary Rick Gorka verbally dressed down reporters.

Here’s a transcript of the questions and Gorka’s response:

CNN: “Governor Romney are you concerned about some of the mishaps of your trip?

NYT: “Governor Romney do you have a statement for the Palestinians?

Washington Post: “What about your gaffes?

NYT: “Governor Romney do you feel that your gaffes have overshadowed your foreign trip?”

CNN: “Governor Romney just a few questions sir, you haven’t taken but three questions on this trip from the press!

Gorka: “Show some respect”

NYT: “We haven’t had another chance to ask a question…”

Gorka: “Kiss my ass. This is a Holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect.”

Moments later, Gorka told Jonathan Martin, a reporter for Politico, to “shove it.” About a half-hour later, the aide called reporters to apologize.

Romney is setting a new precedent for media avoidance by a Presidential candidate. And it’s not out of fear he won’t be treated unfairly. It is because he knows that outside of Fox News, he won’t be treated favorably by default.  It also goes along with his refusal to release tax records, as well as a refusal to even say how he’ll govern.

Mitt Romney has embraced a budget plan that would entail cutting federal programs other than defense and Social Security by more than half. It does raise the question of how he plans to carry out such a sweeping goal. In an interview with the Weekly Standard, Romney says he’d eliminate a bunch of departments. But he won’t say which ones.

“One of the things I found in a short campaign against Ted Kennedy was that when I said, for instance, that I wanted to eliminate the Department of Education, that was used to suggest I don’t care about education,” Romney recalled. “So I think it’s important for me to point out that I anticipate that there will be departments and agencies that will either be eliminated or combined with other agencies.

Basically, Romney will just spend the next 99 days slamming Obama and making speeches full of cliches and red meat for his followers. But voters are not going to get any more than that.

–WKW