After Mitt pre-empted McCain's concession speech the night of Michigan's primary, the press has been hammering him pretty hard. McCain and his entourage all wasted no time in disparaging Romney in the most biting words they could muster for such a non-issue. Despite that Mitt explained the whole thing had been unintentional, the character attacks have piled on with Mitt being called "classless."
This is not all that surprising in a campaign where Mitt's opponents piously talk up their "positive" message, honesty, and honor, all while showing in little ways all along the trail they don't measure up to their own effusive self-praise. That McCain is a sore loser hardly needs to be expounded, but I was particularly irritated when Schmidt, his strategist continued to spout character attacks after Michigan saying Romney could look you in the eye and tell you the blue sky is pink (etc etc).
Mitt, on the other hand demonstrates actual honor and class and gets zero credit for it from the media. He's not perfect, and he doesn't claim to be. But, he forgives the personal barbs with an immediacy and grace that is amazing. He has noted that the personal attacks should have no place in the process, but he hasn't reverted to nasty counter-insults. If only McCain and Huckabee would demonstrate a little turning of the other cheek after they feel they've been wronged rather than one-upping the slight the first chance they get by going more negative and making their attacks more misleading.
I just read a transcript of Hannity & Colmes from after the Michigan win and I was suprised and and satisfied to see Romney's characterization of the other candidates:
You know, I think a lot of us predicted that it would be over within the first two or three primaries, but it didn't work out that way. Everything has changed in this race. It's much more fluid than I think we had expected. And I don't think that's because the voters haven't found anybody they like. I think it's because they find a lot of people they like. You know, you have good — you have a national hero in John McCain, a great mayor in Mayor Giuliani. You have Fred Thompson, who's well-known and respected, Mike Huckabee, who's a gifted speaker. And, you know, you take all of us together, it's not a bad group. People are having a hard time making up their minds.
Now that's class. That's real class.
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