On
October 13th, 2012, a reporter for the Washington Post’s Election
2012 Blog reported that Paul Ryan, accompanied by his wife and
children, visited a soup kitchen in Youngstown, Ohio after patrons had already
left and the volunteers “appeared to have already cleaned up” (Sonmez). He proceeded
to take “some large metal pans that did not appear to be dirty, soaped them up
and rinsed them, remarking as the cameras clicked and the TV cameras rolled
that he had spent a summer washing dishes when he was younger.” This has become
a minor controversy now as organizations like CBS have learned that the Romney
campaign never asked the head of the charity if Ryan could visit. According to
Brian Antal, the president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society,
the apolitical nature of his organization does not authorize political
candidates to stage photo ops there (Montopoli). This, combined with Romney’s
other PR mistakes relating to struggling Americans, brings into question the campaign’s
commitment to those less fortunate than him.
Throughout
the campaign, Obama and Romney have been speaking frequently about the middle
class, and both candidates have been trying to appeal to them by speaking about
jobs and improving the state of the economy. Though both candidates are trying to
look relatable, Romney in particular has had setbacks in this regard. In
particular, his personal wealth (and how he acquired it) as well as his PR
missteps have made it difficult for him to overcome this perception that he is
out of touch with the common person.
Personal
wealth has not always been a barrier to presidential candidates in recent
history. In particular, John Kerry, who is worth $198 million (due in part to
his wife’s share of the Heinz family fortune) (Bogardus,
Wilson), was not attacked for his wealth but rather for his honesty when
it came to his military service, attacks widely seen as a smear campaign
(Hosenball). The problem likely arises from how Romney acquired his wealth. Though
Romney gained a private education and an upper-class upbringing through his father’s
wealth, he made a lot of it by running Bain Capital, a private equity firm that
was involved early on in the business of outsourcing American jobs (Hamburger).
He has to explain and defend that record to middle class families who are
struggling because of economic challenges, and that record detracts from the
narrative he wants to present. In that same article, the Romney campaign
refused to comment on the specifics of Bain’s involvement with outsourcing,
saying only that “Bain Capital’s business model has always been to build great
companies and improve their operations. We have helped the 350 companies in
which we have invested, which include over 100 start-up businesses, produce $80
billion of revenue growth in the United States while growing their revenues
well over twice as fast as both the S&P and the U.S. economy over the last
28 years.” (Hamburger)
In
addition to his personal wealth, his inability to connect with average voters
has been a problem, most notably in September when a leaked video published by
Mother Jones showed Romney’s comments behind closed doors at a fundraiser. The now-infamous
“47% comment” that came from this video is just one gaffe in a string of many,
from the $10,000 bet he offered to Rick Perry during a Republican primary
debate (DeLong) to his wife’s “couple of Cadillacs” (Trumbull). This most
recent PR misstep with Ryan in the soup kitchen shows that the campaign is
trying to connect with voters, but do not understand that their actions could
be seen as condescending or patronizing. Photo ops are, like every aspect of a
presidential candidacy, meticulously planned, but while planning minimizes risk,
the strategic gains made by Obama or Romney serving patrons at a soup kitchen
could be offset by those who believe that they are not doing this out of the
goodness of their heart, but rather in a calculated attempt to gain votes.
For
better or for worse, presidential campaigns are as much about style as they are
about substance. Campaigns realize this, and during the election season,
hundreds of restaurants, bars, factories, and power plants are visited in an
effort to meet average voters and give off the perception that the candidate is
not afraid to get his hands dirty and fraternize with the commoners. During the
election, the Obama camp has been emphasizing comments Romney has made in the past
(including an entire campaign video on YouTube titled “Out Of Touch”) in an
effort to make him unpalatable to those who are still undecided. Both Romney and
Ryan have tried to come off as relatable, but given these recent PR missteps,
the GOP ticket has a distinct disadvantage. Without this key attribute, the Republican
ticket will have to rely on policies alone. Those, too, will be influenced by
the perception that the Republican ticket is out of touch, as the opposite side
can easily criticize his ideas as policies coming from someone who does not
understand the plight of those all-important middle class voters. Having one
hand tied behind your back like this is no way to win an election.
Works
Cited
Bogardus, Kevin, and
Megan R. Wilson. "The Hill’s 50 Wealthiest Lawmakers." The Hill.
Capitol Hill Publishing Corp, 21 Aug. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/243625-the-hills-2012-50-wealthiest-in-congress>.
DeLong, Matt.
"Mitt Romney Challenges Rick Perry to $10,000 Bet in GOP Debate." Washington
Post. The Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2011. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/mitt-romney-challenges-rick-perry-to-10000-bet-in-gop-debate/2011/12/11/gIQAudrBnO_blog.html>.
Hamburger, Tom.
"Romney’s Bain Capital Invested in Companies That Moved Jobs
Overseas." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 10 July 2012. Web.
17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/romneys-bain-capital-invested-in-companies-that-moved-jobs-overseas/2012/06/21/gJQAsD9ptV_story.html>.
Hosenball, Mark.
"Obama Campaign Accuses Republicans of Smear Tactics over Bin Laden,
Leaks." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 15 Mar. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/15/us-usa-campaign-binladen-ad-idUSBRE87E01F20120815>.
"Mitt Romney: Out
of Touch." YouTube. YouTube, 13 June 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw896Y4vzeg>.
Montopoli, Brian.
"Charity President: Paul Ryan "did Nothing" at Soup Kitchen
Photo-op." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct.
2012. <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57532807/charity-president-paul-ryan-did-nothing-at-soup-kitchen-photo-op/>.
Sonmez, Felicia.
"Charity President Unhappy about Paul Ryan Soup Kitchen ‘photo Op’." Washington
Post. The Washington Post, 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/10/15/charity-president-unhappy-about-paul-ryan-soup-kitchen-photo-op/>.
Sonmez, Felicia.
"Reporters Barred from Covering Paul Ryan Exchange with Homeless
Ohioans." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2012. Web.
17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/10/13/reporters-barred-from-covering-paul-ryan-exchange-with-homeless-ohioans-outside-soup-kitchen/>.
Trumbull, Mark.
"Another Mitt Romney Clunker? 'Ann Drives a Couple of Cadillacs, Actually....'"
The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Feb.
2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2012/0224/Another-Mitt-Romney-clunker-Ann-drives-a-couple-of-Cadillacs-actually>.
