re: #285 Obdicut

I just can’t tell if they know they’re being lied to, or they just creatively interpret the statement, like Max above, until it gets close to something resembling a half-truth. I doubt most GOPers really know Obama’s history— so why do they think they do? Why do they think they know about Reagan, when they don’t? Where does this wellspring of self-certitude come from?

The combination of certitude and ignorance is a pretty heavy brew.

It’s why I said that Romney’s comment was structured as is, as it reads differently to each listener. To those who want to hear it as a continuation of his “we need a business owner to fix the economy” bit, that’s what they hear. To those who want to hear it as a racist dog-whistle, that’s how it reads. And so forth.

The man’s spent over a decade either holding office or running for them, he knows how to speak in a way that gets the widest appeal while being totally deniable.