Strongness Through Strength

Ann's hair has done some color flip-flopping since high-school.Mittens Romney has taken his business acumen & marketing skills & applied them to his campaign, along w/ a good portion of the fortune he made on the backs of people who work for a living, by buying & selling their companies out from under them. (This, of course, is why his five spawn are so anxious to get him elected; if he spends their inheritance they'll need plenty of that good old fashioned Republican cronyism to save them from working for a living.)
And what is Mittens' big marketing push? One word: Strength. That's it. All you need to know.

“I think we’re at a point in time in American history where we’re going to see America change course,” Romney said. “I think the key to America’s future is a philosophy, an ideology of strength.”

Absolutely. Certainly we've been looked at as the weak sister on the international scene until now, what w/ surrendering to Castro in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and only being able to lose 58,000 American lives, & a few limbs & eyes & souls & minds on top of that in Vietnam. Oh, there were Panama's & Grenada's successful invasions of Florida & Georgia during the '80s, & that whole mess when Saddam Hussein ran us out of New England in 1990. Who could ever forget?
But no more of that when "Double Gitmo" Romney is the man.
In Orange County, California:

Strength was the recurring theme of Romney's stump speech. Creating a strong military, ensuring a strong economy and facilitating strong families, he said, would guarantee a safe and prosperous future for America.

Talking to old fool Bill Schneider of CNN, about strength. Yes, you see, "strong families" (?) will be better able to compete, especially once free trade zones are established. What we'll be competing in is beyond us. China seems to have the cheap & dangerous toys, toothpaste, & other goods market locked up. India's about to be a software giant, & they already have a larger film industry then we do.
From Mittens' website:

MR: "Well, first it's important to communicate as you do to your audience that the trade and opening markets to American goods is essential. The only way America is going to remain the world's superpower is if we can compete globally, so I want to open more markets to our goods and I will negotiate with other nations to do so. At the same time I want to make sure that our trading with other nations is done on a fair basis, and when a nation like China does not honor our intellectual property rights then we're going to have to get serious with our Chinese friends and say guys you just can't do that or you're going to suffer consequences in our markets. So we're going to have to fight to make sure that our products are protected and our technology is protected but also to not close down foreign markets, open them up, we can compete around the world."

Maybe it's a good thing that he can hold two conflicting ideas in his mind at once. Maybe it's not.
From the traditional stomping ground of the Republican businessman, a country club:

He called for giving the president the authority to open foreign markets to American products before a crowd of approximately 120 people at the Mason City Country Club.
[...]
Strengthening the military is another goal of Romney’s.“You can’t be the world’s military superpower without being the world’s economic superpower,” he said.

Or vice versa. Back to the Greenwood, SC Index-Journal:

"It’s almost as if the Democratic contenders for president are living in a fantasy world,” he said. “They’re nice folks, they’re just wrong. It is critical America remains strong, and I think if the three Democratic leaders become president, they will not strengthen our military because they will declare defeat (in Iraq).”

Instead of declaring "Mission Accomplished" over three yrs. ago & sticking around for an occupation. And "declaring defeat" & bringing the occupation forces home certainly won't strengthen the military. You have to declare "Mission Accomplished, Occupation Over!!" & then bring them back. And bingo, the military is rejuvenated, because it's not being overextended.

In addition to cutting taxes and strengthening education in science and mathematics, Romney said one goal he would have if elected is to open the nation’s trade markets and provide training to workers to compete in those markets.
"We need to train, assist and empower U.S. workers to succeed in a global economy,” he said. “I’d like to audit all of the existing training and education programs and see which ones work.”

Oh yes, audits...This reporter has worked for a living (not the same as being a businessman, by the way, it involves actual work) too, & "audits" are a total joke, an exercise in bullshit & ass-kissing, in knowing what the boss wants to see & showing it to him. It couldn't possibly be any better in gov't.

Romney’s solution to the trade dilemma is creating what he called the “Reagan Zone of Economic Freedom.”
“The Reagan Zone is a group of nations engaging in trade and living by higher regulations and safety standards,” he said. “Let’s create a global zone of economic freedom to create the large free-trade area in the world. We can promote American goods and services on a global scale if it is fair.”
The zones would create a “true level playing field” for trade, he said, and involve enforcement of regulations and currency exchange.
“I am optimistic about this country,” Romney said. “I’ve been across the country and met a lot of people. The American people have the heart to succeed in anything we put our minds to. I want to make sure America remains the economic power of the world so we can also remain the military power of the world.”

Sheer fucking crap, from the invocation of St. Ronnie of Alzheimer's to this fantasy zone of indeterminate, undefined nations, goods & services. What the fuck do we still manufacture in this country? Oh yes, crappy cars w/ lousy mileage. The world is beating a path to our door for that better mousetrap. We do sell arms everywhere we can. No reason not to be optimistic about that. Americans seem better at destruction than anything that might create good. We want to sell crap to furriners so we can have a powerful military to threaten the furriners with. Or: "The Iraqi oil will pay for the war." Heard it all before.
Here's a clue, Republicans: Reagan was nothing but an amiable dunce, & suffering from Alzheimer's before he left the White House. He will have been gone from the political scene for 20 yrs. by the time the election arrives (Hey, exactly one yr. to go, as of Sunday!!) & no one who didn't vote for him 24 yrs. ago is going to vote Republican because of his name this time around. Many people who voted for him 28 yrs. ago will be voting for any one but a Republican this time around.
Face it Mittens, the Republicans are the ones living in the fantasy world of "free trade," & a new improved manufacturing base, selling imaginary widgets to fantasized nations. Just not gonna happen. How many American-made products are sold by the one successful business w/ which you were involved, Staples™? Got a percentage, Mittens?