The president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, Brian J. Antag said that Romney “ramrodded his way” into the soup kitchen unannounced. Antag also asserts
“We’re a faith-based organization; we are apolitical because the majority of our funding is from private donations. It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there and they did not have permission....Had they asked for permission, it would not have been granted."Additionally, it has been revealed that not only was the stop at the soup kitchen unannounced and unwanted but that Ryan only stayed for 15 minutes-just long enough to let the media film him helping out. Even worse, by the time Ryan reached the soup kitchen, all the food had already been cooked and served, and all the plates and trays had already been washed and dried. What appears to be Ryan washing the tray and cups is actually just him running water over dishes that had already been cleaned and dried by actual volunteers.
This event has been widely lampooned by those against Paul Ryan. For those that are completely unaware about politics, learning about this might alienate them from voting for Romney. Additionally, many would say that this incident shows a character flaw in Ryan for trying to trick the public into believing something that was just blatantly not true.
4 comments:
(As a side note, it's interesting how Ryan's voice is barely heard over the clicking of camera shutters.)
This is yet another example of why politicians should not attempt to use "spin" to deceive the public. Not only did the soup kitchen's supervisors look as if they were regarding Ryan with surprised disdain, but Ryan himself seemed quite out of place while trying to figure out how to "wash the dishes." Depending on how much the media criticizes Ryan's efforts, this blunder may have a greater effect than casting skepticism on the Romney campaign. Overall, I believe Ryan was simply unorganized; it would have been much easier to have just asked permission from an organization that was not apolitical.
This is really funny. Ryan did look very out of place and sort of obtrusive in the soup kitchen. It was obvious that he was solely putting on a show, saying to the blue sweater kid, "This is very important...helping people," which sounds rehearsed and only for show. His demeanor seemed very affected to me and unmodest. Clearly a miss for Ryan, but being reasonable, his actions are typical; all of us feel like we should appear as better, more compassionate people after we've volunteered in some society benefiting way. Ryan was too obvious about it though, I think. I feel like any charitable thing Ryan attempts now, his opponents will see as him trying to set an image and his supporters will just say he's a typical human being. Thus, I do not think that this blunder is enough to drive voters away from Romney. Both sides can bias their opinion to either disdain or favorably explain his behavior.
Also, nice downplay of Ryan in the title.
Ohhh oh gosh that was awkward. Washing dishes in a nice shirt and tie, with men in suits standing around in the back.. I might be biased, but I thought it looked very fake. Meeting people left and right and strutting around, it was as if he were a host there or something. Or trying to get as many people to see him as possible. Seeing as the "like" bar on youtube is over halfway red, it doesn't seem that Ryan gained much popularity through this.
Post a Comment