They Call it 'Flexibility'

by Ruth A. Sheets

Just when you think you have experienced every manifestation of Romnesia, one more bit of craziness raises its head.  On Elliott Spitzer’s show on Current TV “Viewpoint,”  Romney’s frequent change of position and casual lying was referred to as “flexibility.”  Then, viewers were informed that this is just the quality needed for negotiating.

Since George Orwell’s classic “1984,” we have been aware of the power of language.  Give something a clever name and it won’t matter what that thing actually is.   Advertisers have taken advantage of this for years.  We call flavored sugar water things like Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper.  None of it is good for us in any way even the one named “Dr.”  The names are great, though. 

We expect politicians to manipulate language to catch the attention of particular constituencies.  That is just part of political life.  The current cycle has carried this idea to heights previously unimagined by most Americans.  

Mitt Romney’s handlers are masters at language manipulation.  They craft his message so carefully that the lies are often tucked in the fast flow of words that Romney pours out for his audiences.  The lies are carefully mixed in with truths and half-truths and when called on them, he will “double down,” strongly defending the lies. 

Mitt Romney lies so often he can’t possibly remember what is the truth.  But, he is a good Mormon, so we can’t call what he is saying lies.  We say he is flexible.  Candidate Romney is sooooo flexible he has no obvious set of core principles.  It doesn’t matter, though because the majority of folks who support him like his one main feature: White.  This means that whatever he actually believes doesn’t matter to them.  And, the lies are irrelevant too.. 

For the people on the fence, calling lies “flexibility” makes their choice of Romney acceptable.  Remember, these are good Christians who love the 10 Commandments.  If their candidate is a liar, they will have a personal conflict.  Renaming Romney’s lies clears up the problem for them.  Isn’t language manipulation great?!