I have to confess that former New Hampshire Governor and
later Chief of Staff for President George H.W. Bush has never been
amongst my favorite Republicans.
A quarter century ago, Sununu was the only Governor in the Union
who refused to sign a proclamation calling for the UN General
Assembly’s infamous “Zionism is Racism” resolution to be rescinded.
At the time, Sununu said he didn’t sign because he believed it was
wrong for Governors to make pronouncements on foreign policy.
However,
Sununu did issue proclamations on, amongst other foreign
matters, Cuba, Afghanistan and also condemned Israel for its
accidental attack on the U.S.S. Liberty during the Six Day War in a
proclamation honoring its veterans. Nevertheless, the “Zionism is
Racism” resolution was rescinded by the Bush Administration while
Sununu was still serving under him in the White House.
That history notwithstanding, I have to say I am liking John
Sununu more and more each day. He has been, by far, the most
effective surrogate for Mitt Romney with his take no prisoners
approach with liberal media figures like CNN’s Soledad O’Brien,
Andrea
Mitchell from the network formerly known as MSNBC as well as
Juan
Williams from Fox News.
This morning, during a conference call with reporters, Sununu
addressed Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter’s remarks
last week alleging Romney had committed a felony. Sununu
said of President Obama, “If you introduce the word ‘felon’
into the political discourse, you open yourself up again to the
discussion of the Chicago roots and the Chicago
politcal-slash-felon environment that he came out of.” For good
measure, Sununu also called President Obama’s
Elizabeth Warren impersonation “the latest in a series of
self-defining and frankly extremely dumb statements.” He then
suggested that Obama “learn how to be an American.” Sununu was on a
roll.
In my latest article, I argue that Obama has abandoned all
pretensions of civility and has issued himself and his campaign a
civility waiver:
Stephanie Cutter is right about one thing. Mitt Romney can’t
whine. All he can do is fight back more assertively and more
forcefully. If Obama hits Romney then Romney has to hit back ten
times harder. Romney will also have to go on the offensive. When
they do hit back or launch an attack of their own, look for the
Obama campaign to bemoan Mitt Romney’s lack of civility. After all,
Romney isn’t eligible for Obama’s civility waivers.
So now that Sununu has hit back ten times harder, the Obama
campaign is saying the Romney campaign is “going off the deep end.”
On the contrary, Sununu was merely following Ms. Cutter’s advice
and now the Obama campaign is getting a taste of their own medicine
and they don’t like it.
Should Romney win in November, this would surely earn Sununu a
return to the White House - if he so desires. Assuming that he
does, it isn’t inconceivable that Romney would appoint him Chief of
Staff. After all, it probably wouldn’t do Romney any harm to have
an old hand on hand. That is provided that Romney is able to keep
Sununu a safe distance away from matters in the Middle East.
UPDATE: Sununu has since
apologized for saying that Obama should “learn how to be an
American.” Don’t hold your breath for Stephanie Cutter to do the
same for claiming Mitt Romney has committed a felony. This is what
happens when liberals and conservatives are held to different
standards and are subjected to different rules.
