Crashing and Burning Rhetorically

source: http://doninmass.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/wolverton-4.jpg

As the upcoming presidential election looms nearer and nearer, we are bombarded by the messages and words of hopeful politicians.  Though, some of those politicians might want to brush up on their rhetoric before stepping out in the public eye.    

Last week, Republican candidate Mitt Romney released his income tax return for 2010 and his estimate for his taxes last year on his website.  It showed that his combined income for both years was $42.6 million and that his tax rate was just under 14%. 

This meant that he made an average of $57,000 a day whereas the average American made $50,221 per year.  What was most notable was the fact that he paid a much lower tax rate than most Americans (average is 35% and above) because his income mostly came from investments.

Huh. 

Romney used rhetoric to make his tax records available to the American public, his audience.  But did he think about what his intended audience would react?  Now, he is being politically ridiculed for how he is (or isn’t) handling responses.

During today’s difficult economic times, the audience is perceiving Mitt Romney’s message as him being a man who is capable of working, but has admitted that his sole income is making money off of money and capitally benefitting off of low tax rates.

While there isn’t a problem with being rich and running for president, the American people do care about whether or not a presidential candidate cares about public.  Not only do Romney’s taxes show that he has money in the Cayman islands and Luxembourg, but every time he isn’t scripted, he says things like $374 thousand is not a lot of money, or he tells a room of unemployed people that he is unemployed.

Does that sound like someone who understands the problems of the people of America?

Mitt Romney is digging himself in a hole, and this is something he will most likely carry with him through the election.  He did not know what the rhetorical situation was or who the audience was, and it may cost him the vote.