I wouldn’t have suspected that James Lipton, the strange man who asks his guests on Inside the Actors Studio what they hope God says to them or their favorite profanity, would have a particular insight into what makes Mitt Romney so creepy and off-putting, but on New York Magazine‘s website, he totally does:

When challenged on the illegal immigrants caring for his lawn, Mr. Romney responded: “We went to the company and we said, look, you can’t have any illegals working on our property. I’m running for office, for Pete’s sake.” While a few illegal immigrants on the lawn might not faze private citizen Romney, “running for office” requires a separate set of rules and, more important, a separate persona.

It’s that “other” Romney that seems to be confusing the public, and that launched my assignment in the Times. As worthy as the real Romney may be, he is not, has never been, and never will be the common man, and when he assumes the role in a crowd, his evident discomfort tells us that this guy doesn’t fly coach, much less go Greyhound, and, without the demands of “running for office,” wouldn’t be spending much time with these people who do.

Of course he’s within his rights. As he’s taken to pointing out, there’s nothing wrong with being rich. But one wouldn’t cast Henry Fonda in Bringing Up Baby or Cary Grant in The Grapes of Wrath. Miscasting matters – in drama and politics – and absent a miraculous Brando-level acting performance, Mr. Romney’s going to continue to fall victim to self-consciousness, the actor’s worst enemy.

This article appears in May 10-16, 2012.

The editor of the Tucson Weekly. I have no idea how I got here.

6 replies on “The “Actors Studio” Guy Actually Has Interesting Things to Say About Mitt Romney”

  2. I think Lipton needs to have his glasses changed. All he seems to see as far as Romney is concerned, is an uptight rich man. Mitt Romney is what America needs at this time in our history. Our economy is in a worse mess than it was when Obama took office except we are 5 T dollars deeper in debt. Pres. Obama has been a complete disaster and has been working REAL hard at pitting one group of Americans against another group. So much for uniting our country and getting us out of our economic mess. Way to go Obama.

  3. Gregory Peck would have been perfect to depict him…..oh and for obongo you could get Dumbo…..the ears are perfect…..

  4. This is another pathetic article. Lipton couldn’t grab his butt with both hands..another twisted viewpoint. Is Romney rich? Yes and he earned his fortune…Is Obama rich? Yes, Lipton? Yes, Baldwin? Yes….the list goes on and on.

  5. We are “in a worse mess” because of the ALEC controlled house republicans blocking every piece of legislation Obama favors not because it is bad legislation, but only because Obama favors it. This republican obstructionism is the heart of the problem.

    In addition, no president, in only one term could fix the mess Obama was handed by the Bush cabal with it’s two un-funded wars, tax breaks for the wealthy and for corporations, and crony capitalism.
    You would have to be a complete moron to hand over the controls to the same type of elitist, greedy bastards who got us into this mess in the first place.

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