Rusty laser focus out of focus

“Laser focus” is journalese for a quality of a politician or business big-shot admired by the reporter. This was applied to Mitt Romney in a Boston Globe story Feb. 17, 2018 about his announcement he’s running as a Republican for the Utah Senate seat being vacated by Republican Orin Hatch: “His laser focus on Utah in a two-minute video announcement revealed how eager the 70-year-old Romney is to tout his ties to the state after his two presidential bids and four-year term as governor in Massachusetts, the state where he spent most of his adult life.” The story says Romney mentioned Utah “no fewer than 14 times in his announcement video, an average of once every nine seconds.” The story does note that Romney does not live in Utah, but is a resident of New Hampshire.

The story does not say Romney’s “laser focus” was out of focus when he kissed Trump’s arse in an attempt to be named Secretary of State, after criticizing Trump during the 2016 campaign.. Nor that he was “laser focused” to dis liberal Massachusetts when he ran for president. Nor “laser focused” to avoid credit for RomneyCare, the Massachusetts health care law that was a model for ObamaCare. Nor “laser focused” about winning an Olympics gold medal for his long history of political flip-flopping, if there were such an event. Nor “laser focused” by losing two runs for President, after serving only one not especially “laser focused” term as Governor of Massachusetts.

However, Romney was the laser-focused hero who “saved” the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002, his claim to fame (other than making a lot money as a hot-shot investor) after he ran unsuccessfully for Massachusetts Senator in 1994 against Ted Kennedy.

File under: Rusty laser-focused Romney runs again.

www.JournaleseDictionary.com

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