Romney Panders at NASCAR and Blunders Outreach to ‘Joe Sixpack’ Crowd

I’m beginning to think that Mitt Romney does not have what it takes to win the GOP nomination. If he loses Michigan on Tuesday, it may be lights out. Even if he prevails by using his vast treasure chest to overwhelm Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich, he will likely get blown out by Barack Obama in a general election.

I have concluded that Romney simply cannot connect with average voters — espeially the blue collar voters he will need to beat the incumbent. For example, the last time he ran for president, Romney pretended he was a lifelong hunter. When grilled, he admitted that he had only “hunted small varmints numerous times.”

Last week, Romney seemed to top himself in the pandering sweepstakes when he told voters in Michigan that he loved the state because “trees are the right height” and “I love cars.”

In an effort to be “one of the guys,” Mitt Romney went to the Daytona 500 NASCAR race on Sunday — but his attempt at connecting with the crowd badly backfired:

Asked by the AP reporter if he follows NASCAR, Romney responded, “Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans. But I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners.”

Democrats and liberals quickly ridiculed the remark on Twitter. “I don’t know people who fish but I know people who own yachts,” tweeted Brad Woodhouse, communications director of the Democratic National Committee. Ari Melber, a writer for the liberal Nation magazine who apparently was watching the Oscars, tweeted: “Do I like movies? Well I have some friends who own movie companies.”

If this wasn’t bad enough, Romney was booed at the event and the New York Times reports that Romney “told race car fans that he recalled speeding up and down the streets near his home in Michigan, which he likened to an illegal racetrack.”

Then he moved onto his next gaffe when he addressed fans wearing cheap ponchos: “I like those fancy raincoats you bought. Really sprung for the big bucks.” I don’t think we have seen a candidate this out of touch since George H.W. Bush ran for reelection and was flummoxed by a supermarket scanner.

Meanwhile, Rick Santorum is expected to get Secret Service protection beginning today — when, really, the United States Constitution needs Secret Service protection from Rick Santorum, who doesn’t believe in Separation of Church and State.

To Santorum’s credit, he does have a pretty cool car. I’m surprised that Romney did not enter a souped-up Bentley into the race.