The Chicago Tribune's Clarence Page says the Republican presidential hopeful shouldn't joke about birth certificates or anything else, because he's simply not good at it.
After months of running about even with the president, despite high unemployment, Romney's embarrassing attempts at humor feed an image he would rather not send: a well-meaning straight arrow who is woefully out of sync with the audience he is trying to reach.
For example, there was the NASCAR race in Florida last winter where he mocked the plastic ponchos on rain-soaked fans. "I like those fancy raincoats you bought," he said. "Really sprung for the big bucks." Har, har.
There was his joking reaction to the dust-up over his having strapped a cage carrying his dog to the top of the family car years ago: "PETA is not happy that my dog likes fresh air."
And there's his odd outburst captured on YouTube of a line from a pop hit by the Baha Men as he smiled for an impromptu photo with a group of African-American teens: "Who let the dogs out? Woof, woof!"
Read Clarence Page's entire piece at the Chicago Tribune.
The Root aims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.