Retail Revisited: Romney, Ryan at the Sandwich Shop

Bag is in summer mode this week, recharging for the conventions. In the spirit of “what goes around, comes around,” we have curated a group of posts that say as much about where we are or what we’re seeing now as what we saw at the time. On each, we’ve added a few current thoughts. As always, we are interested in your take. We will be back in real time on the 20th.

The question is, did Romney and Ryan seal the deal last Spring while working the counter? In this post from April 4th, we considered both the chemistry and the retail politics of Romney-Ryan. Was that somebody’s clever move to do the second photo-op at Cousins? When you look back at the extensive coverage of the duo since the announcement, does the dynamic between the two men lend energy to the usually stiff Romney?

Here’s the original April 4, 2012 post.

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On the heels of last night’s trifecta and Mitt’s impending coronation, it’s interesting to consider Obama’s attack on the Romney-endorsed Paul Ryan trickle-down budget plan (what some are calling, “the repeal of the twentieth century“) as “a Trojan horse.”

I’m not sure how much Team Romney really thought through the symbolism here as he and Ryan spend the closing days of the Wisconsin primary working the fast food circuit. Now, I get how doing take-out at Culver’s on Sunday in Johnson Creek would demonstrate solidarity with the common folk.

What’s quite presuming, however, is how two days later, election morning, they worked their way into manning the counter at Cousins Subs in Waukesha. Maybe the take-over is a Bain Capital thing, these two transitioning from supposedly “two among equals” to suddenly “minding the store.”

That’s not the only odd-note, however. Besides the unfettered free market cousins identifying themselves with hungry citizens, many I’m sure probably just scraping by (did someone say: ketchup is a vegetable?), Romney also attracted some “vote buying” controversy this voting day by giving the $4 to $5 sandwiches away free. Again, it’s still more “what’s wrong with this picture?” juxtaposed with an economic plan that attacks what it perceives as any possible “government handout.”

See Part 2: Romney Dangerfield at our Tumblr site, BagNewsNotes Quick Pics.

(photo 1: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images caption: Republican Presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (L) and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) hold bags of food at a Culver’s restaurant on April 1, 2012 in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin. With less than a week before the Wisconsin primary, Mitt Romney continues to campaign through the state. photo 2: Eric Thayer for The New York Times photo 3: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images caption: Republican Presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and U.S. Rep Paul Ryan (L) (R-WI) hand out sandwiches to supporters at Cousins Subs on April 3, 2012 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Mitt Romney makes one more appeal to voters on primary day in Wisconsin.)