The talk has not risen to the point where it’s dominated news about “Mitt Romney” as a search term, but the content on this is growing. Let’s take inventory:
The forum Democratic Underground picked up on the difference between Mitt Romney and Mitt Romney the “dark Univision” version, and the result was (to this date) 318 responses, like this one: “To give him every possible benefit of the doubt, I looked up pictures of Romney golfing and jet skiing. He doesn’t golf, and, when he jet skis, he doesn’t wear gloves. I did see a pic of John Kerry wind surfing with gloves on, but that’s not relevant here..The douchebucket was in blackface.”
Then Wonkette weighed in with this post: Mitt Romney Dons Brownface For Forum With Mexicans. Rebecca Schoenkoff wrote “So! Self-tanner “accident”? Makeup lady what needs firing? Or did John Boehner take him tanning for a little pick-me-up? He has been having a very hard week.”
Then Gawker picked up on the issue with this title: “Mitt Romney ‘Dyed His Face Brown’ to Appeal to Latino Voters.”
Not to be out darkened, GossipOnThis.com jumped in with “Did Mitt Romney Put on Fake Tanner to Make Himself Browner to Appeal to Latino Voters?” The celeb lookie-lue site wrote “Just when you think Mitt Romney can’t possibly find a way to embarrass himself in public any more than he already has during the 2012 presidential election, he surprises you with another jaw-dropping gaffe.”
Then Huffington Post jumped in and offered this title: “Mitt Romney Accused Of ‘Dyeing His Face Brown’ For Univision Interview” with Sara Gates saying “Mitt Romney appeared on Univision Wednesday alongside Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas, but something was a little peculiar about his appearance — his skin tone. Looking back at the hundreds of photos logging his every moment on the campaign trail, the Republican presidential nominee is usually not so shockingly tan.”
And Latinos Post chimed in with “Romney Appears in Univision Forum, Accused of “Dying His Face Brown.”
Finally, we have Media Take Out with “He Wore BROWN-FACE MAKEUP.”
Having been on national television several times, I can say that the makeup people can and do apply the right chemicals to make your skin tone come out a certain way. They also give you the option of having makeup or not. I elect to use it because it evens the tone between the lower part of my neck and my face. And while I could have asked to be “lighter,” the idea to ask never occurred to me because I like my skin color and tone. Thus, I think Mitt or someone on his staff with his consent, agreed to have his skin provided with a nice, dark, tan.
The reason for the “yes,” was that, upon reflection, they used the same skin tone makeup for Mitt Romney that was used by CNN for me – but I’m black. In other words, someone used a tone of makeup that would normally be used to match the skin tone of a darker person – but Mitt’s white, so it makes him look like he has a tan.
One that just happened to make him look more Latino.
Considering this is the candidate that some accuse of having an “etch-a-sketch” strategy, it does make sense that it would extend to his very complexion.
Stay tuned.
Bill Carroll