Oh, the irony

Chris Kelly has some words about Mitt Romney that are beyond perfect -- they're pluperfect:

When the dust settles, and the candidates with anger management issues and/or cancer fall away, Mitt Romney will be the nominee, and I think I know why: Because Mitt Romney is the first candidate to take pandering so far beyond cynicism that it's not even cynicism anymore. It's Romantic Irony.

Romantic irony -- the most wistful irony of all -- occurs when a character draws attention to the fact that he's just a character, or a narrator interrupts a story to remind the audience that it's just a story. And Mitt Romney -- alone among presidential hopefuls -- understands that he's a character in a work of art ...

If Al Gore runs against him, he'll provide a remarkable contrast in integrity. It would be quite amusing to see a Democrat once derided as "wooden" matched against someone so pliable and gooey. As for the other Dems: I don't see any "romantic irony" in Obama or Edwards, beyond the inevitable ultra-self-consciousness that afflicts everyone seeking the office. Hillary? In her case, she understands that she's a character in a work of art concocted by her enemies.