This Made Our Day

The Romneys, of course, have five sons, all married; the Ryans have three young children. And the Romney grandchildren? Upon the arrival of his twins David Mitt and William Ryder earlier this year, Tagg Romney announced, “for those keeping score at home, these are grandchildren numbers 17 and 18 for my parents.” So kits, cats, sacks, and wives, there are 35 Romneys and Ryans, counting candidates, spouses, children, grandchildren, and daughters-in-law.

The Scrapbook anticipates hysteria from the anti-natalist left, which was driven around the bend by the 12 children of the McCain-Palin ticket. Who says the demographic future is bleak for the Republicans?

Sentences We Didn’t Finish

‘Mr. Romney’s big speech, delivered in a treacly tone with a strange misty smile on his face suggesting he was always about to burst into tears, was of a piece with the rest of the convention. Republicans have offered precious little of substance but . . . ” (New York Times editorial, August 31).

Great Moments in ‘Fact Checking’

Sometimes, facts are damnably stubborn things, untwistable even by President Obama’s supporters in the media, whose default mode is to insist that dastardly Republicans are lying about the president’s record. Here are two choice examples.

(1) From the August 22 New York Times, a story headlined “A Romney Attack Line Found Not So Clear-Cut”:

This week, Mitt Romney echoed an accusation made by various conservative bloggers against President Obama—that his administration has spent $90 billion on green energy.

“Do you know how much money he invested in so-called green energy companies?” Mr. Romney asked during a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., on Monday. “Ninety billion. Ninety billion!”

But is it true?

Roughly, yes. . . .

(2) In a similar vein, here’s a poignant entry in the Associated Press’s rapid-response “fact check” of Mitt Romney’s speech to the Republican convention, August 30: