What happens when pop culture addicts run your campaign:
According to Paul Bedard at The Washington Examiner, the Obama campaign takes Batman’s new enemy Bane, a pumped up venom gas breathing maniac, in the movie “The Dark Knight Rises” and compares him to presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, because of the Massachusetts GOP’ers previous work with the investment firm Bain Capital, which Obama and Democrats say was a job killer. Get it–Bane and Bain?
Bedard writes:
“Bane” is the terrorist in the new movie who drives the caped crusader out of semi-retirement in the final Batman movie. Democrats, who believe they have Romney on the ropes over the president’s assault on his leadership at Bain Capital, said the comparisons are too rich to ignore. “It has been observed that movies can reflect the national mood,” said Democratic advisor and former Clinton aide Christopher Lehane. “Whether it is spelled Bain and being put out by the Obama campaign or Bane and being out by Hollywood, the narratives are similar: a highly intelligent villain with offshore interests and a past both are seeking to cover up who had a powerful father and is set on pillaging society,” he added.
Comic book writer Chuck Dixon created the character of Bane with Graham Nolan in the early 90’s and Dixon’s reaction to the news above, according to his message board on his website Dixonverse.net, was “I saw it on FB like two hours ago. Ridiculous. Tho’ I got a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach that Rush may pick up on this. And that would be the second time he pegged me and Graham as liberals on his show.”He later added, “Overgrasping Dems? Hey, if it gets Obama supporters into theaters. Maybe they’ll buy thousands of Bane toys to throw at Romney. It all adds to MY Bane capital. I wonder if the Romney campaign will contact me?”The DC Comics character Bane is best known for releasing all of Gotham City’s criminals from Arkham Asuylum. Batman is pushed to the point of exhaustion as he rounds them all back up, but Bane is waiting for him and breaks Batman’s back. Bane brings forth chaos, anarchy, and lawlessness. Mitt Romney is not the first person to come to mind as far as the character of Bane is concerned. In fact, the chaos that Bane brings is reminiscent of Occupy Wall Street protests.
Other than the silly name play by the Obama campaign, the comparison is ridiculous, especially because Selina Kyle Catwoman, a thief who steals from rich individuals and is played by actress Ann Hathaway in the film, whispers to ultra wealthy Bruce Wayne, Batman’s alter ego, in one trailer: “There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne,” she says. “You and your friends better batten down the hatches. Because when it hits you’re all going to wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.”
Besides, isn’t Batman the rich guy in the story, “millionaire industrialist” Bruce Wayne? Who comes out of the private sector to right the wrongs that the government establishment types, like Police Commissioner Gordon can’t or won’t? True, Bruce Wayne has some kind of strange religion that makes him wear unusual garb beneath his regular clothing, but. . . .[Two can play the game of explanatory paradigms!]
Actually, Bane, who is a tough blue-collar kind of guy, might help Romney’s image:
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In