Last night, Americans were treated to yet another Republican primary debate—and besides the usual blather there were some highlights, including Rep. Ron Paul calling Rick Santorum "a fake," and Santorum claiming Mitt Romney had adopted Occupy Wall Street rhetoric. But the highlight of the night for us was during Romney's opening remarks, when he misquoted our favorite curmudgeonly New Yorker, George Costanza: "What's the George Costanza line? When they're applauding, you sit down..."
It turns out that misremembering a Seinfeld quote is probably the most relatable thing that Romney has done all campaign. Of course, this isn't the first debate during which the disconnected salesman has used the same (wrong) joke before, which certainly takes away from the spontaneity of the moment. The actual line comes from the season 9 Seinfeld episode "The Burning." George decides to try to end every conversation on a "high note" and "leave them wanting more." Jerry instructs him at one point: "Showmanship, George. When you hit that high note, you say goodnight and walk off."
Semi-permanent hairpiece recipient Jason Alexander was tickled by Romney's Costanza reference, tweeting: "Thrilled Gov. Romney enjoys my old character. I enjoyed the character he used 2 b 2. If he'd embrace that again, he'd b a great candidate." Burn! Although it would have been even greater if Alexander had gone with a slightly different comeback...or just told him that he had sex with his wife.
