Mitt Romney really loves those Michigan trees.
The Republican presidential aspirant was at it again on Friday, praising the greenery of his birth state in advance of next week's primary.
"This feels good, being back in Michigan,” Romney said during a speech in Detroit. “The trees are the right height. The streets are just right.”
The latest bout of rhapsodizing almost perfectly echoes Romney’s earlier comments about the size of the Great Lake state’s timber earlier this week.
Also read: Mitt Romney's Pandering Michigan Speech Gets the 'Anchorman' Treatment (Video)
Perhaps he’s just trying to secure Michigan’s horticultural vote, but the strategy has its perils.
Romney’s past tree-hugging has drawn scorn from late-night comics, cable news hosts and even a hilarious viral video that compared the former Massachusetts governor’s political pandering to a clip from “Anchorman.”
Nor is this the first time that Romney has prattled on about what makes Michigan trees so special. The Huffington Post unearthed two previous instances, one in 2011 and another in 2008, in which Romney all but took out a tape measure while waxing poetic about the height of the state’s trees.
In his latest address, the man with the arbor touch did not stop at trees. In a speech that was ostensibly about the economy, Romney unintentionally came off looking to the manor born as he tried to court the state’s auto industry workers.
“I drive a Mustang and a Chevy pickup truck,” Romney said. “Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs, actually. I used to have a Dodge truck, so I used to have all three [American car manufacturers] covered.”
Somewhere Jon Stewart is smiling.
