# Romney - the problem is that you can't open airplane windows **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 24, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709 "2012-09-24T21:12:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/21 "2012-09-24T21:57:28Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > His policies and convictions are made of the finest weaksauce, distilled for six years in weeping willow casks. But this nitpickery of trying to find things to make him look generically dumb (hur hur, he thinks planes should have windows!) is missing the mark. Yes, he says some actual dumb things, and many of those dumb things reflect on who he is, what he values, and define his political monkeysphere. This, though, is not one of them. Agreed, in part. This particular instance isn’t relevant to policy or anything. I think the most it can be taken to show is that the filter between his brain and mouth went down for a bit, and let stream of consciousness pour out. The contents of that stream revealed some ignorance, but not on politically important matters. On the other hand, the filter did go down, which is something you’d probably want to avoid as president. It happens to everyone from time to time, though. It would be better for it to fail into a safe mode–silence–but I suppose hoping for a politician to stop talking is just setting yourself up for disappointment. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/22 "2012-09-24T21:59:27Z")
People, think! If you could open the windows, all the smoke would almost instantaneously be sucked out! No more choking. Not only that, the lower air pressure and decreased oxygen would starve the fire! Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![HoldOnThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e36b37/32.png) [@HoldOnThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoldOnThere)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/23 "2012-09-24T22:10:07Z")
Romney should find a way to get more oxygen to his brain. What planet is he from? Reminds me of that movie Star Man with Jeff Bridges. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/24 "2012-09-24T22:10:57Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > People, think! If you could open the windows, **all the smoke would almost instantaneously be sucked out!** No more choking. Not only that, the lower air pressure and decreased oxygen would starve the fire! Problem solved. At over 300mph, I’d say quite a bit **could** be sucked out of an open window. I’m certainly willing to let Willard put automatic windows on his own private jets. I’ll even cheer him on in their first test run. But, as a frequent flyer, who likes that the pilot is the only one who’s supposed to be making or authorizing big gaping holes in the air plane skin… I hope you only fly on private jets. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/25 "2012-09-24T22:11:14Z")
Eh, I will happily watch as Mitt and Ryan the boy wonder sail off into political oblivion after Nov. 6 - however, on this I cut him some slack. C’mon, his wife was in a scary flight emergency, as I understand it there was smoke and just maybe she couldn’t breath. So forgive him for thinking it might have been a good idea if there was some way to get her fresh air, so she wouldn’t y’know die. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/26 "2012-09-24T22:14:49Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > On the other hand, the filter did go down, which is something you’d probably want to avoid as president. It happens to everyone from time to time, though. \*\*It would be better for it to fail into a safe mode–silence–\*\*but I suppose hoping for a politician to stop talking is just setting yourself up for disappointment. I honestly think this is how Obama has made it this far. I would love to hear the sound track in his mind when he’s asked about some of the things that have been brought up. I think his halting speech pattern is from self-editing and having to throw out _so many_ options before a reasonably neutral option arrives. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/27 "2012-09-24T22:15:23Z")
Like in a tank, connected by an air hose to a mask that can be secured to the front of your face? That would be a good idea. Someone should definitely get around to inventing that. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/28 "2012-09-24T22:20:02Z")
I’m going to be charitable and assume the man was joking. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/29 "2012-09-24T22:21:58Z")
Are we sure Mitt wasn’t just talking metaphorically about his campaign? ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/30 "2012-09-24T22:25:56Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > C’mon, his wife was in a scary flight emergency, as I understand it there was smoke and just maybe she couldn’t breath. So forgive him for thinking it might have been a good idea if there was some way to get her fresh air, so she wouldn’t y’know die. Sheesh! Perhaps they should fly [Southwest](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42385570/ns/travel-news/t/southwest-grounds-jets-after-hole-appears-mid-flight/) from now on: > [@](#): > > One passenger said it was a “real quick blast, like a gun.” Another called it “pandemonium.” Still another described watching a flight attendant and another passenger pass out, their heads striking the seats in front of them as they lost consciousness. > […] > > Federal officials said it was a “fuselage rupture” that led to a loss of cabin pressure on Friday and a terrifying but “controlled descent” from 36,000 feet to an emergency landing at a military base in the Arizona desert. > > […] > > Don Nelson, who was seated one row from the rupture, said it took about four noisy minutes for the plane to dip to less than 10,000 feet, which made him “lightheaded.” > > During the rapid descent, “people were dropping,” said Christine Ziegler, a 44-year-old project manager from Sacramento who watched as a crew member and a fellow passenger nearby faint, hitting their heads on the seats in front of them. > > […] > In 1988, cracks caused part of the roof of an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 to peel open while the jet flew from Hilo to Honolulu. A flight attendant was sucked out of the plane and plunged to her death, and dozens of passengers were injured. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/31 "2012-09-24T22:42:36Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > I honestly think this is how Obama has made it this far. I would love to hear the sound track in his mind when he’s asked about some of the things that have been brought up. I think his halting speech pattern is from self-editing and having to throw out _so many_ options before a reasonably neutral option arrives. [QUOTE=Inner Stickler] Like in a tank, connected by an air hose to a mask that can be secured to the front of your face? That would be a good idea. Someone should definitely get around to inventing that. [/QUOTE] I really wonder if Mitt has spent so much time flying in private jets that he has missed the safety lecture that goes like: “Should the cabin experience sudden pressure loss, stay calm and listen for instructions from the cabin crew. Oxygen masks will drop down from above your seat. Place the mask over your mouth and nose, like this. Pull the strap to tighten it. If you are traveling with children, make sure that your own mask is on first before helping them.” I mean, those of us that do a reasonable amount of airline travelling in the cheap seats can probably all recite that by heart. There is one airline I like that changes the last part a bit though, to: “If you are traveling with small children or your husband, make sure that your own mask is on first before helping them.” Gets a few laughs every time. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/32 "2012-09-24T22:43:07Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > I like how Mitt wants to get more oxygen to a fire on board… brings to mind comments about going down in a great big ball of flames. That’s probably a metaphor for something related to Mitt, but I’m not sure what… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/33 "2012-09-24T23:39:14Z")
I, for one, am beginning to suspect that Romney is just Sacha Baron Cohen wearing a wig, and the movie he puts out next year is gonna be hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/34 "2012-09-24T23:49:21Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I’m going to be charitable and assume the man was joking. And it is exactly why no one but his wife thinks he has a sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/35 "2012-09-24T23:52:16Z")
According to [this story](http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-romney-beverly-hills-fundraiser-20120922,0,2317962.story), the emergency landing was on Friday, and it was Saturday night that he was wondering aloud why airplane windows didn’t open. From the context, it sure sounds like he was still somewhat upset about his wife’s close call, and probably wasn’t up to cracking jokes about it. But still, over the course of a day, one would think the question would answer itself in the mind of a semi-intelligent higher life (or robotic) form. Jeez. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/36 "2012-09-25T00:02:04Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I, for one, am beginning to suspect that Romney is just Sacha Baron Cohen wearing a wig, and the movie he puts out next year is gonna be hilarious. Oooooh, that’s way better (and more timely) than my assumption that Ashton Kutcher is running his campaign and all of America is being punked. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/37 "2012-09-25T00:15:31Z")
I figure we’re now going to get a week’s worth of Polish jokes reused as Romney jokes. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/38 "2012-09-25T00:25:23Z")
Yes, someone who thinks airline passengers should be able to roll down their windows is the man we want to fix our economy and engage in international diplomacy. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/39 "2012-09-25T00:50:17Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I figure we’re now going to get a week’s worth of Polish jokes reused as Romney jokes. That would be giving Romney too much credit. Romney is a genre all to himself. … giddy-up Rafalca, Hi Ho Romney and awayyyyyy! ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709/40 "2012-09-25T00:51:46Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > the man we want to fix our economy and engage in international diplomacy. Imagine the snickering at the next G-8 about how the POTUS flew in with the windows down but look how stiff and perfect his hair is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-problem-is-that-you-cant-open-airplane-windows/635709.md?page=3)