MittWatch: Romney Tangles With a Reporter, Southern Belle

Say what you will about Mitt Romney, the man never loses his cool. Even if it seems like he loses his cool, such as in the ad in which he went jogging and his hair got mussed, the stray hairs were on purpose.

But a reporter got under Romney's skin at a Staples in South Carolina this morning when Romney said lobbyists didn't run his campaign. The reporter, Glen Johnson, said that was bull.

Alas, we can't embed the CBS News video, but we'll link to it. Johnson interfaces with Romney from while sitting on the Staples floor, and Romney lectures him from on high. Apparently the two know each other, and Romney spoke to Johnson like Johnson was one of the Five Brothers: "Did you hear what I said, Glen?" Soon, the argument turns into a debate over whether or not there's a difference between "advising" and "running a campaign."

Later on in the video, one of Romney's handlers gives Johnson a stern, dad-like talking-to. Here's the kicker--this aging Southern Belle walks up to Johnson at the end and tells him, "I think you're rude and ugly!" Is she saying he can't talk because Romney's good-lookin' and Johnson looks like a standard-issue schleppy reporter? And Heaven forbid a candidate should have to debate with someone during a campaign stop!

Jon Stewart once said he admired Romney because Romney can be contradicted, and yet he still keeps on truckin' like he believes every word he's saying. And it's still true. Romney kept preaching his own gospel like a true believer--only this time it sounded more like, "I know you are, but what am I?"

Romney's official governors' shot. You don't want to make him angry. Head there for the full video.