New Book "Rude Guide to Mitt" Highlights Romney’s Weirdness

Asked grandkids to call him “Ike” and styles his hair like man in church from 40 years ago.

It’s not just that Mitt Romney makes the all too frequent gaffe (“I’m not concerned about the very poor.”) or comes across as stiff and awkward. It’s that Romney — the presumptive Republican nominee for president — is plain weird. At least that is writer Alex Pareene’s take.

Pareene’s new e-book for Salon, “The Rude Guide to Mitt,” highlights Romney’s weirdest moments. Here are a few.

Eisenhower Obsession: It’s one thing to like a certain president, it’s quite another to want relatives to call you that president’s name.

Romney has evidently taken his infatuation with former president Dwight Eisenhower to a really weird level. In 2005, as he showed off his commemorative plate of Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower, Romney confessed: “Not only was Eisenhower one of my favorite presidents; when we became grandparents, you get to choose what the kids will call you. Some call you Papa. I chose Ike. I’m Ike, and Ann is Mamie.”

Who Let the Dogs Out: Romney had a totally awkward moment back in 2008 during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day outing in Jacksonville, Fla. While taking a picture with participants of a King Day parade, he suddenly burst into song and barked, “Who let the dogs out?"  He then said, “Woof, woof!”

[ALSO READ: Woman Calls Mitt Romney A Racist]

This was how Romney thought he could impress a group of black youth. Nuff said. 

The Inspiration for His Hair: Romney has been compared to a ken doll on occasion, but he models his hairstyle on Edwin Jones, a man who worked as an aide in Detroit’s Mormon Church when Romney was still a youngin’.

“He sat up front, to the side at a desk, keeping records,” Romney recollected of Jones. “I remember that he had very dark hair, that it was quite shiny, and that you could see it in from front to back. Have you looked at my hair? Yep, it’s just like his was some 40 years ago.”

That’s not strange at all. All Americans model their hairstyles on people they encountered nearly a half-century ago.

Denies Dropping F-Bomb: When Romney had a confrontation with a volunteer police officer at the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics it was reported that he used the F-word multiple times. Romney denied using the F-word, arguing instead that he actually said, “H-E double hockey sticks.” Unless he's Rose Nylund from “The Golden Girls” that just doesn't fly.