Tucker Carlson ain't no crybaby

Republican Mitt Romney's new propensity to tear up in public is attracting attention, with some speculating it will help him by softening his image (which suddenly seems in vogue on the presidential campaign trail). But one commentator will have none of it.

Tucker Carlson, on his MSNBC talk show Tuesday, listened as one of his guests opined that, by being more willing of late to show his human side, Romney was in tune with the nation's zeitgeist.

Snapped Carlson: "No, it's more baby boomer sentimentality, and the one candidate in this race who actually has suffered in a real way, John McCain, also happens to be the least likely to cry.... I don't want to vote for a guy who watches Meg Ryan movies. Maybe that's just me.... No crying in politics."

Only 38, and with a youthful face that belies even that age, Carlson is getting the curmudgeonly act down pat.

-- Don Frederick