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Ron Johnson: I’m Applying For The Job Of Senator — I Don’t Need Details

Candidate for U.S. Senate Ron Johnson (R-WI)

Businessman Ron Johnson, the Republican nominee in the Wisconsin Senate race, seems to have had another fun moment this morning — declaring at a candidate forum that he doesn’t have to have details on policy.

As WisPolitics reports:

GOP U.S. Senate candidate Ron Johnson said this morning he doesn’t have specific details on how to solve the nation’s issues, instead comparing himself to a promising job candidate who has the potential to learn on the job.



“I don’t believe this election is about details. I really don’t,” Johnson said. “I’ve met with people in 60 counties and done 500 personal events, and my approach is to convey to people who I am, explain my manufacturing background, and then as honestly as I can, let people know what my philosophy is.”

Johnson also said that when he interviews job applicants at his company, he looks at their backgrounds and attitudes, rather than specifics. “When I interview people, I don’t expect them to come into that interview and say here are the problems and how to solve them,” he said.

During his turn to speak, incumbent Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold shot back “I will be very specific about where I want to cut spending and how I will create jobs.”

This follows Johnson’s recent interview with the Green Bay Press Gazette, when he was unable to give a jobs plan in response to a question about it, other than broad outlines of curbing government spending. The paper subsequently endorsed Feingold for the first time ever.

If Johnson’s recent gaffes are going to derail him, though, it would need to happen very quickly in the next two weeks. The TPM Poll Average gives Johnson a lead of 51.7%-44.4%, though a new St. Norbert College/Wisconsin Public Radio poll gave Johnson a lead of only 49%-47%.

2010 elections, Ron Johnson, Russ Feingold, Senate '10, WI-SEN
Eric Kleefeld

Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.

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