Is Mitt Romney a classless shit-bird or a stone cold Machiavellian strategist? That's the question being pondered by the Republican pundit class following Romney's flagrant violation of campaign protocol last night in the wake of his Michigan primary triumph. Romney ditched traditional campaign etiquette and started his victory speech just as second place finisher John McCain had started his own, knowing full well that the networks would immediately pull away from McCain's speech to cover the night's victor.
Team McCain was predictably pissed (you can watch the TV time theft as it occurs here), especially since McCain's campaign manager had allegedly called Romney's campaign to let them know when McCain would be speaking. According to one campaign blogger, "The words 'no dignity, no class, and no couth' are reverberating around the McCain camp tonight."