Politicians are a slimy lot but Mitt Romney exceeds historical norms. Here’s the interesting part: he came through the Republican primaries looking like a douchebag only to be hammered by Democrats for months thereafter, so his flip-flopping, lying, and vulture capitalism “career” were all on the record. But notwithstanding all of that, I was piqued by the Republican convention and the debates. What kind of guy was this, really? Forget the soundbites, forget the super-PAC hit-jobs.
Turns out Mitt Romney is an even bigger asshole than I thought.
This is a guy who was born with a silver tea service in his mouth to go with the silver spoon. He leveraged his membership in a wealthy cult to avoid military service (oh, and so did his sons apparently, but they’re not part of this pit), used a platinum-plated education not to build but to exploit, and has used his wealth and connections to gain political office.
And guess what? When he opens his mouth it’s all there. This guy is so transparent you could use him as a skylight. From basing an entire convention on an erroneously parsed quote (“you didn’t build that”), to condemning 47% of the US electorate as Lysol-swilling hobos, to exploiting the deaths of US diplomatic personnel for cheap political points, this is a person prepared to sacrifice everything – even the best interests of his own country – to win an election.
I’m sure Mitt Romney sleeps peacefully under his 400-thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, knowing in his heart that the ends justify the means, that the hoi polloi are merely the electoral grist for his political ambitions, and that he’s entitled to the presidency by virtue of good genes, clean living and intellectual superiority. But in my book he’s an exemplar of everything that’s wrong with the US: unbridled greed, desperate ambition and crass opportunism, not to mention a serene and Zen-like acceptance of dishonesty as legitimate social interaction.
Every person, and therefore every politician, is flawed. But even a flawed leader can inspire through example, strive for the common good, or try to raise people up. Think Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt, even Johnson or Kennedy.
Mitt Romney is no Jack Kennedy. More like a jack-ass. And for all of these reasons, I pit Mitt Romney.