by Norman Horowitz
Barry Switzer was a famous football coach. A Chicago Tribune article once opened with a quote from Switzer: “Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.”
To me, this fits Mitt Romney perfectly.
I write this out of a sense of frustration in that Romney comes from “the landed gentry” and cannot “pull off” his portrayal of being an “everyman.”
I was not raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, as Mitt was.
I was raised in the Bronx.
I did not attend Stanford for a year, as Mitt did.
I was not in France for 2 1/2 years as a Mormon missionary.
I entered the United States Air Force during the Korean War.
I did not earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Brigham Young University or a joint JD and MBA from Harvard University in 1975 as a Baker Scholar.
I attended the RCA Institute studying electronics and worked at a minimum wage job to be able to support myself.
I did not enter the management consulting business, which led Mitt to a position at Bain & Company.
I got a clerical job at Screen Gems International.
I did not serve as CEO of the company.
Maybe that’s why I do not oppose mandatory carbon caps known as “cap and trade”…
And why I do not favor increased domestic oil drilling…
And why I do not support a managed bankruptcy of the American automobile industry…
And why I do not favor getting tougher with China on trade issues…
And why I get annoyed when Romney says:
The American culture promotes personal responsibility, the dignity of work, the value of education, the merit of service, devotion to a purpose greater than self, and, at the foundation, the pre-eminence of the family.
The dignity of work? Really? How would he know?