Mitt Romney is right. He should not have to apologize for being successful. He should not be ashamed of being wealthy. However, that being true (and since he says he has nothing to hide), why not release more tax returns? If he wants to keep his finances secret, maybe he shouldn’t be running for president.
Outside of the battle over the tax returns (and offshore accounts), there is too much focus on the wealth and social standing of the two men who will face off in November. It is one thing to debate Romney’s track record at Bain or President Obama’s first term. Those are fair game. Those should be discussed. But all of the chatter about who is out of touch and who is an elitist is inane.
Mitt Romney is rich. He has mansions in New Hampshire and California. He takes lavish vacations and cruises around in enormously expensive boats. Estimates of his wealth typically range from $250 million to $500 million.
Barack Obama is also pretty rich. He is not as wealthy as Romney, but he is still a member of the 1%. He also enjoys extravagant vacations and his home in Chicago is not exactly small.
That these two men are extremely wealthy is not news. Romney is not a newcomer to politics. He was born into a wealthy family and has done well for himself. Obama has written bestselling books and was rich before he was elected president (something that doesn’t hurt the bank account).
The fact is, either both men are “elitist,” or neither is. This reinforces the absurdity of attacking either one as “elite.”
After attending the prestigious Cranbrook School, a private college preparatory boarding school in Bloomfield Hills, MI, Romney received an undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University. He then received a law degree from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Obama received an undergraduate degree from Columbia University and, like Romney, a law degree from Harvard Law School. He also served as editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Their educations alone would place them among an elite group of Americans. Their careers only serve to enhance the notion that neither man has a whole lot in common with you or me.
Romney worked for the management consulting firm Bain & Company before founding and running Bain Capital. He also served as president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee and supervised the Salt Lake City Olympics. He was governor of Massachusetts and is a bestselling author.
Obama was a civil rights lawyer for a firm in Chicago. He also taught at the University of Chicago Law School. He served as an Illinois State Senator before becoming a U.S. Senator. Obama is also the author of two bestselling memoirs.
Combining education and career, each man has a very impressive biography. They have been highly successful and have achieved many great things. One is president and one will be a major party presidential candidate (and could also be president). They are wealthy beyond most people’s comprehension.
You do not become president (or a party’s nominee for the job) without amassing a biography like that of Romney’s or Obama’s. Once you have reached that level, it’s safe to assume that you are a member of the elite.
Unfortunately the attacks calling Romney out of touch and Obama an elitist are not going to stop. They are too potent and too easy. There’s also evidence suggesting that they make an impact with voters. Partisans will point fingers and make one-sided accusations, but the fact is Democrats and Republicans alike partake in this game with equal aplomb.
As Super PACs and campaign staff and the like casually make those claims whenever they get the chance, it’s worth remembering that both men are members of the elite. They are elite even among the elite.
No matter how you slice it, Romney is as entitled as a candidate can get. This country should not endorse that. The Presidency is a duty, not a prize.
I know how much you want the black man out of the white house, but Romney is in the process of blowing it and you all know it, much to many of our's glee.
I know facts have never been your strong suit; however, it should be pointed out that the non-GOP LA Times labelled Obama as the Magic Negro. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,3391015.story Prior to that the origin appears to lie with Hollywood, academia, and a discuss lead by Spike Lee. I might add those 3 entities are also non-GOP. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_Negro
How, exactly will Romney benefit more from being President than anyone else who gets elected, including Obama?
Perhaps we just haven't had a White president that wasn't known to be born in the US. It isn't Obama's race that brought up the birth certificate issue, it's the fact that he spent so much of his youth outside of the US that brought his birthplace into question...
You only have the Obama autobiography to prove your point. As more and more is actually learned, that book may not be completely true. Also, he has yet to release his college transcripts. In which many believe he claimed to not be an American born in order to gain unfair privilege. (thus the creation of the birther claim) While Mitt may have had more money in his family when he was younger, both lived a life of privileged that most other Americans aren't able to. Worked for the American, is BS. Even his first job out of college was attained through his Chicago connections. You liberals are trying to make Obama to be more of a mythical figure then what he really is.
►Except,◄ yep, you do care, more BS
so why 2 paragraphs following comparing wealth? Obama had not walked any walk, this is the first thing he has ever run and it is showing, big time. You are correct, he gained the presidency by talking that talk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Cleaver http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Rubble
If Romney should win the election I'm still going to live here and want to know that whichever candidate wins is going to do a good job. Understanding that there's not much a candidate can actually lay out (tactics) until actually in place, I'm still waiting to hear Romney tell us, "As a venture capitalist, I did x and so. These skills directly translate to leading the free world by y and z." Hasn't happened. Do his offshore accounts give him foreign affairs expertise? No, because he has a fund manager. I hear a lot of Someone Else's Morality talking points, personhood amendments (which would ban most forms of hormonal birth control), anti-ACA (imagine speaking in front of African Americans and calling ACA "Obamacare." No wonder he was booed. There's some people skills going on there. Will he also mandate haircuts for gays as he demonstrated as a student?). Yes, I'm waiting to hear the words that will give me confidence that America will have elected the "best and brightest" if Romney wins. Obama has kept Wall Street afloat, helped save the U.S. auto industry, stepped up anti-terrorism and deportation of illegals, and addressed healthcare. Not too shabby.
Same drunk loner, different handle.
The Constitution called for presidents to be natural born citizens or living in the country at the time of the document's signing. This was to accommodate the young nation's hopes that Alexander Hamilton (born in the West Indies but emigrated to the colonies) would run for president. Those awake during U.S. history class will remember how that worked out.
What flavor is your Kool Aid? Everything Romney did at Baine is public knowledge including that fact that he saved 80% of the companies they invested in. Which is a better record on investment then Obama. I enjoy the idea that GWB and Obama should deserve a chance, but we need to kick Scott ASAP. "Kept Wall Street Afloat", if I am not mistaken with the amount of campaign contribution given by Wall Street kept Obama afloat. Not to mention most of the money going to Wall Street did not go towards the altruistic plan of mortgage help, but went to buying smaller banks and CEO payouts. Not to mention some of the banks are still practicing as there were prior to Obama. "Saved US Auto Industry" Jeremy Anwyl, vice chairman of Edmunds.com says, "benefits surrounding the launch of the Volt, lately it has become more of an albatross ''emblematic of the bailouts" and closely tied to President Obama." GM needed restructuring not money to pay off unions. "Stepped Up Anti-Terrorism" by releasing the US convicted OBL driver. "Deportation" That completely goes against he recent EO that says to do the opposite. "Addressed Healthcare" Have you been paying any attention. The recent brilliant decision by Justice Roberts on the unconstitutionality of the exchanges will burden the Federal government with trillions of additional dollars not originally projected. All Obama did was force your children and grand children to pay for today's healthcare.
And why won't Obama release anything from his college days? No transcripts, no papers, no thesis, no relationships with Marxists professors........oh wait.
The Clintons have 3 accounts in the Cayman Islands.
You got my vote.