Friday, March 2, 2012

March 2, 2012

Plenty of Republicans are still running for president but none of them seems quite to have caught on.  Say "Rick Santorum" and a lot of Republicans, even this late in the game, will say "who?"  New Gingrich on the other hand probably wishes voters were saying "who" instead of "no!" – or however you translate his fourth place finish in Michigan. And then there's Mitt (Is that a real name?  I've never been sure.) – variously referred to as the frontrunner, the presumable frontrunner, the inevitable…well, you get the idea. The Washington Post's Eugene Robinson this week taught me some new things about Romney.  They all have to do with cars.  When asked if he was a NASCAR fan, he said some of his friends are team owners.  What kind of car does his wife drive?  "A couple of Cadillacs, actually." I don't mind the affluence.  I want my president to be smart and successful.   It worked for GW and FDR and JFK.  But can a guy who talks like Romney and thinks like Romney really lead the America most of us live in? If you have doubts about Romney's leadership, are you comforted when you contemplate the rest of the field – Gingrich, Paul or Santorum, who seems to think that education and competence are proof of elite snobbery? Personally they might drive me to buy two or three new cars just to have some assests on hand when they took office. Meanwhile, if you're Barack Obama, you're probably having a nice time speaking optomistically to large, cheering crowds or relaxing with the lastest employment numbers. Sombody back in the 19th Century said, "God is kind to drunks, fools and the United States of America."Republicans better hope that's still true – for that matter, we all should.

No comments: