President and Mr. Romney Caught on Tape

The lines that everyone is talking about this morning are "So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, and they cling to guns or religion, or antipathy toward people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment, or, you know, anti-trade sentiment [as] a way to explain their frustrations."   What Obama was saying is that no matter what the people he referenced thought and felt or how skeptical they were of him the volunteers were to be humble, empathetic, and open with them and to focus on the people's economic concerns because of the betrayal they felt from past administrations.  In other words he wanted those people to understand he would be president to all people.

Mitt Romney on the other hand in his May 2012 fund raising speech to a group of fund raisers says, "There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That, that’s an entitlement.   And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax... my job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives…. The president has been a disappointment. He told you he’d keep unemployment below 8 percent. Hasn’t been below eight percent since. Fifty percent of kids coming out of school can’t get a job. Fifty percent."

First of all about three fourth of those Mr. Romney referred to are senior citizens like me who receive Social Security or other benefits.  When we worked we paid payroll taxes and pay federal income taxes now on money that we earn over specific amounts.  Child tax credits and taxes beneficial to people who make less than $20,000 a year also fall in that category.  But the most identifying thing about Mr. Romney's comments is the fact that what he is saying is that he's not planning to be president for me; he's only planning to be president for the wealthy.  He is saying that I, a senior citizen, don't matter and he really does not care a damn about me because according to him 'I am lazy, a dead beat, a moocher who contributes little to society, an entitlement victim, a free-loader parasite, a slacker, have no fortitude and am a characterless victim who sits around waiting for the government to give me something.'  Governor Romney cannot relate to the middle class and poor people of America who need affordable health care, government assistance at times in our lives, or food stamps because we can't afford to eat otherwise.

Now both of these speeches contain disparaging remarks but there is a difference in the intent.  President Obama was encouraging volunteers to not ignore anyone based upon their beliefs and thoughts.  Mr. Romney, on the other hand, seems to make his speeches according to whatever crowd he happens to be addressing.  That in itself is not a problem.  The problem - MITT ROMNEY IS NOT THE MAN TO LEAD AMERICA AT THIS TIME.  He simply does not get what the average American family needs to survive because he has never had to live the life that middle class and poor people live.  In his book if you are not privileged YOU JUST DON'T MATTER!!!!!  Therefore when he says "My job is not to worry about those people" to the people funding his campaign HE ACTUALLY MEANS JUST THAT!!!!!  People, if you fail to exercise your right to vote; if you elect to by-pass that voting booth in November; if you allow yourself to be intimidated into not casting your vote; this man may actually be the next president of the United States of America.  So, call your neighbor; beg someone for a ride to the poll; but do whatever you have to do to get there.  You must make that important choice and cast your vote.