"Of course," he told a reporter in New Hampshire. "Even Jimmy Carter would have given that order."
What I really like about Mitt Romney is how he will never concede a point. In that way, he is like any competitor, and I suppose, there is something admirable in that, if you're talking about Ms. Sharapova. But in a human being who is seeking to become the leader of 300 million people, you might want someone who can see the truth and concede when the other side has done or said something which is in the national interest, rather than, like Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republican leadership, oppose anything the Democrats do, whether or not that is in the interest of the nation.
So, when President Obama ordered the SEALS to go forward, you would hope a grown man would have reacted: "I congratulate President Obama on a courageous decision. He risked a debacle like the lost helicopters in the sandstorm which doomed Jimmy Carter's re-election, and he bet big and won big in getting Osama Bin Laden. The country and the world is better for it. That does not mean, of course, he should be re-elected. Killing Osama Bin Laden does not pay the rent, prevent foreclosure or put bread on the table of middle class Americans."
But, no, Romney is not a big man. He reacted the way the frat boys of my youth reacted when you scored: "Oh, that was nothing. I could have done that. I could have hit that home run. I could have caught that touchdown pass."
But, you didn't, did you?
Still having trouble with "Frat boys" I see. I'm guessing you don't mean that literally, so what is it you really are trying to characterize? Also guessing you were not in a fraternity, so how is it you are so sure what "frat boys" do or think ? Can you really be sure the boys you are so characterizing were actually in a fraternity or is this just some irrational bias of yours?
ReplyDeleteFair enough. To me, "Frat boy" connotes a certain smugness, born of mutual validation, a love of games and rituals and self congratulation. We are different and better because we are members of this self selected club. A bravado personality, formed by sitting around with "brothers" talking about how you've "scored" because you've played the game a certain way, but which misses the true nature of virtue, which is not something derived from consensual validation, but which usually derives from other considerations.
ReplyDeleteSo, the frat boys stand on their fraternity porch and hit batted soft balls across the way, in an attempt to launch those balls through the windows of the dorm or frat opposite. The ball crashes through the window and the frat boys cheer and congratulate each other at the well hit ball, while the occupant of that room comes home to find a broken window and shattered glass and a softball in his room. He pays for the repair of the window and the frat boys, by now are nowhere to be seen, off in their frat house, drinking, having bonded over their prowess as batsmen. The frat boy is never Gandhi standing up to the unjust law, defying the bully. The frat boy is brave because he has his brothers lined up behind him. He fears solitude and cannot study alone. He needs his room occupied, like a puppy who is comforted by the warm bodies of his liter mates.
--Mad Dog
Do you actually know or have you really seen such people or are you simply creating a metaphor for what you believe might be the case?
ReplyDeleteMad Dog relates one of many experiences from college life.
ReplyDelete--Mad Dog