Progressive Idiocy: Did You Know That Mitt Romney's Really Rich?

Caption: Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney. You may not have been aware of this, but he's way richer than I am.

Image credit: Jessica Rinaldi/Wikimedia

Can we talk? I mean, really. Put down that glass of whatever, and try to find something to lean on, because I don't want you to lose your equilibrium. There, that's better.

I don't give a crap how rich Mitt Romney is.

There, I said it. Pretty shocking, isn't it? But there it is. I don't care. Well, OK, I care a little. There are days when I think it would be just wonderful if the person in the White House had some earthly idea what most of us go through in our lives. Unfortunately, I don't think that's been the case for a long, long time. I think the last time there was a President who actually had some idea what it was like to be a working stiff was when Ulysses Grant was in office.

Presidents are rich people. If for no other reason, we know that because they can afford to take off two years or more from whatever they are supposedly doing to run for office. They have to know a lot of rich folks so they can start advertising and setting up a campaign. Every President of modern times has done this, including the current one.

So I don't care how rich Romney is. Every President is way richer than I am. They're all way richer than you are. Do you think it really matters that Romney is richer than Barack Obama? Until they moved to DC, the Obamas lived in a house that almost none of us could afford.

Being rich doesn't have to mean that you aren't concerned about how everyone else lives. Teddy Roosevelt was rich; so was his cousin Franklin. Jack Kennedy was rich. Somehow, they all acquired some idea what it was like for everyday people, at least enough to implement policies that made our lives better. Being rich, or even talking about it a lot, doesn't make you unable to put yourself in someone else's shoes.

It's just more difficult.

Once you're rich enough that you don't have to work ever again, there's really not much more that can separate you from the common man, except maybe being so rich that you can buy absolutely anything you want. I suppose Romney's that rich, but it really doesn't matter. His opponents, no matter if it's Mister "I'm From A Steel Town" or Mister "I'm From A Big City With A Corrupt Government", don't have any idea what it's like to have to worry about bills or whether the kids get those braces they need. They certainly have no idea what it's like to wonder what happens when you get sick and can't afford medical care.

Even Mister "Man From Hope" had to learn most of that from someone else.

So, I don't care how rich Mitt Romney is. I don't care how many times he talks about how many NASCAR team owners he knows, or why the Missuz needs two Cadillac SUVs, or why he can't seem to stop reminding us how rich he is. Because, folks, they're all rich. Most of them have absolutely no idea what it's like to be you or me. That's why they're where they are. At least there's one thing we can honestly tell ourselves that Mitt Romney has never lied about.

What I care about is that Romney's economic policies look an awful lot like President Obama's, as do his health care policies, his foreign policies, and his policies about just about anything else worth mentioning. That, and that they all suck at least as much as Obama's policies.

Now you know the dark secret of my soul. I hope you can forgive me someday, even if you'll never be able to respect me.