Finding a job is an arduous task in the best of times. To find a job during the current state of the economy is, you should pardon the rhetorical flourish; Herculean. It’s not just finding a job that is tough, it is the process that one must go through to actually get the job.
I have never liked job interviews. They can be so stressful and even sometimes degrading and invasive. People that you have never met, asking you question after question, judging your every word, reaction and response. The withering feeling that someone else has such overwhelming control over your life and your future. Yes, It’s difficult looking for work. Hopes being raised and then dashed. Trudging from place to place in your job search outfit, handing out resumes like you are searching for a lost cat, reciting the same thing over and over. It is daunting and mind numbing. The rejection can be soul-crushing. I know what it’s like and so do you…
Here’s the thing; I don’t think that Mitt Romney knows what that is like. Mitt Romney has never really had to apply for a job. In the immortal words of Herman Cain; “I don’t have any hard evidence to prove that statement.” But based on my observations of his campaign I just don’t think that he has a clear understanding of how the application process works.
What’s that you say? Yes, I know; Romney won the Governor’s election in MA. That would seem to provide a significant counterpoint to my conjecture. However, I still contend that he has no intrinsic understanding of the process. After all, he’s never actually snagged the interview before. At least not this interview…He has always been weeded out in the pre-interview process.
I think we all know how that feels; If you go after that dream job over and over again and miss the cut every time, it can get into your head. It can, in fact, at some point, be an exercise in psychological deconstruction. I mean I get that whole thing about what doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger… Well, yeah, up to a certain point. But after shooting and missing repeatedly over a span of years…well, that can have a real impact, and not in a good way. Am I right, or am I right?
I mean I have had some tough interviews in my time. I have said the wrong thing and once or twice I’ve just completely locked up mentally; Just total “deer in the headlights” brain lock. I’m not proud to admit that, but you and I both know that sometimes it just happens. (I’m talking to you Jan Brewer…). We try to learn from it and move on to the next interview, because we have to. We need that job. Well, I don’t think that Mitt Romney has ever really needed that job…How else can you explain the things that he has said and done. Things that you and I would never consider that we would be able to do or say and still land the gig.
The candidate’s work experience as the former Governor of MA not withstanding, I sight the following examples as empirical evidence of my contention that Mitt Romney (to paraphrase President Obama…) is “new to this process” and is quite simply blowing the interview.
- You and I have never told our prospective employer that we don’t like his or her cookies when they offer them to us during one of the interviews. Suggesting dismissively, that they look as if they might have come from the convenience store down the street…
- We don’t sneeringly say to our prospective employer that “If you want free stuff then you should hire the other guy”
- You and I have never told our prospective employer that nearly 50% of their work force are irresponsible lay-abouts. That they are in fact a drain on the company’s resources, and that no amount of training or coaching from you will ever convince them to become responsible or productive. Nope. I’ve never said that during the interview...
- You and I have never told our prospective employer that with regard to the high profile and high risk project that they have been working on for decades, -for the sake of illustration let’s give the project a name – oh, how about “The Mid-East Peace Process” – …that the goal they have been hoping and striving to achieve in regard to this project is, in fact, insurmountable. It has no realistic solution and that you, the applicant, have no plan to help them in bringing about a peaceful and equitable solution to this project- a project that is, in fact, a cornerstone of the company’s global aspirations – …To transform the single largest source of geopolitical strife and unrest in the world- this goal they have bet so heavily on, cannot be achieved and that they must be realistic and accept that fact. Nope. Never said that either…
- You and I have never watched as one of the company’s beloved and respected executives is murdered in a cold blooded and savage terrorist attack on one of the company’s vital outposts in the Middle East then, without any evidence or any concern for the executive’s family and friends, proceed to say that the reason that executive is dead is directly related to the current CEO’s weak and feckless leadership.
- You and I have never left large sections of our job application blank (for instance, the section on finances…) and when asked to supply that information, responded that “you will have to just take my word for it…” I’m trying hard to remember but I am pretty sure that I have never said that during the interview either…
- You and I have never said to our prospective employer; “I think that I would have a much better chance of getting this job if I was a Latino…”
- You and I have never said to our prospective employer that their bottom line will improve on the day that they hire us just by virtue of the fact we are now part of the company’s team. Wow! I wish I could say that I had the brass balls that it takes to say something like that…but, no… I never have.
As you probably know; the interview for any high level position is always a multi-part process, often involving several interviews over the course of many days, weeks, or even months. Man, that can be rough. But if you are fortunate enough to actually be in that process, at minimum, you strive for consistency in your dealings with a seemingly endless stream of people asking you what are essentially the same questions. It can be tedious and repetitive. The urge to go “off script” can sometimes be overwhelming. I mean you want to show them that you can think on your feet, right? You want them to see that you are not just some mindless automaton reciting answers to questions, right?
Yeah, right. That is usually the point at which the whole thing goes sideways.
For the Romney campaign what constitutes “sideways” (…and I’m talking sideways on a steep hill covered in black ice here…) is a litany of gaffes, flip flops, improbable conjecture, and just plain bone headed statements that, taken cumulatively, begin to provide a picture of the man and his potential presidency. For example:
“Moments of Candor” (the media and the campaign staff prefer to call these statements “gaffes” but a gaffe is merely a poor choice of words that doesn’t provide any accurate insight into the methods or mind of the candidate. These statements however do provide a great deal of insight into the mind and the potential methods of a Romney presidency):
- “Corporations are people, my friend… of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People’s pockets. Human beings, my friend.” —Mitt Romney to a heckler at the Iowa State Fair who suggested that taxes should be raised on corporations as part of balancing the budget (August 2011)
- “I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.” –Mitt Romney, using an unfortunate choice of words while advocating for consumer choice in health insurance plans (January 2012)
- “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there.” -Mitt Romney (January 2012)
- “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. … My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” -Mitt Romney, in leaked comments from a fundraiser in May 2012
- “It’s hard to know just how well [the 2012 London Olympics] will turn out. There are a few things that were disconcerting. The stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials, that obviously is not something which is encouraging.” –Mitt Romney, insulting Britain on the eve of the Olympics by suggesting the country is not ready, NBC News interview, July 25, 2012
- “We have a potentially volatile situation but we sort of live with it, and we kick the ball down the field and hope that ultimately, somehow, something will happen and resolve it.” –Mitt Romney, talking about his plan for the Middle East in leaked comments from a Florida fundraiser, May 17 2012
- “I’ll take a lot of credit for the fact that this industry’s come back.” –Mitt Romney, on the American auto industry, despite having written a New York Times op-ed in 2008 titled “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt,” in which he said if GM, Ford and Chrysler got a government bailout “you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye”
- “PETA is not happy that my dog likes fresh air.” —Mitt Romney in 2007, responding to criticism from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals following revelations that he had once put the family dog in a carrier and strapped it to the roof of his car during a 12-hour road trip
- “I’m running for office for Pete’s sake, we can’t have illegals working on the property” –Mitt Romney, recalling his reaction when he learned that there were “illegal aliens” doing yard work on his property, employed by a firm that he subsequently fired (October 2011)
- “I get speaker’s fees from time to time, but not very much.” —Mitt Romney, who earned $374,000 in speaking fees in one year according to according to his personal financial disclosure (January 2012)
- “It’s not worth moving heaven and earth and spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.” —Mitt Romney, speaking in 2007 about the prospect of hunting down and killing Osama bin Laden
- “I’m not familiar precisely with what I said, but I’ll stand by what I said, whatever it was.” —Mitt Romney (May 17, 2012)
“Blunders” (while not as telling as “Moments Of Candor” these statements do, on a smaller scale, provide an insight into the way that the candidate approaches certain groups and / or situations):
- “I’m Wolf Blitzer and yes, that’s my real name.” —CNN’s Wolf Blitzer at the beginning of a November 2011 Republican presidential debate. — “I’m Mitt Romney and yes Wolf, that’s also my first name.” —Mitt Romney, getting his own name wrong (his first name is “Willard,” and his middle name is “Mitt”)
- “Who let the dogs out? Who, who, who…” –Mitt Romney, during an awkward photo op with a group of African Americans kids at a Martin Luther King Day parade (January 2008)
- “I love this state. The trees are the right height.” —Mitt Romney, campaigning in Michigan and offering a truly bewildering commentary on the local topography (February 2012)
- “My dad, as you probably know, was the governor of Michigan and was the head of a car company. But he was born in Mexico… and had he been born of, uh, Mexican parents, I’d have a better shot at winning this. But he was unfortunately born to Americans living in Mexico. He lived there for a number of years. I mean, I say that jokingly, but it would be helpful to be Latino.” -Mitt Romney, in leaked comments from a Florida fundraiser, May 17 2012
- “I’m not sure about these cookies. They don’t look like you made them. No, no. They came from the local 7/11 bakery, or whatever.” —Mitt Romney, visiting a local bakery while campaigning in Pittsburgh, PA, April 17, 2012 (The owner of the baker later told MSNBC he was offended by Romney’s remarks.)
- “I’ll tell you what, ten-thousand bucks? $10,000 bet?” –Mitt Romney, attempting to make a ridiculously large wager with Rick Perry during a Republican presidential debate to settle a disagreement about health care (December 2011)
“Flip-Flops” (If changing his position on literally anything could have been an Olympic event then Mitt Romney would have taken more gold than Michael Phelps)
Regarding ABORTION:
Flipity:”I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, that we should sustain and support it. I sustain and support that law and the right of a woman to make that choice.” — Debate with Sen. Edward Kennedy, 1994
Flip: “I will preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard.” — Massachusetts Gubernatorial Debate, 2002
Flopity: “Look, I was pro-choice. I am pro-life. You can go back to YouTube and look at what I said in 1994. I never said I was pro-choice, but my position was effectively pro-choice. I changed my position.” — IowaStraw poll debate, 2007
Flop: “What I would like to see happen would be for the Supreme Court to say, look, we’re going to overturn Roe v. Wade and return to the states the authority to decide whether they want to have abortion or not, state by state. That’s the way it was before Roe v. Wade. So I am firmly pro-life.” — Town hall meeting, Hopkinton, NH, 2011
Regarding RONALD REAGAN:
Flip: “I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I’m not trying to return to Reagan-Bush.” — Debate with Sen. Edward Kennedy, 1994
Flop: “When I was running for office for the first time in 1994, I was trying to define who I was…. I’ve said since, and continue to reiterate, that one of my heroes is Ronald Reagan.” — Q&A with Human Events, 2006
Regarding DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL:
Flip: Romney once said he was in favor of “gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly” in the military. — Letter to Log Cabin Republicans, 1994
Flop: “[Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has] been the policy now in the military for, what, 10, 15 years – and it seems to have worked. This is not the time to put in major change, a social experiment, in the middle of a war going on.” — Presidential primary debate, 2007
Regarding VIETNAM:
Flip: “I was not planning on signing up for the military. It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam.” — Quoted by the Boston Herald, 1994
Flop: “I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be representing our country there and in some ways it was frustrating not to feel like I was there as part of the troops that were fighting in Vietnam.” — Quoted by the Boston Globe, 2007
Regarding GUN CONTROL:
Flipity: “We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts. I support them. I won’t chip away at them.” — Gubernatorial debate, 2002
Flip: “Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts.” — Signing ceremony for bill banning assault weapons, 2004
Flop: “I don’t support any gun control legislation, the effort for a new assault weapons ban, with a ban on semi-automatic weapons, is something I would oppose.” — Interview with conservative bloggers, 2008
Regarding HEALTH CARE REFORM:
Flipity: “I like mandates. Mandates work.” — Presidential primary debate, 2008
Flip: I’m proud of what we’ve done. If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing [Romneycare], then that will be a model for the nation.” — Speech in Baltimore, 2007
Flopity: “At the time I crafted the plan in the last campaign I was asked is [Romneycare] something that you would have the whole nation do, and I said no. This is something that was crafted for Massachusetts. It would be wrong to adopt this as a nation.” — Presidential primary debate, 2011
Flop: Bret Baier: “Governor, you did say on camera and in other places, at times you thought [Romneycare] would be a model for the nation.” Mitt Romney: “You’re wrong, Bret.” — Fox News interview, 2011
Regarding CLIMATE CHANGE:
Flip: “I believe the world’s getting warmer. I can’t prove that, but I believe based on what I read that the world is getting warmer. And number two, I believe that humans contribute to that. … And so I think it’s important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may well be significant contributors to the climate change and the global warming that you’re seeing.” — Town hall meeting, Manchester, NH, June 2011
Flop: “My view is that we don’t know what’s causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us.” — Q&A session, Pittsburg, PA, October 2011
Regarding the BUSH TAX CUTS:
Flip: Romney spoke at the 10th annual legislative conference organized by U.S. Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Lowell) and met with the Massachusetts delegation. … Congressional sources said that a point of contention arose when Romney refused to take a position on Bush’s massive, 10-year tax cut plan.” — Boston Herald, 2003
Flop: “McCain opposed President Bush’s tax cuts, Romney noted. ‘I supported them,’ the former governor said.” — Quoted in The State (SC), 2007
Regarding TAX PLEDGES (such as the one from Grover Norquist):
Flip: “I’m not intending to, at this stage, sign a document which would prevent me from being able to look specifically at the revenue needs of the commonwealth. ” — Quoted in Union-News, Springfield, MA, 2002
Flop: “Signing the pledge now sends a very clear message to those in Washington who have voted against tax relief and for tax hikes that such actions will never grow our regional and national economies.” — Romney spokesman quoted in the Boston Globe, 2007
Regarding FLIP-FLOPPING:
Flip: “I’m a strong believer in stating your position and not wavering.” — Comments to NARAL Pro Choice Massachusetts, 2002
Flop: “I changed my position.” — Iowa straw poll debate, 2007
At this point it is understandable that you might, having read these words, find yourself in a state of utter bewilderment. He flips and he flops, he dissembles and prevaricates. Mitt Romney seems almost incapable of even forming a sentence that is factual or honest. To say that Mitt Romney lacks sincerity is to say that the Universe is kind of big. There is no position that Mitt Romney has taken that does not have a polar opposite somewhere in the past, or will not have, at some point in the future.
But why? we ask ourselves. Why would Mitt Romney behave that way? It just doesn’t make sense to most people. Beyond the shear audacity of Mitt Romney’s outlandish dance with alternative reality, we, in the end, are left simply scratching our heads in confusion.
It is a remarkable and quantitative element of the human psyche to achieve an understanding of actions through the assignment of motive. This is fundamental in our process of determining truth. It is in fact so fundamental that we have even incorporated that process into our judicial system. We can see a thing, we can witness an event, we can compile all of the relevant facts associated with those events in an effort to form a theory about something, but in order for us to truly understand that thing we must first know why.
Why indeed…
How are we to discern any meaning or intent from these disparate and frankly, odd statements from Mitt Romney? Is this condition representative of a pathological behavior? Does Mitt Romney lie to us about literally everything because he feels some compulsion to do so?
We could, as many in the media have done, simply chalk it up to rampant and craven political pandering in a desperate attempt to reach that elusive 50.1 percentage of the electorate that Mitt often refers to. If this were the case it would be troubling enough, but I think that it goes deeper than that. I believe that this behavior is driven by something else, something that is both less complex in its meaning but more nefarious in its intent.
I believe that Mitt Romney lies to us because he does not think that we deserve the truth. He sees us collectively as creatures of limited capacity. Unable to grasp a truth that is larger and more complex than the caste to which we belong will allow us to fathom. He sees us (well, at least 47% of us…) as childlike and ignorant in the ways of the larger world in which he and those of his standing dwell. We are as a child who has asked him an inconvenient question about the existence of Santa Claus. He does not tell us the truth because it would serve no useful purpose in attaining that which he seeks. After all, why trouble our simple little minds with issues and concepts that we could not possibly understand?
If we could see ourselves from Mitt Romney’s perspective we would see ourselves in a dramatically different light; What we would see is that we are all just part of a larger investment vehicle for Mitt Romney. We are part of a commodity that is grown and then “harvested” for a profit. In point of fact; we are the most expensive and in his way of thinking, the most expendable part of that investment. Ask any executive and he or she will tell you that the most expensive component of running a profitable business is the workforce. (That is why the first and the most expedient way to bolster the bottom line, and as a result, a company’s correlative value, is always to trim the size of the workforce).
Mitt Romney excoriates us for having the unmitigated gall to feel that we should be entitled to anything as frivolous as food or shelter, or basic healthcare. But Mitt Romney is, himself, the absolute embodiment of the entitled class. He truly believes at a core level, that he is entitled to the Presidency. He believes, as does his wife, that we would be lucky if he would deign to make himself available to us as our President.
Know this: Mitt Romney is not a public servant. He has always been a member of an exclusive club. He has always been part of what passes for a “ruling class” in American Society. Mitt Romney does not, and never will, see himself as a candidate for this job. He doesn’t believe that he needs to ask us for this job that he wants because he feels… no, more than feels… Mitt Romney knows, as sure as he knows the number of his Swiss bank account, that he is entitled to that job.
Mitt Romney is an owner, a profiteer. His world is dictated by the cold, calculated terms of profit and loss. He does not see the Presidency of this country as a sacred charge that is granted to him by a nation of his fellow citizens. Mitt Romney sees the Presidency of the United States as a return on his investment. He can see the office and the country as a whole, in no other terms. Because you cannot spend your life seeing the average person merely as a component of a commodity that you own, a commodity that is acquired and then, at the proper time, “harvested” for profit, and then suddenly see those same people as constituents; as someone that he must answer to, as people that he aspires to serve.
But no one can truly take the measure of a man by his words alone. One must also take his actions into account. To that end I have provided a portion of Mitt Romney’s resume. The part that would actually correlate in any direct way to the job for which he (whether he knows it or not) is applying.
So what about that other gig? That gig being his one term as the Governor of Massachusetts. In point of fact; the only political office that Mitt has ever held in his entire life (No Senator. No congressman. No alderman. No community organizer. Hell, not even a neighborhood watch…). How did that single stint in public service go?
OK, look, I know this part is admittedly, statistical and boring. But boring though it may be, it is important nevertheless. So do a few jumping jacks, make yourself a cup of coffee and lets examine for a moment, the relevant work experience of applicant; Willard Mitt Romney _____________________________________________________________________________
Work Experience
Mitt Romney ran for governor of Massachusetts on a platform of promising more jobs, less debt, and smaller government. Here’s what Massachusetts got instead:
Regarding JOBS:
Romney: Mitt Romney claims the unemployment rate in Massachusetts fell during his tenure as governor, and that he created 40,000 jobs in his last year in office.
Reality: As the nation’s economy grew and the median income rose, under Romney, Massachusetts plummeted from 36th to 47th out of 50 states in job creation, and the median income declined.
Regarding TAXES:
Romney: “As governor I cut taxes 19 times and didn’t raise taxes.”
—Mitt Romney [Iowa debate, 8/11/2011]
Reality: As governor, Romney increased taxes and fees by as much as $750 million per year. [Factcheck.org, 1/31/08]
Regarding DEBT REDUCTION:
Romney: Mitt Romney claims that while governor of Massachusetts, he cut spending and balanced the budget.
Reality: Governor Romney left behind a $1 billion budget deficit for the next governor and saddled Massachusetts taxpayers with more debt per person than any other state.
Regarding OUTSOURCING OF JOBS:
Romney: “The idea that we have to see more and more products move from our shores to China is unacceptable.” —Mitt Romney [Detroit News, 9/5/11]
Reality: The Washington Post reports that as CEO of Bain Capitol, Mitt Romney advised companies that were “pioneers” in outsourcing jobs overseas. As governor, Romney drew from the same playbook and outsourced state jobs. Today, Romney has proposed eliminating all taxes on companies’ foreign profits—which would actually encourage companies to send jobs overseas.
Regarding MANUFACTURING:
Romney: “I will help usher in a revival in American manufacturing.” —Mitt Romney, 5/8/2012
Reality: Under Romney’s leadership, Massachusetts manufacturing declined by double the national rate, and was the third-worst overall in the country.
Legislative Failures
Romney issued 844 vetos as governor, the largest share of which were overturned by one or the other of the state houses. Late in Romney’s term, his prodigious number of vetos began to annoy even the Republicans in the legislature and he lost support among them too. Nevertheless, Romney defended the practice: “I know how to veto. I like vetoes. I’ve vetoed hundreds of spending appropriations as governor.”
Last year of term as Governor:
In 2006, his last year as governor, Romney spent all or part of 212 days out of state, laying the foundation for his anticipated presidential campaign. The cost of the Governor’s security detail for out-of-state trips increased from $63,874 in fiscal year 2005 to a cost of $103,365 in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2006. Romney’s use of state troopers for security during his campaign trips was criticized by former Governor Michael Dukakis, who never traveled with state troopers during his 1988 presidential run, and Mary Boyle of Common Cause who complained that “the people of Massachusetts are essentially funding his presidential campaign, whether they like it or not.”
A Romney spokesman noted that Romney did not accept a salary while he was Governor and that he paid for his personal and political travel, while the superintendent of the State Police pointed out that the Governor never requested the security and that the security detail followed the Governor on all trips. In some cases his statements made while campaigning elsewhere in the country came back to affect him in Massachusetts, such as when he caused offense by using the term “tar baby” in Iowa in reference to the potential pitfalls of taking responsibility for the Big Dig.
And under the catagory of highly suspicious and more than a little creepy:
At the end of Romney’s term, several of his staffers purchased the hard drives from their state-issued computers, and emails were deleted from the server. The amounts expended purchasing the drives came to nearly $100,000. Under the Massachusetts Public Records Law, the emails did not have to be made public but did have to be preserved. Terry Dolan, who worked as director of administration under Romney and several other governors, has said that scrubbing the servers was a common practice but that selling the hard drives was not. When news of the actions became widely known in 2011, a Romney spokesperson said that the purchase of the computer equipment “complied with the law and longtime executive branch practice.” State government officials and aides to Romney’s three predecessors as governor said that they did not know of any prior sales of hard drives to staffers. When questioned on the subject in 2011, Romney responded that he had not wanted the information to be available to “opposition research teams”.
Romney’s term ended January 4, 2007. Romney filed papers to establish a formal exploratory presidential campaign committee on his next-to-last day in office as governor. _____________________________________________________________________________
All in all, this makes for quite a… what’s the word… lets go with “remarkable”… yes, a remarkable Curriculum Vitae.
So, to continue with this convenient (and I think, apt) metaphor, let us imagine for a moment that we are the prospective employer in this scenario (because we are…) and that we are faced with the decision of whether or not to hire this applicant for our job opening (because we are…) – the job of being our Chief Executive, the man who would be charged with running our company efficiently and equitably and representing us and our interests to the entire world.
When all of the words and all of the actions are taken in to account, what are we to say to this applicant? Hmmm… I know! How about saying something that Mr Romney has himself said to many, many people over the years, but which, I venture, he has never actually heard addressed to him:
“Thanks for coming in Mr Romney. We’ll let you know…”