
Mitt Romney boasts that he is a self-made multi-millionaire, assuming voters like the idea of having one run the country. But self-made millionaires are a mean and hungry lot whose lives are spent in the relentless pursuit of money and destruction of competitors. Herbert Hoover was one, made his fortune in shipping and mining, and brought the cold killer instincts of a CEO to the Oval Office. When he saw WW I vets occupying what was called a Hooverville in Washington, DC, asking only for a promised bonus to help them survive the Great Depression, he called in the army. General Douglas MacArthur obligingly drove them out and destroyed their pathetic tent city. With his business man's view of the economy, Herbert Hoover intended to let the Great Depression run its course.
Mitt "I'm-a-business-man-so-I know-how-the-economy-works" Romney, who raked in millions through financial dealing, stashing lots of cash in offshore bank accounts, offers the same solution—let foreclosures run their course, millions of people booted out of their homes and into poverty. He doesn't worry about the poor either—the nation heard him say so—because they have a "safety net." What can Romney in his luxury mansions, know of safety nets or the people trapped in them, safety nets he intends to destroy, by the way?
We've also had presidents who inherited their wealth: Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt. John F. Kennedy. Their fathers and grandfathers may have been killer sharks but the sons never needed such instincts and when they turned to politics they had an entirely different world view. Once Ted Kennedy was stopped by a question tossed his way.
"Hey Ted, ya ever worked a day in your life?"
"Nope," he relied
His working class questioner smiled, "Ya ain't missed nothin."
If Mitt Romney had any sense he wouldn't boast of having made his fortune by himself, even if true. (His father was wealthy.) But this is only another symptom of his insulation from the Ninety-nine Percent, betrayed by a stream of callous remarks:
"I like firing people,"
"Ten thousand dollar bet?"
"Corporations are people."
"I'm not concerned about the poor."
"Let the business cycle run its course."
Romney's debate and speech coaches are doing their best to prevent more such revelations about the kind of president he'd be.
Lotsa luck.