by F. Grey Parker
I no longer think it's some of sort of exaggeration.
I am not being willfully hyperbolic.
I mean it.
There is evidence of it in every aspect of his life. The detachment that even his high level GOP water-carriers are beginning to admit to underscores more than simple awkwardness.
I don't think he's just isolated and out of touch anymore. Nor do I think this is merely a mild narcissistic disorder. He actually seems to possess no empathy whatsoever.
While everyone is currently debating his shady and even repulsive finances, his donor's stunning and elitist pronouncements, and his nearly uncountable outright lies (just read Steve Benen), we ought to be revisiting some of those stories we've heard about regarding his past.
I suggest that they were never properly discussed in the first place. Somehow, I think Romney's current status as modern American aristocrat coupled with the passage of time has clouded everyone's judgment.
Let's review the incidents which we actually know about (we can skip the "dog on the roof" although it is an important indicator). Let's also, for the sake of discussion, pretend that they were committed by some kid down the street. Furthermore, let's picture them happening now, in this day and age, and with contemporary standards of both civilized society and the law.
Ready?
Let's say that the kid down the street organized his buddies in a physical attack on a person he presumed to be homosexual. The attack involved removing the victims hair with a sharp pair of scissors.
Today, this would be called assault with a deadly weapon. It would also be called mob action. Those are just for starters under the law. If this occurred last week it would be national news no matter who the perpetrators were or where it happened. And it should be.
While everyone is currently debating his shady and even repulsive finances, his donor's stunning and elitist pronouncements, and his nearly uncountable outright lies (just read Steve Benen), we ought to be revisiting some of those stories we've heard about regarding his past.
I suggest that they were never properly discussed in the first place. Somehow, I think Romney's current status as modern American aristocrat coupled with the passage of time has clouded everyone's judgment.
Let's review the incidents which we actually know about (we can skip the "dog on the roof" although it is an important indicator). Let's also, for the sake of discussion, pretend that they were committed by some kid down the street. Furthermore, let's picture them happening now, in this day and age, and with contemporary standards of both civilized society and the law.
Ready?
Let's say that the kid down the street organized his buddies in a physical attack on a person he presumed to be homosexual. The attack involved removing the victims hair with a sharp pair of scissors.
Today, this would be called assault with a deadly weapon. It would also be called mob action. Those are just for starters under the law. If this occurred last week it would be national news no matter who the perpetrators were or where it happened. And it should be.
Does he deny it? Yes and no. He pretends not to remember the event so many others do while also issuing an "apology." Does he seem very much troubled by it? No. Does the fact that anyone cares about it appear to confuse him? Yes. Yes it does.
Now, picture the kid slightly older. He has a peculiar idea of fun. His new hobby is to wear a state trooper's uniform and drive around with a badge and a light on his car pulling over unsuspecting targets. Why would he do this? Think about it. He's stalking other human beings in order to provoke a fear response. It appeals to him.
This is called impersonating a law officer. It is also called intimidation. Again, this is just for starters under the law.
These are not episodes of someone being caught up in the moment, losing control in acts of youthful exuberance, or making split-second errors of judgment.
These are premeditated uses of varying degrees of force designed to elicit fear in others because he gets off on it. These are the textbook power games of a predator mind.
Being caught engaging in either of these behaviors in 2012 would almost certainly result in felony charges.
This is abnormal. This is extreme. This is not someone we would want near our small children or dating our daughter. This is not someone we would want walking through our yard. This is someone I'd be wary of when leaving my pets unattended... if it were the kid down the street.
It is no secret that the world of high finance literally draws a much higher ratio of legitimately diagnosed, high-functioning sociopaths than appear in the general population. They do well there.
The fact that Mitt Romney is especially clever and never graduated to other more visibly dangerous forms of torture is most likely due to his having channeled his urges into such business. He has excelled at every mercenary scheme. Instead of skinning cats, he guts corporations. After all, he still gets the thrill of his kills.
To risk electing a man like that to the Presidency is to take the chance that a living, breathing monster without any sense of ordinary humanity would actually be the most powerful person on the face of the Earth.
It is too much to risk.
Now, one more time, imagine it's that weird kid down the street with a history of frightening your friends and neighbors. Would you, by any stretch, accept the prospect of him being President?
Say what you will about Barack Hussein Obama. At least he's provably human.
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