Governor Romney Is so Spineless — that he Pretended Not to Know the Name of the Olympic Event that His Wife’s Horse Is in

© 2012 Peter Free

 

26 July 2012

 

 

You think President Obama frequently lacks leadership spine? — Governor Romney seems to be even worse

 

Governor Romney’s interview with NBC’s Brian Williams last night saw him try to evade the “rich guy” implications of owning an Olympic horse.

 

Wannabe Commander in Chief, Mitt Romney, pretended not to know anything about the event the horse is competing in:

 

Brian Williams:    When is the event and . . . what happens?

Mitt Romney:       This is Ann’s sport.  I’m not even sure what day the sport goes on.  She will get the chance to see it.  I will not be watching the event.  I hope the horse does well.

 

© 2012 NBC Nightly News, Extended interview: Brian Williams speaks with Mitt Romney, NBC (25 July 2012) (quote occurs at the very beginning of the video)

 

Yeah, right:

 

You’re such an idiot that you don’t even know the name of the event you’ve presumably invested millions of dollars in?

 

Your wife means so little to you that you are disinterested in things that mean a lot to her?

 

You’re so afraid of American voters that you cannot be even a little honest about your accomplishments?

 

The only thing I took away from the quoted portion of Brian Williams’ interview is that Governor Romney is both cowardly and disingenuously misleading.

 

A lot like the current presidential office-holder frequently is.

 

 

Think about how “you” would have handled Williams’ question

 

This way, for example:

 

Ann and I are so excited about being sort of in the Olympics!

 

Ann is part owner of a horse with the exceptional talent to represent the United States in an equestrian event called “dressage.”  It’s kind of a horse ballet.  Ann tells me that it’s the most demanding of all the horse competitions.

 

It’s not exactly my cup of tea, sportswise, but Ann loves it.  And I love her.

 

So, we’ve invested a lot in trying to medal with Rafalca.  Jan Eberling’s been working and riding her for six years.  He’s done a phenomenal job.

 

I know it sounds childish, especially for someone my age, but I’ve got to admit that being even remotely associated with winning an Olympic medal would mean the world to Ann and me.  When I was a kid, I daydreamed of going to the Olympics.  Of course, I didn’t have the physical talent that America’s incredible athletes do.

 

But now, with Ann, Rafalca, and Jan, we’ve got a shot.  It’s a long one, of course.  We placed third at the U.S. team trials.  So medaling at the Games is going to be uphill.

 

But I’m stoked!  The preliminary Olympic round is on August 2nd.

 

Hopefully, American horse lovers will be pulling for the U.S. team!

 

 

Citation — for background on Rafalca, Jan Eberling, and dressage

 

Mary Pilon, Behind a Gifted Horse, a Powerful Part-Owner, New York Times (25 July 2012)

 

 

The moral? — There is nothing wrong with being wealthy enough to own a share of an Olympic horse

 

What is wrong is being so politically cowardly that one is afraid to admit one’s pride in being part of the Olympic Games.

 

I am relatively certain that Governor Romney does not have the up-front depth of character, and the backbone, to lead the United States any more ably than our disappointing president has.

 

Both men resort to secrecy to hide their doings.