Governor Mitt Romney’s Unwillingness to Follow the Rules of the Second Presidential Debate Says Something Disquieting about His Character — a President Cannot Govern Like a CEO

© 2012 Peter Free

 

17 October 2012

 

 

A small but revealing irritant — the “I’m too important to follow rules” principle

 

I doubt that the second 2012 presidential debate last night changed voters’ minds.  But I did notice that Governor Romney seems to display the top One Percent’s characteristic unwillingness to play by the rules.

 

Did you register how often he talked over moderator Candy Crowley’s attempts to keep the town hall on its agreed upon timeline?  He acted as if his campaign had not agreed to structure that it had.

 

Some post-debate commentators seemed to think that Governor Romney’s repeated trampling of moderator Crowley’s attempt to keep the debate on track had something to do with disrespect for women.  But I don’t think so.

 

I suspect Governor Romney is just one of those people who thinks that rules are okay for everybody else, just not him.

 

 

Why this matters — obedience to rules keeps society functioning (sort of)

 

Those of us from less privileged backgrounds recognize that rules are important because they enforce fairness.

 

For example, we recently saw how dismayed American football fans were at the incompetence of the replacement referees earlier this season.  The referees’ rule-violating calls completely changed the principles of the game, turning it into a form of unpredictable chaos.

 

Societally, most thoughtful people recognize that without police, the Earth’s human scum would be in charge.

 

Last night, Mendacious Mitt seemed to think that he should be allowed to repeatedly trample on every one of the President’s comments, no matter how far outside the agreed upon time limit or content limitations he had to go.

 

 

Would Governor Romney’s alpha dog style work as President?

 

Probably not.  People with fiefdoms (like Congress members) do not like cooperating with someone who acts like a self-entitled king.

 

Effective presidents have to combine the ability to threaten with companion skills in persuasion, education, and oily cajolery.

 

 

Regarding disrespect — Governor Romney forgets his place, he is not yet the Commander in Chief

 

Even granted my severe (and chronic) criticisms of President Obama’s performance in office, he is still entitled to the respect that his office and its horrific challenges demand.

 

When Governor Romney said to the President last night, “Let me give you some advice” (regarding the Chinese character of the President’s alleged pension stock portfolio), he did so in a tone that offended even me.

 

Governor Romney is not yet President.  He has not yet earned the office by being voted into it.

 

He also (disturbingly) appears to have no idea the back-breaking demands that the presidency brings with it.  When Mendacious Mitt repeatedly says that “I will” (do this and that), he forgets that the American State is deliberately set up to prevent presidents from wielding anything close to that kind of power.

 

When Governor Romney spoke so disrespectfully to the man who has held presidential office (during some of this nation’s most challenging times), he cemented my conclusion that he is not worthy to become Commander in Chief.

 

His:

 

(even Obama-exceeding) arrogance,

 

lack of forward-seeing imagination,

 

unremitting mendacity,

 

and

 

his contempt for people whom he dislikes

 

combine to make him unlikely to succeed in carrying out his (mostly unspecified) ideas — even to the limited degree that President Obama has his.

 

 

The moral? — Last night, Governor Romney finally managed to foster a dislike for him (in me)

 

I do not like arrogant rule breakers, self-entitled cheaters, incorrigible dissemblers, and blatantly disrespectful pretenders.

 

After last night’s debate, I preponderantly decided that Governor Romney’s professional character appears to cobble together virtually everything I detest in unethical, self-important and arrogant people.

 

There are differences between confidence and conceit, inspiring presence and simulation, and moral strength and simple stone throwing.  Governor Romney’s political character lands at the wrong end of each spectrum.

 

Genuine substance, especially that already spotlighted on the national stage, does not need to cheat and dissemble.  The fact that Governor Romney cannot wean himself of his Pretender’s flaws reveals how little he has to substantively offer the nation.

 

What a mess — at least for those of us who are disturbed by this nation’s virtually complete absence of genuinely competent leadership.