I daily give gratitude for Mitt Romney. Because he's such a poor candidate.
More precisely, because he's one-sixth of a candidate. And therefore almost painfully easy pickin's.
Why one-sixth? Here we come to my thesis, about which, once upon a time, I wrote a book, but never mind that. The general notion is this: we basically do three things in our lives. We pursue goals (our strategic self), we participate in community (our social self), and we search for meaning in that aspect of ourselves I call the Depth Dimension.
So: strategy (the Objective Domain), social interaction (the Social Domain), and meaning, values, that sort of thing (the Depth Dimension).
All three domains matter. All three domains are aptitudes, or if you prefer activities, by which we measure a person.
Now let's look at Mister Mitt through this lens ...
In the Social Domain, he's just this side of Asperger's. (Think borderline Asperger's, with really good teeth.) Somewhere between awkward and inept.
How about the Depth Dimension? Here he appears to be a Big Zero. He's certainly not a man of steadfast values. He appears to be ready to invent whatever values he thinks it will take to win. Romneycare yesterday, gone tomorrow. He is also plainly willing to flat-out lie if he believes it will help his cause. This is a man with no center, no gravitas. His Depth Dimension is like Philadelphia. When you get there, there's no there there. As for the depth of his character, here he's a total cipher -- and that's putting the best possible spin on it. The truth is he appears to be totally devoid of depth. Kinda like, well, a robot. Corporations are people, my friend.
But now we come to his saving grace: the Objective Domain, the home of strategy. This is the Mittster at his best: he's the man who knows how to get things done, the man who will save the economy. Right? Right?
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