Let's face it, I don't like Mitt Romney. I strongly disagree with those who say he is a nice man.
Two things most turned me off: (1) his endless lies about Obama's record, and (2) his not-so-subtle appeals to the extremists, and all the while trying to be something different than Sarah Palin or Rep. Bachmann.
I mulled over the matter of whether he was a bully for some time because I try to write a reasonable blog.
I thought back to my school days, six decades ago.
Unfortunately, boys hav e a way of picking on those who seem weak, unable to defend themselves, or--God help them--seem gay.
We had one boy who usually led in these efforts. He was one of the wealthiest kids in our school, spoiled beyond measure, handesome and bright. But somehow his advantages never seemed enough for him. The incident I most recall was when he led an attack on a janitor who was not that bright but had a good heart. I thought then that I had seen the face of real evil.
The janitor was fired and a story was made up to cover up the incident. Many, many years later at a meeting in another city, someone brought up the matter and recited the cover story. I told them they were all wrong and gave the true story. The guy who brought up the matter sheepishly admitted that I told the truth. ( He was a millionaire, but I don't know if that is relevant.) Later, after I was gone, he told everyone that I was completely wrong.
Anyhow, Bully Number One never showed remorse in any of the incidents I witnessed. He seemed to take great pleasure in hurting others.
There was Bully Number 2 in our school. His father died a hero, and he was poor and lacking a father figure. He was of average intelligence. He too hurt people and seemed to get some momentary satisfaction from it. But then there was a measure of remorse.
In my next life, I wll study psycholoogy if I can remember that resolve. Not all bullies
are borderline psychopaths. But those who enjoy hurting others and never have remorse are. I've seen more than a few in a fairly long life
Romney seems to fit this classification. He was so little disturbed by what he did to the weeping gay student that he cannot remember the incident. This speaks volumes.
He had no compassion for the dog who suffered atop his wagon as the family drove to Canada. Never a second thought. He said the dog loved the air.
At Bain Capital, he shut down factoriesw, movbed jobs overseas, and burdened some firms with incredible debt. We all remember the entrepreneur in a recent movie who did this and was incapable of having any concern for the people he hurt.
Now he wants to give any employer the power to deny contraceptive coverage to female employees.
I don't know what makes this guy tick, but he is too deeply flawed to be our president.