Mitt and relating to others?

Actually, I can relate to Mitt Romney very well, though my family was not wealthy. My father did know both George Romney and J. Willard Marriot, George's best friend, and the person Mitt is named after. Mitt worked at odd jobs to earn some spending money, and did chores while growing up. He served a mission for 30 months starting in July 1966, and had no special priviledges. That is just like me. He attended BYU and married his childhood sweetheart. They lived in a basement apartment in Provo while he completed school. He graduated from BYU in 1971, just as I did.

I don't see the "silver spoon" or priviledges of wealth in his growing up. Can I relate to someone like President Obama, living outside of the United States during his formative years, surrounded by people who neither liked nor understood America, as a radical, pot-smoking, angry young man? I certainly cannot.

In this case it's pure politics. People are repeating talking points put out by campaign strategists. The strategists suggest the thought that Mitt Romney can't relate to average Americans because he never had to struggle financially and those who want to believe he can't relate will embrace the thought. It seems like when it comes to politics people will convince themselves of anything if it puts their candidate at an advantage.

you can relate on some issues of course with pretty much anybody - there will always be common ground. but do I, a single mom struggling just to make ends meet think that mitt (or obama) understands what that feels like - what it's like to wonder how to feed your family, or how scary it can be to think 'we'll fix that broken bone and figure out how to pay for it later', or worry about how your going to fix that roof that was damaged in the last storm when your insurance company denies the claim, or.......not a chance. they've never had those types of worries or problems. they've never had to deal with that side of life.

but do I think one might be able to empathize a little better than the other, or that one might WANT to understand better than the other, or that one might want to help alleviate those types of problems for people even though they've never experienced them.....maybe.

but when push comes to shove -- when I'm standing all alone in the voting booth what is really going to matter is do I think one can do a better job for america than the other. do I think one might pay better attention to the national debt than the other based on their records. that one might look @foreign aide with the budget in mind - or the american people. that one might consider balancing america's import/export deficit.

well...to that there is a resounding yes.

all one has to do is look @the record....what has obama done for the nation in 4 years - what is better and what is worse and which column is bigger...and what did mitt do in mass......for me it's an easy call.

Its true, I mean if I cant relate to someone, I dont want anything to do with them.

Thats why I told Warren Buffet to shove off when he tried to give me personalized business advice. I cant relate to that guy! I feel more comfortable getting advice from someone as poor as me. Seems easier to relate to.

ie: People are idiots. They want a mascot, not someone who can actually better the situation. If mitt isnt relateable because he has only ever had one wife, runs successful business, and has money...... oh wait a minute, whats the problem here???

i think both romney and the president are out of touch.

obama, as an "empathizer" (as the first commenter posted), is terrible for the attitude change needed by many young americans. why is it the presidents job to pretend like he can "feel our pain". the role of the president is to provide leadership and instill confidence in the people while enacting legislature that is not political in nature. obama is a joke

romney is falling into the trap of trying to be "everyman". unfortunately the presidential election is merely a popularity contest. he should be praised for his success in private equity because that takes managerial, tactical, and economical expertise. his firm invested in businesses that were underperforming and cut the fat to make them highly profitable. that is how free market econ works. that being said, i think he too is a bad choice for president due to his record as a less-than-principaled moderate republican.

i guess we shall wait til 2016 to see if we can fix this mess.

Mitt has " rich elites syndrome". Nothing wrong with that. Unless you have to mingle with the lower peasants. Presidents do. He should not become the savior of the world. He wont do it. He will save his world.

Success should not be penalized. We should encourage it. By the way, what company did Obama run ? What was his experience - community organizing ?

Many of our political leaders have had silver spoons; being successful is an asset to leadership.

LOL, Obama has no business experience and he seems to think he is an expert on the economy. The sheep that worship "The One" don't seem to connect the two.

It's all about empathy ... some have it and some don't ... Mitt doesn't ... !