I Once Visited Third Base

by Norman HorowitzBarry Switzer was a famous football coach. A Chicago Tribune article once opened with a quote from Switzer: "Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple."To me, this fits Mitt Romney perfectly.I write this out of a sense of frustration in that Romney comes from "the landed gentry" and cannot "pull off" his portrayal of being an "everyman."I was not raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, as Mitt was.I was raised in the Bronx.I did not attend Stanford for a year, as Mitt did.I was not in France for 2 1/2 years as a Mormon missionary.I entered the United States Air Force during the Korean War.I did not earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Brigham Young University or a joint JD and MBA from Harvard University in 1975 as a Baker Scholar.I attended the RCA Institute studying electronics and worked at a minimum wage job to be able to support myself.I did not enter the management consulting business, which led Mitt to a position at Bain & Company.I got a clerical job at Screen Gems International.I did not serve as CEO of the company.Maybe that's why I do not oppose mandatory carbon caps known as "cap and trade"...And why I do not favor increased domestic oil drilling...And why I do not support a managed bankruptcy of the American automobile industry...And why I do not favor getting tougher with China on trade issues...And why I get annoyed when Romney says:

The American culture promotes personal responsibility, the dignity of work, the value of education, the merit of service, devotion to a purpose greater than self, and, at the foundation, the pre-eminence of the family.

The dignity of work? Really? How would he know?