Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
From the Twitter feed of BuzzFeed's Andrew Kacznyski comes this picture of Mitt Romney, then an undergraduate at Stanford University, participating in a counterprotest against students opposing the Vietnam War.
I have to say I like this. All of our presidential campaigns just end up relitigating the Sixties anyway. Why not go in with someone who drew his line in the sand then?
There's something else to applaud here too. The early lives of our last three presidents have each been representative of boomer self-indulgence, with drugs, drink, or women functioning as detours on their road to greatness. Yet here is Mitt Romney, 19 years of age, hair combed, burnishing a blazer, holding up what has to be the most temperate sentiment ever emblazoned on posterboard. What we see here is a young adult, not a perpetual adolescent exploiting the cocoon that would have been available to the son of a wealthy businessman-cum-politician on one of America's most elite college campuses.
On the left, I'm sure that's just taken as one more indication that Romney has been an elitist square since he was a zygote. But for those of us who believe that the arrested development of young men is one of the more nefarious social trends passed down by the boomer generation (as evinced in its successor generation by a President prone to ponderous "love notes" that read like rejected letters to the editor of the New Yorker), this is a breath of fresh air.
I'm voting for the adult.
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Comments:
Dec '10
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
Kind of reminds me of this clip from the movie PCU.
Jun '10
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
I'm old enough to remember the Late 60s college anti-war protests. I was a grade-school kid who lived a few blocks from a major university, and the protests and strikes were big entertainment for me. You just had to stay far enough away (and upwind, in case of tear gas.) There were also a few counter protests (by other college students.) The counter-protestors were seldom in favor of the draft or the war. Obviously, they weren't enlisting in the military either. The counter-protesters were protesting the multiple disruptions of their education. You could see why people who actually wanted to get an education would be upset by the chaos and the cancelled classes. For the anti-war protesters, actually getting their diplomas didn't seem high on their list of priorities. Not as high as getting high.
Feb '12
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
Adult indeed. Some say the GOP is the daddy party and the Dems are the mommy party. I'd say the GOP is the adult party (putting civility, decency, and duty first) and the Dems are the baby party (putting themselves first and making others pay for it).
Anyone notice that Romney looks smashing, too?
Aug '10
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
This was posted on facebook by libertarianism.org about an hour ago:
Dec '10
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
Misthiocracy
This was posted on facebook by libertarianism.org about an hour ago:
0 minutes ago
The problem is a population that refuses to act like adults.
Aug '10
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
Troy writes: "I'm voting for the adult."
Would make a nice bumper sticker, don't you think?
Apr '11
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
That's a real rebel! Not the dashiki wearing, sandal shod, flea infested hippie or yippie of the day. Being a long-hair at Berkley wasn't radical; the Beatles, professors, and even young professionals were doing that schtick then.
May '10
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
I love this! I think this will resonate with average, non-OWS people.
I'd love to see the Obama campaign (just like they did with Seamus and Julia) show how out of touch they are by trying to hold this against Romney. They'd love to paint him as the lady (the 'Nazi Cow' that we were supposed to hate) in "A Field of Dreams" who supposedly had two 1950's and went straight to the 70's. Nope. Mitt "experienced the 60's" -- just in his own way.
Edited on May 8, 2012 at 10:15pmNov '11
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
I 'm with you, Troy; thanks for this!
Apr '11
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
I'm generally unmoved by the thought of a Romney presidency, but...
What. A. Hottie.
Jun '10
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
concerned citizen: I love this! I think this will resonate with average, non-OWS people.
I'd love to see the Obama campaign (just like they did with Seamus and Julia) show how out of touch they are by trying to hold this against Romney. They'd love to paint him as the lady (the 'Nazi Cow' that we were supposed to hate) in "A Field of Dreams" who supposedly had two 1950's and went straight to the 70's. Nope. Mitt "experienced the 60's" -- just in his own way. · 6 hours ago
Edited 6 hours ago
Well said.
Feb '12
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
Misthiocracy
This was posted on facebook by libertarianism.org about an hour ago:
21 hours ago
In practice, this is how things have worked out in many ways, but I would argue that when the GOP (not conservatives) wants to be your father, it is straying from conservative principles.
Feb '11
Re: Mitt Romney, Athwart the Baby Boom Generation
Leporello: Adult indeed. Some say the GOP is the daddy party and the Dems are the mommy party. I'd say the GOP is the adult party (putting civility, decency, and duty first) and the Dems are the baby party (putting themselves first and making others pay for it).
Anyone notice that Romney looks smashing, too? · 22 hours ago
Worse than babies - teenagers.