Wednesday, July 25, 2012

This morning aides to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told the British press that he would forge stronger ties with the United Kingdom because unlike Obama he understands the "shared history" of "an Anglo-Saxon heritage."

Since this comment is being wildly misconstrued by the media -- even being painted as racist -- I'd like to take this opportunity to defend it.

Let's look at this with a dose of common sense. I don't think anyone would disagree that only the people born within a specific group will truly appreciate their shared heritage. Clearly this works both ways: as an African, for instance, President Obama has an advantage with the African nations. He's far better equipped than Romney in discussions about AIDS in impoverished nations, or the Isley Brothers. I don't think it's farfetched, then, to say that only Anglo-Saxons will truly "get" the importance of NATO, or what that little flying Martian was doing in The Flintstones.

Likewise, an outsider might not understand how we behave in a civilized society. His behavior might be seen as bizarre, or his performance might not be up to par. While this might not be troublesome on a tinier platform, it's vitally important on a world stage.

For instance, if the British ambassador saw Mr. Romney and his family at Best Buy and said, "Hey, do you people work here?" he wouldn't have a problem with it. I'm not so sure about the Obama clan.

The Tallis Scholars Choir might not be everybody's cup of tea, but it isn't going to help international relations if they entertain at the White House and the president is overheard to exclaim, "Man, this shit is wack!"

If Romney was having tea at the Ritz and they brought over though cute little sandwiches, he might say, "My golly, these are delicious!" Anyone unfamiliar with this ritual might yell, "Hey, who stole ma mothafuckin' crusts?"

In the end, as I say, it just comes down to common sense. When you're looking for a good leader, you look for somebody who knows how things work. And if we can't trust a man to move jobs and money out of America, how can we trust him at all?

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