Two of a Kind

Is it just me, or are there others out there who have noticed the parallels between Mitt Romney and George Herbert Walker Bush? AKA Poppy.

Both men are the sons of fathers who walked away from business success to enter politics. George Romney was the self made man who ended up running American Motors and being very well paid for it. Prescott Bush, with help from a father, uncle, and father-in-law, was a big deal on wall street. George would end up as a three term governor of Michigan, while Prescott was a two term U.S. Senator from Connecticut.

While I find little to praise in the political philosophy of either parent, both George Romney and Prescott Bush did have a core set of beliefs. Neither man played the race card to get elected, and Bush was willing to vote to censure Joe McCarthy when he was very popular among Republican voters in his home state. Both men seemed to have a sense that they owed something back to their states and to their country.

The sons, however, are both cut from a very different cloth. Neither George H. W. Bush nor Mitt Romney have any discernible core belief system. They both blow in the wind, taking whatever political course that will lead to electoral success. The famous wimp factor that dodged H.W. had more to do with a perception that he was Ronald Reagan yapping little lap dog, coming whenever he was called, rather than any perceived lack of personal bravery. Both men seem to have a sense of entitlement. They were born to politics, are wealthy, get what they want, and so they should be president in the natural course of events. It's a right they were born to. Both are willing to go the smear and hate route to get elected. So far, that's only worked for H.W. The clocks still ticking for Mittens.