By: RmuseJuly 30th, 2012
After eight years of the Bush administration sullying this country’s
reputation around the world, President Obama faced a Herculean task of
convincing the world that the days of American arrogance and domineering
were over. Indeed, ending cowboy diplomacy and American pretentiousness
earned the President respect and admiration America deserves as a world
leader in the community of nations. In the race for the White House,
presumptive Republican nominee Willard Romney is proving to the world,
and America, that he will continue the arrogance characterized by George
W. Bush that portrayed all Americans negatively.
In 1958, a political novel and subsequent 1963 movie portrayed the
innate arrogance and pretentiousness Romney is displaying on his world
fundraising tour, and unfortunately, the American people are suffering
same behavior as Willard defines himself as The Ugly American at home.
In the novel, a foreign journalist says, “
A mysterious change seems
to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They are
pretentious, they’re loud and ostentatious.” Romney certainly lived
up to the Ugly American portrayal during his visit to England, and
although the level of arrogance was embarrassing to America, it is the
real Romney that the American people have come to know over the past six
months. Obviously, not all wealthy elitist Americans stoop to Romney’s
level of condescension and preeminence, but his actions are borne of
arrogance associated with his wealth, religious upbringing, sense of
entitlement, and apparent feeling of superiority.
By now, Romney’s
embarrassing behavior is well-known and apparently knows no end. After
insulting the British people, he
blasted London Mayor Boris Johnson as “
an eccentric, odd fellow” whose public attack on Romney was characterized as “
unbecoming and an indication of his bias towards President Obama.”
Whether or not Mr. Johnson is biased toward the President is of no
consequence, because he was reacting to Romney’s arrogance and disregard
for the British people. As it turns out, there is an international bias
towards President Obama and it is his foreign policy acumen that earns
high marks throughout the world. Romney is fond of portraying the
President as “
angering America’s allies and emboldening its enemies,” but a Pew Research poll tells a different story altogether.
The Pew Foundation released results of a
global survey
in June after soliciting opinions from several countries around the
world. The survey asked if the countries have “some” or a “great deal
of” trust in President Obama, and the numbers were overwhelmingly
positive. For example, in Britain, 80% of people trust President Obama
compared with 16% who trusted George W. Bush and in fact, all countries
surveyed have much higher approval ratings of America in 2012 than they
did in 2008, when Bush president. In some countries like China, Russia,
and Arab countries, the President’s approval dropped indicating that he
is not emboldening America’s enemies, and Arab countries complained the
President has not been fair dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian issue,
and that he uses drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan to go after
terrorists. In direct contrast to Romney’s assertions, President Obama
lost some of his global popularity for being too pro-Israeli and too
hawkish.
However, the President’s popularity aside, it is Romney’s arrogance
that causes him trouble on the world stage and at home. The disregard
Romney displayed toward the British is typical of his attitude toward
98% of Americans who are not members of the wealthy elite class. His
proposals exemplify that disregard for portraying average Americans as
odd and eccentric for expecting government to work for them, and not
against them, and it is not just Romney’s policies, it is his sense of
entitlement to special advantages average Americans are prohibited from
enjoying because they are not in the same income class as Willard.
His refusal to release his tax returns are because they are toxic to his candidacy, but his wife’s
comments epitomize arrogance and superiority Romney is notorious for. In remarks during an interview with ABC News, Mrs. Willard said, “
we’ve given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and about how we live our life,” and the phrase “
you people”
characterizes Romney’s arrogant superiority toward the average American
who will suffer under a Romney presidency. For the wealthy though,
Romney’s attitude is entirely different and he proves it with a tax plan
providing $6.5 trillion in tax cuts for the 1%, with the lion’s share
going to the top 1/10
th of the 1%. The stunning aspect of
Romney’s attitude is that he cannot comprehend why average Americans
might feel put-upon for being asked to pay higher taxes to support the
wealthy, or that they think the wealthy should pay the same tax rate as
the middle class.
A recent poll confirmed that Americans overwhelmingly think President
Obama understands Americans better than Willard 60% to 30%, and it is
down to his concern for all the American people. David Axelrod, the
President’s chief political strategist said the people like President
Obama because he is “
accessible to me, someone who understands me, and someone I can relate to.”
The President has spent his entire term working for Americans at every
income level despite Republican obstruction, and Romney makes no secret
that his only priority is helping the richest Americans at the expense
of the rest of the population. This election will not be a popularity
contest by any means, but the ability to relate to, and attempt to help,
average Americans struggling through the Republican-caused economic
malaise gives the President an advantage.
For the past few days, pundits and media-types have enjoyed what they call “
Romney’s gaffes”
as if they are aberrations, but they are not gaffes, or mistakes, or
miscues; they are the real Romney. His penchant for lying, secrecy,
pretentiousness, and arrogance are who the man is and one thing is
certain; whether he is visiting foreign countries or running for the
presidency at home, Willard Romney is The Ugly American.
No comments:
Post a Comment