I'm sorry that I'm not sorry. Mitt Romney has demanded an apology from the President for attacks that he deems to be too personal, although it appears as though he is fudging the truth, and even members of his own party are calling for him to release prior years' worth of tax data because it seems to everyone with an inkling of sense that he has something to hide.
I'm not sorry Mitt is campaigning on the strength of his business experience which means his history in business, the entire crux of his campaign, is open to scrutiny.
I'm not sorry that even if some of what is being said is untrue or false that it is being said. Most of what Mitt and his party say is untrue or false. Remember when Obamacare included death panels? Remember when Obama wasn't born in America? Remember when John Kerry didn't actually fight in Vietnam? All of the sudden this man want an apology because he says he left Bain in 1999 while internal documents list him as the CEO until 2002? I'm sorry that I'm not sorry, Mitt.
Here is what I am sorry about. I am sorry that the American political system is broken. I am sorry that while most Americans including myself are worried about our country's future, both candidates and both political parties are honed in on the past. I've said repeatedly that - depending on the candidate - the Republican party is permanently rooted in either the 1780's, 1950's, or 1980's, although lately the unrelenting and detrimental opposition to any taxes means that the party doesn't fit as neatly into those categories as I suggested.
Now, President Obama is attacking Mitt Romney for his actions or lack thereof 13 years ago. I certainly think that Romney's tenure at Bain should be scrutinized as it is the crux of his campaign, but at a time when I worry about the country's future, I would like both candidates to focus on that future, not the past.
In my last post, I lamented that American was not forward thinking, using the complete disinterest in space exploration as a lens through which to view our nation's lack of foresight. But what better to illustrate the backwards thinking of our politicians than the politicians themselves? I'm going to vote for Obama because I think Mitt Romney lacks both morals and ideas, but is his best strategy to bash the man's record 13 years ago? In 1999 I was 14 and had never heard of Bain. In the time between now and then I've learned enough about to know that there are way better reasons NOT to vote for Mitt Romney than his tenure at Bain.
Similarly, the Republican mantra has become to repeal Obamacare which was passed two years ago and deemed Constitutional just weeks ago. I grant you that two years is more recent than 13, but the whole Republican worldview is decades old, and while Republicans have no problem holding symbolic votes to repeal Obamacare in the House, they haven't offered any alternative to it, probably because it was born in a conservative think tank, and Republicans are noticeably lacking good ideas.
I want a debate between two men who offer me competing visions of the future, not alternative scapegoats from the past. I want someone to assuage my fear that America is losing our place as the world's leader by telling me what we can do to fix our nation's problems. I may not agree with all of that person's ideas, but I'd love to hear from someone who has them. Surely that politician is out there, right? I mean I have ideas, so surely there are a handful of politicians who have them also. I know President Obama has ideas, but the nature of a broken system forces him to launch attacks on the Mitt Romney of 1999. Mitt Romney probably has ideas too. I'd wager they are bad ideas, but he probably has some. I'd like to hear them.
I am a nostalgic person and a history nerd. I love the past, but I understand that while the past has shaped the present, it is the present that will shape the future. So in the present I would like ideas for America's future, not a rehashing of America's past.
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