This is not to suggest that those who are either born to wealth -- (West Virginia Sen. John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, or Colorado Representative Jared Polis) or those who have amassed a fortune on their own (Cal. Rep. Darryl Issa, Wisc. Senator Herb Kohl or former F. Rep. Alan Grayson) are incapable of relating to people who are not "to the manor born." Most people succeed in politics precisely because they relate well to people; because voters sense that -- to paraphrase Bill Clinton -- they "feel our pain." With of Mitt Romney, however, one wonders whether he has a clue; whether he understands that while the majority of Americans don't begrudge him being wealthy, we do wish he'd show sensitivity to the fact that most people aren't.
Years ago, comedian Steve Martin did a Saturday Night Live sketch that puts Mitt Romney's cluelessness into satiric perspective:
You can be a millionaire and never pay taxes! You can be a millionaire and never pay taxes! You say, 'Steve, how can I be a millionaire and never pay taxes?' Well, I'll tell 'ya: first, get a million dollars . . ."
Or as Mitt Romney might say, "You can always borrow it from your parents . . ."
-2012 Kurt F. Stone
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