By Beom Joon Baek
Mitt Romney, after finishing
degrees from both Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, went to work
in Boston Consulting Group (BCG). After co-founding Bain Capital, a private
equity firm, he went on to become a multi-millionaire, CEO of Salt Lake City
Winter Olympic games, and governor of Massachusetts. He is now running for the
presidential election, and although many doubt him for various reasons,
following the trend, he will be the one against Obama this November. I never
heard about Mitt Romney, nor the term ‘private equity’, before I read about him
on Wall Street Journal.
When I first
encountered that word, private equity, I did not know what that meant, nor did
I know how it is done, but I did know one thing; you sure can make one big pile
of money. From that day, I could see the rows of people who decided to follow the
steps of Mitt Romney and various other businessmen; graduate with a major in
business or computer engineering, work for a technological firm for 5 years, enroll
in a Harvard MBA/JD joint course or an MBA in Hong Kong University, get
recruited in a major consulting firm(I am looking at you, McKinsey &
Company!), move to an private equity firm (probably Blackstone or Goldman
Sachs), set up a private firm specially devoted to technological management,
and when the time is right, run for an office.
The story of Mitt Romney is indeed
a special one, as he is from a privileged family (his father being the United
States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1969 to 1973), from a
privileged neighborhood, from a prestigious school. And one might say, he is
the perfect role for the president! He has all the experience needed, so I’m
sure he’ll do one hell of a job. If that was your opinion, I beg to differ.
One first perception that one gets
after doing some research on Mitt Romney is the fact that he and his father are
possibly the same person. Like father, like son they say, but in the case of
the Romneys, the parallel seems too uncanny. To list some queer similarities:
l Both
served as Mormon missionaries in Europe and considered the experiences
formative.
l Both
pursued high school sweethearts single-mindedly until the women agreed to marry
them several years later, then had families with four or five children.
l Both
had very successful careers in business and became known for turning around
failing companies or organizations. Both presided over a stake in the LDS
Church.
l Both
achieved their first elected position at age 55, as Republican governor of a
Democratic-leaning state.
l The
two bear a close physical resemblance at similar ages and both have been said
to "look like a president".
l Both
staged their first presidential run in the year they turned 60.
l Both
were considered suspect by ideological conservatives within the Republican
Party.
Their uncanny
similarities point out that Mitt Romney might be dominated by his father’s legacy
and that his actions are like what George W. Bush to his father: an act of
proving better than his father.
Mitt Romney
might be having oedipal complex as we know. In a $50,000-per-plate fund raiser,
Mitt Romney said that 47% of Americans are “dependent upon
government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a
responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health
care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it.” This 47% comment goes directly
against the values hold by his father. As one political comedian puts it, Mitt
Romney could not even get a vote from his father. Is it an act of ignorance, or
an act of defiance over his father? Whether it might have been, this complex he
has towards his father hinders his road to presidency. It renders him uncommunicative
towards the general public. Sorry, Mr. Romney, you’re not that good enough to
be a president.
No comments:
Post a Comment