Romney Will Say Anything

I didn't realize how ripe of a take-down there was awaiting Mitt “Robme” Romney, but it's all out there just waiting for someone to put it all together...

Mr. Romney claims that he will create 12 million jobs during the next 4 years if only we elect him as president. He doesn't say how he'll create the jobs, just elect him, sit back, and find out...

Nail #1: Since he won't specify, we are enabled to speculate. And some big guns have speculated, like those fine folks at Macroeconomic Advisers and Moodys Analytics. Their estimation: The economy, regardless of the president will add 11.8 million jobs over the next four years. So, that's only 200,000 for you?

Mr. Romney has repeated used the meme that he was a job creator while working for Bain Capital, that he knows how to create jobs...

Nail #2: Search for the jobs he created, and you will search in vain. But you will find cogent analysis of his work and methods there, by no less a business standard than Bloomberg:

What’s clear from a review of the public record during his management of the private-equity firm Bain Capital from 1985 to 1999 is that Romney was fabulously successful in generating high returns for its investors. He did so, in large part, through heavy use of tax-deductible debt, usually to finance outsized dividends for the firm’s partners and investors. When some of the investments went bad, workers and creditors felt most of the pain. Romney privatized the gains and socialized the losses.

So, Mr. Romney is willing to mislead on his record, mislead on what he'll actually accomplish while at the helm (if we give it to him). But, he has served in government before, what did he accomplish there? Surely that would give him some bona-fides...

Nail #3: As Governor of Massachusetts, which as candidate Romney he claimed he would initiate a jobs program "second to none in the history of the state.” But, the history, as capably outlined by Jim Kaplan of the Tampa Bay Times: “When Romney's four-year term expired, the job growth rate of 1 percent lagged four points behind the national rate.” So, even though he has promised this particular outcome before, last time he utterly failed.

During the second Presidential Debate, Mr Romney asserted that “Government does not create jobs”.

Which leads us directly to...

Nail #4: Mr. Romney: If the government does not create jobs, how the he** are you going to create jobs as president of the United States? You didn't create jobs when you were in the private sector, you failed to create jobs the last time you were in government, and you are willing to lie to us about what will happen even though, by your own assertion, it is impossible for you to accomplish that! What kind of a man are you?

I believe four nails allows us a roundtrip on this particular coffin. Sleep well, Mr. Romney. I don't believe there is a place in heaven for folks like you. May I suggest you read Neil Gaiman's collection of shorts, “Smoke and Mirrors”. There is a particular story in there about a place where time has no meaning...

A Helping of Bullshit, Anyone?

I was reading some of the fine articles by the folks over at Language Log, and several times they indicated that such-and-such satisfied the technical definition of bullshit. Intrigued, I followed the link, and was taken to the site for Princeton Philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt's book “On Bullshit”. Amazed that such a book could be written, and that renowned philosopher Wittgenstein evoked in such writing, well, I had to read it. So, as they say, in less than a minute I had called the book from the cloud to my reader, ready for my perusal.

What I learned is that bullshit does withstand a technical definition, and that it is distinct from lying, although it is designed to deceive. Whereas the liar is still intimately concerned with the truth, for the purpose of denying their listener or reader access to it, the bullshitter reveals a blatant disregard for the truth. Instead of verifying the correctness of his or her details, the expounder of dung carries on without concern for the voracity of what they are saying, oftentimes when the exact details, hence the truth, could be easily obtained.

What separates bullshit from mere laziness, however, is the former's intent to deceive. An individual may not know the factual details, and may expound briefly on the subject, but the knowledgeable one must soon give way, knowing they do not know and cognizant of their lack (and unwilling to go look it up). Bullshit, however, is still designed to deceive: To allow the writer or speaker the ability to carry on towards some other goal without concern for the facts; to try on ideas to see how they sound, or, more often in our political world, to throw out ideas just to see if they have carrying power because they further someone's aims.

Coincidentally, while watching the TV last night I was given the perfect example: Rick Santorum, during one of his campaign speeches, expounded on the idea that “I think its seven or eight of the California System of Universities don't even teach an American History course. It's not even available to be taught.”

The details are easily verifiable, in fact numerous people have gone to the effort to look into the offerings of the CA university system, with the demonstrable gain that all except one (a medical school!) offer and require American History of their students.

Does that make Rick Santorum a liar? In all likelihood, no. It was not his intent to deny us the truth, for surely he understands how easily we could look that up. No, his was the desire to float a different idea: The meme that American Colleges and Universities (and those educated by them) are out of touch with some 'real' America and out of touch with the morals and values of said 'real' America. The presence or absence of American History at the universities provides neither proof nor disproof of his idea, but gives a useful hook into establishing the meme.

The idea he is attempting to float is surely as false as his sloppy disregard for the actual offerings by the universities, and now, thanks to professor Frankfurt, I can proclaim, without malice or prejudice, and with technical certitude:

Bullshit, Mr. Santorum!