Re Romney's youthfulness.
He has never smoked or had a drink. No caffeine. Lots of money for health care. And primates who are socially privileged tend to be healthier and live longer.
The stress from being so competitive has to be taking a toll though. But his family of origin was close, if somewhat more dysfunctional than the the family he created, and he is very loved and supported by his wife and children. He has every right to look a little younger than his age.
I also think that working for others keeps one young(ish). And misguided as many of his efforts have been, he has put in many many hours of his life "helping" others as a Bishop and in politics. I think that much of what he does, he does with an open heart. That it is based on patriarchal and elitist ideas (he has instructed women to give up their children for adoption rather than raise them as single parents), I guess, doesn't alter the fact that he experiences it as working for others.
I doubt that one could count the number of people he helped move or arranged for jobs for or sat with in the hospital. That's what Mormon leaders do, day in and day out. They also maintain an organization that calls on parents to disown their gay children. I have no use for their religious beliefs or their organization. But the fact is that they work work work work for others. It's impressive.
His dad had some fine qualities. He bucked Nixon when he was a member of the cabinet and tried to make genuine change to encourage racial integration of neighborhoods, not just schools. He was for fair employment and supported civil rights when other Republican governors paid those ideas lip service. And like his son, he worked worked worked worked worked. I know it's a cliche about Mormons, but it's one that the Romney family illustrates. I absolutely don't doubt that Mitt Romney experiences himself as sincere in spite of the fact that he has to rationalize a lot of shit (the destruction caused by Bain, the fact that he lies to the public on a daily basis). He believes in himself and what he is doing. That keeps you young.
He is an integrated human being. He's not shallow or deeply selfish (as Bush and his buddies were). He's deeply WRONG. But he is a person to be reckoned with. Obama made a mistake by not respecting him, and it cost Obama a lot. Hopefully, not the election.
|