Question of Sons’ Choices Dogs Romney Campaign

NYT ^ | MICHAEL LUO

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Mitt Romney has been asked before on the campaign trail if his sons have served in the military, and he usually has dispatched the question easily enough.

But an awkward response last week in Iowa, in which Mr. Romney said in part that “one of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping to get me elected,” forced him several days later to say he misspoke and injected a discordant note into his otherwise triumphant few days after he won the state’s Republican straw poll.

It has also threatened to put a chink in what has been widely viewed as a major asset in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination: his crowded family portrait, which includes five successful adult sons who have been a prominent part of his campaign.

[click link to read article]

[aMorePerfectUnion]

More on one man's quest to become Commander in Chief - and his son's lack of service...

[ozzie]

I’m really sick of the arguement that you can’t support this war unless you are willing to “force” your children to enlist to fight. This was even tried against George Bushs’ girls.

[Always Right]

Although his campaign said Mr. Romney’s remarks were taken out of context, his response to the pointed question drew potshots because of his mention of what his sons were doing in his campaign, including that his son Josh had driven a Winnebago to all of the state’s 99 counties.

Mitt is being a bit modest here. It just wasn't any Winnebage, but an EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle.

[T-Bird45]

Definitely not a Romney supporter here but he does not have to answer for his childrens’ choice not to enter a volunteer military. It is strictly their choice to make as responsible adults. I know I don’t feel I have to answer for my children’s choice in this matter and I served in my time (1978-84).

[Buckhead]

interestingly, the nyt found it perfectly acceptable that
chelsea clinton was working for a hedge fund run by
a major donor to the clintons.

wife o’buckhead

[Dahoser]

I’m all for Mitt being accountable for his kids’ choices if the Internet inventor and doctor of climate change is held accountable for his kid’s choices when he’s breathlessly put forward by the Slimes as a strong candidate waiting in the wings.

[catroina54]

this man has 5 sons ? right ?
and not one of them felt the need to enlist ?
why did our young adult children simply drop everything ?
their education,jobs— anything familiar with them and get up and leave their homes for the military ?
think it was all about the benefits or nothing else to do ?
one that enlisted in 2001 was all of 18 and with my approval....she’s a sgt now in the USMC.

what’s his family debating ?

[Clara Lou]

I agree--Mitt's not responsible for his sons' choices. What gets me is the arrogance of this statement: “one of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping to get me elected”.

[Dick Vomer]

volunteer...means than. some chose to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, janitors...some chose to be soldier or Marine. That's what's so great about our country...choice and freedom.

That's why you can be a Marine then go on and be an actor, lawyer, CEO, teacher or doctor. It's only a part of what you choose to do with your life. Then you look back when your 50-60 and wish you'd of been part of an organization like the Army, Navy, Marines or Air Force.

We all make "choices" and then live with them.

[ontap]

I don’t understand your post, should he have pressured them to join?

[ex-snook]

"what’s his family debating ?"

They believe, like Cheney, that they have better things to do. To paraphrase Kennedy 'ask not what I can do for my country, ask somebody else'.

[ontap]

Exactly! What was he thinking to make a statement like that.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

Romney’s kids have no obligation to serve, true enough.

But it is fair and square to make the observation that each and every one of them chose to not serve......not even in the Guard or Reserves or any other sort of National service such as Peace Corps or others similar to it.

[Wolfie]

I suppose they have “other priorities”.

[Condor51]

“If this war is so important, why is it O.K. for you to support our loved ones fighting it but not send your own sons?” said Ms. Lessin

The fact that Mr. Romney’s sons have not served is not necessarily surprising, she said, because the military tends to be dominated by those from less well-to-do backgrounds.

Can the NY Slimes go one day without LYING? (that's rhetorical) That 'only the poor (or black) enlist' canard has been disproved so many times it isn't funny any more.

In any case its freaking irrelevant. Are his kids running for POTUS - uh, no. Plus, I believe young adult Mormons go on a one year 'mission' to some pretty god forsaken places around the globe, many more dangerous than the Motor Pool at Ft Knox. Plus, what part of voluntary military don't they understand???

BUT - since the Slimes is bringing up Military Service could they please ask Rooty once again why he DODGED THE DRAFT. His 'I didn't like the tactics' excuse doesn't cut it.

(the msm and the RATS are pretty much laying off Rooty knowing Hillary will clean his clock in an EC landslide)

[Calpernia]

Excerpt:

Of others seeking the presidency, Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican of California, talks often on the stump about his son, Duncan Jr., who served two tours in Iraq with the Marines and is on his third in Afghanistan.

“I think it’s valuable to have a commander in chief who can look the American people in the eye and say, ‘We’re all in this together,’ ” said Mr. Hunter, who is a Vietnam veteran.

B4DH

[KevinDavis]

Also, why isn’t the Slimes asking why Clinton’s daughter didn’t serve in the Military????

[Non-Sequitur]

This all would have blown over in a single news cycle if it hadn’t been for Romney’s asinine, off-the-cuff quip that some of his sons were serving their country by trying to get him elected president.

[Savage Beast]

Romney's success demonstrates one thing: The American people, in an increasingly dangerous world, want a wise and dependable leader.

Romney may not be one, but his decent, clean-cut, no-nonsense, puissant image is what's carried him so far. Americans want wisdom and greatness--not a sociopath or a slick snake-oil salesman or a drug-dazed hippie or an angry iconoclast or a loose cannon.

America has always produced great leaders, though from time to time some real jackasses have been elected to the Presidency.

But in this dangerous world, Americans are in no mood for a Freakshow. That's bad news for the Democrats.

[Calpernia]

>>>Romney may not be one, but his decent, clean-cut, no-nonsense, puissant image is what’s carried him so far. Americans want wisdom and greatness—not a sociopath or a slick snake-oil salesman or a drug-dazed hippie or an angry iconoclast or a loose cannon.

Oxymoron