A question for the rightwing culture warriors among our readers:
If it was fair to ridicule John Kerry for windsurfing off Nantucket, and Barack Obama for talking about the price of arugula at Whole Foods, is it equally OK to mock Mitt Romney and his wife for their involvement in dressage, and Mitt for using the British term “sport” rather than the contemporary American term “sports”?
Apparently sensing a problem, Romney told Fox News that dressage “is actually Ann’s passion, not so much mine.”
On the other hand ABC News reported:
[Dressage enthusiast Kenneth J.] Braddick said the Romneys were regulars at dressage events and traveled to Europe together to purchase horses for their California stables. When [Romney-sponsored rider Jan] Ebeling was preparing a dressage routine to try and qualify for this year’s World Cup, one of the sport’s major annual events, Braddick said it was Mitt Romney who selected the music that would accompany the horse and rider’s performance — selections from the soundtracks to “Rainman” and “The Mission.”
Say what you want about George W. Bush; despite his privileged upbringing, he had the regular-guy shtick down pat. I’m afraid Mitt never will.