Praise flowed for Ann Romney even before she delivered her speech at the
Republican National Convention last night. Hours earlier, Republicans nominated
Mitt Romney for president. But Romney, polls indicate, is having trouble with
women and minority voters. And it was on Ann Romney’s shoulders to help recast
his image in an effort to endear him to women.
In many respects, she delivered. She spoke lovingly about her husband. And
she seemed remarkably at ease, considering she doesn’t often give speeches in
front of such large crowds.
But her love boat ran ashore for me when she talked about her struggles with
MS and breast cancer, and her husband’s support during her illnesses. This is
admittedly a touchy and nuanced area for criticism. But I have to wonder
whether many women listening to her at home could confront these problems with
the same level of confidence.
And do the Romneys understand this?
The Romneys can readily afford the best medical care available. They can
afford the screenings for early detections, the cost of drugs that are not
typically low-priced generic brands, and the cost of co-pays for multiple
office visits to help her fight her illnesses. The Romneys also have the
resources to turn to the specialists they trust and counter challenges from
their insurance company.
But millions of women, particularly women of limited means, would not have
Ann Romney’s advantages.
That doesn’t mean that she is a bad person or that her struggles with
life-threatening illnesses were somehow less significant. It doesn’t diminish
her role as a wife or mother, either.
But her husband claims that he will overturn the Affordable Care Act on his
first day in office if he is elected.
If Ann Romney is going to talk about her illnesses and her husband’s
dependability during those stressful times, it’s also incumbent on her to be
straight with women. If her husband has his way, many will not be nearly as
equipped to face such formidable odds.
This article appears in Aug 29 – Sep 4, 2012.
There may be something more irrelevant in a presidential campaign than the attitudes or background of a presidential candidate’s wife…but I’d be hard pressed to name it. Anyone voting for the husband because of the media image created for the wife should probably stay home on Election Day.
Not simply that, but the personal stories in the campaign, both from Romney (ie. his father leaving a rose for his mother every day by her bed) and the President (his mother raising him and his stepsister alone) are irrelevant. we are electing a President to create and implement public policy and administer the national government. Whether the candidate(s) watches Letterman or Leno before bed, whether he likes cup cakes or cookies, cats or dogs, light beer or root beer, is not my problem and I couldn’t care less. What’s their plan for Medicare? For the soaring debt? Our trade deficit with China? Plan for economic growth? National security directive? Infrastructure repair and renewal? Environmental regulations? Does anyone know Romney’s plans? Can anyone intelligently articulate the President’s? Or can they only name the President’s dog?