All this jabbering about Mitt Romney’s wealth and most recently what dirty secrets (read: ill gotten gains) might be lurking in his unpublished personal income tax returns is maddenning. I would love to hear the argument that this fixation on Mr. Romney’s wealth is anything but envy. Pure and simple.
Some are saying that in “these times” of economic challenges and “inequality” the country cannot and will not tolerate a “rich” man as President. We of course never hear in these same analyses and arguments anything about our past presidents and whether the wealth of any one of them – or the wealth of the many presidents who were clearly rich - helps us predict today the suitability of Mr. Romney simply due to his being a wealthy man.
Recently the Atlantic Monthly (and the NY Times) published a study of the wealth of our first 44 U.S. Presidents. Interestingly, here are the five wealthiest presidents:
- John F. Kennedy (estimated $1 billion; Democrat; Source: inherited largely from his father who was a bootlegger during Prohibition)
- George Washington (estimated $525 million; no party; Source: wealthy Virginia farmer and land owner – including perhaps largest owner of slaves in the U.S. at the time)
- Thomas Jefferson: $212 million; Democrat; Source: wealthy Virginia farmer, land owner and investor – large owner of slaves)
- Theodore Roosevelt: $125 million; Progressive/Republican; Source: inherited from family)
- Andrew Jackson: $119 million; Democrat; Source: wealthy Tennessee cotton farmer, land owner, large owner of slaves)
Many who are the most vocal critics of Mr. Romney’s wealth would surely put John F. Kennedy at or near the top of their list of greatest presidents. Everyone would put George Washington and Thomas Jefferson at or near the top of the same list. While the list has both Republicans and Democrats on it, interestingly Democrats certainly have been fond of – and more importantly very able to nominate as their candidate – men who were very, very wealthy.
So I don’t get it. Mr. Romney earned his wealth. There has been no shred of evidence that he achieved his wealth in any illegal manner (unlike President Kennedy’s father, for instance). History would seem to indicate that his being wealthy should not disqualify him for president and that his wealth would not neccessarily lead him to be a poor president if elected.
It is envy. Pure and simple. And the Democrat/Progressive machine in this country is doing all it can to leverage that unsavory human trait to its politcal advantage.
