WHAT I THINK MITT ROMNEY LACKS

I keep trying to figure out just what it is about Mitt Romney that makes me not like him. I had decided a few years ago that it was because of the dog on the roof of the car issue, but even if that wasn't a factor, I've still felt a real cold feeling about this guy. He's made some comments lately that are certainly big turn offs...like his off the cuff offer to make a ten thousand dollar bet, or that he "likes to fire people", or that the three hundred thousand dollars that he received for speaking was "not very much". Even his admission that his tax rate is 15% didn't explain my empty feeling about the guy. I know he's never been the golden boy for even his own party, but I've still been grappling with my own sense about Mr R.

It dawned on me the other day when a guy and his wife stopped in for a quick visit on their way back home to Philly after a family event here in Pittsburgh. I hadn't seen him for years and years, and had never met his wife. The minute she walked in the front door, I liked her. I knew very little about her actually, and in reality I still don't....but I liked her immediately. I got to thinking about it after they left...after one glass of wine...and maybe forty-five minutes together. She was so "real" so "up-front" so "honest" so "open" that I could hardly wait to make plans to get together more often. Her husband and I met in grade school, and have been long distance friends ever since, and I could tell they had a great life together, and last year lost their daughter just after she had give birth to their first grandchild. We all had tears in our eyes when she talked about how devastating that was, but her own strength and openness about it was also astounding.

Sorry......to my point. I realized that what I think causes me to like certain people so much and so quickly is their authenticity. My friends wife was absolutely transparent with her feelings and emotions...you know..what you see is what you get...Mitt Romney doesn't seem authentic to me. I don't trust that what he says is what he really believes. Nothing about him seems real. As much as I can't stomach Rick Santorum...I know he actually believes the homophobic and ridiculous things that he says...so does Ron Paul.......They are at least real. ( That is probably as close as I'll ever be to saying something positive about Rick Santorum )...I promise never to do it again.

I read once that a survey of people that focused on people who live a " rich life"....not monetarily, but a rich life in terms of meaning and fulfillment came up with the top three things that provided richness. They were 1. Relationships 2. Authenticity 3. Creativity. Mr Romney, in my opinion, is sorely lacking on # 2.