Meatstick Opinion: The Romney's are Hurtin'...

I saw somewhere that the average age of people who watch the TV show '60 Minutes' is somewhere in the 50's. I guess I'm an outlier because I'm 26 and have '60 Minutes' set up on DVR and seldom miss an episode.

Last week's episode had a really great piece with Mike Wallace. Mike was doing a pretty unbiased profile of the life of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Although I would never vote for the dude, I was intrested in the segment because I really don't know much about him. The best part of the segment was when Mike Wallace asked Mitt and his 5 sons why they never opted to serve in the military. On the surface this seems like a cheap shot and poor journalism by Wallace. However, I would argue that this question was completely justified based on the fact that Mitt Romney is a staunch supporter of President Bush's war in Iraq. The fact that he supports the war so much and has 5 fully capable sons that have never worn a uniform stuck out like a sore thumb and the question was begging to be asked. Below is the transcript from the interview:

MIKE WALLACE: While all of them have served their church doing missionary work around the world... has any one of you ever decided that you're going to put on a uniform and go to war?
JOSH ROMNEY: I feel guilty having not done it.
BEN ROMNEY: I've seen a lot and read a lot that has made me say, "my goodness, I hope I never have to do that."
WALLACE: Not one agreed or thought about serving in the military?
MATT ROMNEY: There are other sacrifices to make as well, and I hope to be able to make a sacrifice of that, you know, of that caliber at some point in my life.

Let me break this down. Of those three responses, the only one that doesn't stick out as being full of shit is Ben Romney. At least he admits that he wants nothing to do with the war in Iraq. However, I'm not so sure how he could then blindly support his father and his support for the war in Iraq, which is the largest issue in the upcoming election. Josh Romney's answer is by far the most interesting. Again, he states:

JOSH ROMNEY: I feel guilty having not done it.

That's interesting considering the fact that he's only 31 years old. The last time I checked the enlistment age to serve in the Army is 42. In fact, I bet he could enlist and immediately be sent to Officer Candidate School to become an officer based on the fact that he has a bachelor's degree.

Now, let's look at the father's response when Mike Wallace asks him why he never served in the military:

WALLACE: Did you ever serve in the armed forces?
FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY: I did not.
WALLACE: Why not?
ROMNEY: I was at college. Then I went off and served my church for two and a half years.
WALLACE: In a mission.
ROMNEY: In a mission.
WALLACE: And because of his high lottery number, he was never drafted to serve in Vietnam, something he says he regrets to this day.

So, Mitt regrets never serving. Fortunately for him he's past the enlistment age so I'll just have to take his word for it.

Like father, like son(s).

To make something clear. I have no problem with people who choose not to serve in the military. The military is not for everyone. Hell, the military wasn't even for me which is why I got out.

But, I am critical of people who blindly support the war in Iraq but never thought about actually volunteering to serve there.