Oh, I love stories like this one. Whenever an out-of-touch politician goes out in public, hilarity often ensues. When I say “goes out in public,” by the way, I don’t mean stepping out onto a podium to read a well-rehearsed and pre-written speech. I don’t mean walking down the steps of the state house into a black car with tinted windows and a “driver.” I don’t mean photo opps for ribbon-cutting or for new buildings. I mean in public. Like, unrehearsed. So yesterday, the Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, ‘ol wooden boy himself, ventured onto the Boston subway system yesterday, in a bid to convince all of us commoners that the subway is, indeed, safe as it’s ever been.
Well, thank god! Now that Romney has ridden the subway, we can all breath a collective sigh of relief. But I’m not writing today about the security of underground transportation systems. What I love about this story is that someone asked him if he even knew how much it cost to ride the subway. His game attempt at an answer? “A buck.”
Oh, how we love this. Two years ago the subway raised their rates to $1.25. Does anything say “completely out of touch and aloof” more than a guy who doesn’t know how much it costs to ride the subway in the city where he works? Delightful. Say what you want about Michael Dukakis, William Weld or Paul Celucci. There’s a lot to say, in fact. But something tells me those boys knew the cost of a subway ride. There’s more, too. As if life can’t get any more odd, a homeless man near the Park Street station (Romney only rode one stop) shouted at him. But he didn’t shout anything crass, nor did he ask for money or food. He loudly yelled “are you running for President?!”
Then, to top it all off, my favorite occurence: in the same few moments that the homeless man was strutting his stuff and showcasing his vast political knowledge, the loud cackling of an older woman could be heard to shout “you killed my cats!” It was none other than the very same woman who had been all over the news early last year, after being arrested for storing nearly 100 cat carcasses in her house. All in a day’s work, governor. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at Romney’s Belmont, MA. dining room last night.
UPDATE: Apparantly, there’s actually a team of people who choreograph all public appearances made by Romney. Perhaps yesterday was their “activity day” at Six Flags or something?