I Smell... Desperation!

Aw, those know-it-all New Yawkahs! Spend a few weeks (days?) in America's heartland, and they're all ready to ejumacate'm us dumb Midwest folk.

Can he really be this corny? (And I mean that literally, since in Iowa he claims that the amber waves of grain include corn. Note to Mitt: corn is green...)

Here, Andrew Rosenthal David Firestone, blogging under an illustrated graphic "From the Desk of Andrew Rosenthal", informs us that, in his expert opinion ... corn is green.* And America the Beautiful lyrics should not be personally interpreted, being that a lesbian lady wrote them and people today are ... misinterpreting!

But it quickly becomes clear that Mr. Romney has a point to make in dissecting the song. He sees its vision as matching his, and that is where he makes a serious mistake.

“O beautiful, for patriot’s dream, that sees beyond the years,” he said, discussing the fourth verse and asserting that this dream referred to political and especially economic freedom. “The freedom to choose one’s course in life, to be an opportunity nation, a merit-based society” – that, he suggested, conflicts directly with the president’s vision of America as an entitlement society, where everyone is equal and thus more impoverished.

If, over time, this turns out to be his rebuttal to the president’s new campaign theme of reducing economic inequality, he will have to do better than “America the Beautiful,” because that is not at all what the song was originally about. The lyrics were written in 1894 by the Massachusetts poet Katharine Lee Bates, an ardent feminist and lesbian who was deeply disillusioned by the greed and excess of the Gilded Age.**

Imagine that: I thought once you set something free in the art world, it was to the reader/listener/observer to take and make it their own, fitting it into their own world as they see fit. Instead, Rosenthal Firestone recommends that darned cultist Mormon man should ... stick to G-d songs he might know a bit more about. (or not.)

Under the circumstances, Mr. Romney might want to switch to a far more simple song with absolutely no underlying meaning. Maybe, “God Bless America.” ***

Open those minds a bit, fellas? The condescension surely must be choking off vital growth, helping lead to the nation's continuing intellectual stagnation. Imagine if we had a functioning press that focused on the important issues facing the nation today, instead of these horsetrading prognosticators all trying to be Carnac the Magnificent in their gambling abilities.
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* Oh come ye back...
when the yellow tassles are ripening, pre-harvest, and the blonde stalks drying and waving in the wind. A September scene ... those golden fields of corn, as far as the eye can see...

And if you peel back the dry husk, you'll see ... golden kernels, packed inside.

The only thing truly green about corn is springtime, and the growing season before maturity ... and growing NYT writers, who still obviously have a lot to learn, outside their basic geographical beat.

** Funny thing that. Were Romney a Dem, I betcha Rosenthal Firestone would nod approvingly at his choice of diverse songwriters to quote. Here I would think that Mr. Rosenthal Firestone might be impressed by Ms. Bates' ability to both love her country, and be a lesbian (if that bit of trivia is true. I'm still wondering about the Hillary/Huma link myself, but surely if there were anything to that, Mr. Rosenthal's Firestone's brand of personal reporting would have that covered.)

*** Nobody's asking you to cling to values you don't share. But honestly? Who sounds bitter now?

ADDED:
This bit is just ... laughable.

President Obama has lately begun to channel that movement, invoking the spirit of its greatest champion, Theodore Roosevelt.

Given his positions, he has a better claim to the spirit of the song than does Mr. Romney, who appears to have no problem with inequality.

That's great that -- 3 years in -- he's "begun to channel that movement". Out here, we call it, "Shit, or get off the pot. Someone else wants to use it already."

Plus, how desperate are ya, when your argument is: But... but... our guy interprets patriotic songs better!!

Still, enjoy your Iowa stay, Mr. Rosenthal Firestone. Come back when the corn is golden, and times are better throughout the country! Keep America Green: spend your New Yawhk money wisely, please!