Posted on 12/16/2011 8:49:23 AM PST by Colofornian
It was a rare reflection by Mitt Romney on his life as a young Mormon, offered as proof to struggling Americans that despite being born into privilege and amassing a $250 million fortune, he too had known hard times.
A day after being labelled “out of touch” for casually offering a $10,000 bet to a rival candidate, Mr Romney told supporters he had experienced austerity as a missionary in France, using a bucket for a lavatory and a hose for a shower. “You’re not living high on the hog at that kind of level,” he said.
But the Republican presidential hopeful spent a significant portion of his 30-month mission in a Paris mansion described by fellow American missionaries to The Daily Telegraph as “palace”. It featured stained glass windows, chandeliers, and an extensive art collection. It was staffed by two servants – a Spanish chef and a houseboy.
Although he spent time in other French cities, for most of 1968, Mr Romney lived in the Mission Home, a 19th century neoclassical building in the French capital’s chic 16th arrondissement. “It was a house built by and for rich people,” said Richard Anderson, the son of the mission president at the time of Mr Romney’s stay. “I would describe it as a palace”.
Tearful as he described the house, Mr Anderson, 70, of Kaysville, Utah, said Romney aides had asked him not to speak publicly about their time together there.
The building...was bought by the Mormons in 1952, having been seized by the Nazis during the Second World War. The Church sold it again...it was until recently the embassy of the United Arab Emirates. It is currently worth as much as $12 million (£7.7 million).
Mr Romney moved into the building...after being promoted to assistant to the president, Duane Anderson...
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
(Yeah, Mitt, to use a famous Saturday Night Live line: "Yeah. That's the ticket.")
From the article: Tearful as he described the house, Mr Anderson, 70, of Kaysville, Utah, said Romney aides had asked him not to speak publicly about their time together there.
Why, of course, Romney aides would want to censor info about the house. (That's just the way history is treated in the Mormon church -- tuck it away; so why not the same in his political campaign?)
Poor little rich boy - kind of makes me think of (whew) Al Gore.
“Tearful as he described the house, Mr Anderson, 70, of Kaysville, Utah, said Romney aides had asked him not to speak publicly about their time together there.”
That’s a strange way to put it.
This conjures up images of a scene from the movie ‘The Jerk’, where Steve Martin was working at a gas station and notices the defective oil cans leaking. Not to mention the line “I was born a po’ black child”.
There are a lot of things we’re going to find out about Romney, that Romney doesn’t want us to know.
Mitt was confused. He used the hose for a lavatory and the bucket for a shower. Won’t be that way on his planet, though.
The press can launch an investigation into Romney's living arrangements over forty years ago because of single sentence he made.
And there are still mountains of information we don't know about about decades of the Obama's life. Basic fundamental information about where he lived, who paid his bills, etc.
The moslems get a bunch of women when they die, and the mormons get a planet full of women when they die. The difference? The mormons like real estate.
Over the past couple of years I have become friends with numerous Mormons. They are all really nice people. I have one friend that just left on a mission. He will be gone two years. Without a doubt their dedication is something to be admired. They are strong people.
The Mormons have some different ways of looking at things. Some of them are kind of funny and they will chuckle at them themselves. Their view of Christ, for example, is not exactly like those of other faiths. You can research that and figure out things for yourself. I have said here on FR before that I think that many Christians of other faiths will not be too comfortable with some of the things the Mormons believe. Some people will be uncomfortable with Romney because of his faith because it really splits away from what most Americans believe in. In a way the creators of South Park have pointed out some aspects of Mormonism that may make Americans uncomfortable with Romney. In their Broadway Musical “The Book of Mormon” they parody some of these things. Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA1IMSRN2Xk
I wonder how much of this is really a big deal. Nixon, for example, was a Quaker. They have some pretty odd beliefs. Or what about JFK? Catholics have some things that followers of other religions think are odd. Or Obama, you know what the issue is with him and it is scary.
I doubt that Romney had some real cushy deal when he was on his mission. The Mormons are pretty strict about how their missionaries are handled. I’d have to hear from Romney’s mission partner that Romney had some kind of special treatment before I’d think this story is a big deal.
My biggest concern when it comes to Romney and his Mormonism is could he do the dirty work presidents have to do. Could Romney order a kill shot? That is a question I’d like for him to be asked.
Over the past couple of years I have become friends with numerous Mormons. They are all really nice people. I have one friend that just left on a mission. He will be gone two years. Without a doubt their dedication is something to be admired. They are strong people.
The Mormons have some different ways of looking at things. Some of them are kind of funny and they will chuckle at them themselves. Their view of Christ, for example, is not exactly like those of other faiths. You can research that and figure out things for yourself. I have said here on FR before that I think that many Christians of other faiths will not be too comfortable with some of the things the Mormons believe. Some people will be uncomfortable with Romney because of his faith because it really splits away from what most Americans believe in. In a way the creators of South Park have pointed out some aspects of Mormonism that may make Americans uncomfortable with Romney. In their Broadway Musical “The Book of Mormon” they parody some of these things. Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA1IMSRN2Xk
I wonder how much of this is really a big deal. Nixon, for example, was a Quaker. They have some pretty odd beliefs. Or what about JFK? Catholics have some things that followers of other religions think are odd. Or Obama, you know what the issue is with him and it is scary.
I doubt that Romney had some real cushy deal when he was on his mission. The Mormons are pretty strict about how their missionaries are handled. I’d have to hear from Romney’s mission partner that Romney had some kind of special treatment before I’d think this story is a big deal.
My biggest concern when it comes to Romney and his Mormonism is could he do the dirty work presidents have to do. Could Romney order a kill shot? That is a question I’d like for him to be asked.
To some of privilege, just two servants is roughing it.
True.Just as we knew all the school records of Bush 43, and even Gore and Kerry, but not that of the “smartest man in the world”
'Nuff said.
The media is digging up EVERYTHING on Mitt and Newt. Why can’t we know who paid for Obama’s college? Or what his grades were? Why won’t the L.A. Times release their tape of Obama at the event honoring Muslim radical Rashid Khalidi?
This is the Paris mansion where Mitt lived (and where later the United Arab Emirates had its French Embassy).
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