Diversity Deeper Than Skin Color

National Review Online: Unlike Democrats, GOP Field Offers Variety Of Experiences, Backgrounds

(National Review Online)  This column was written by Henry Payne.

---

With the Henry Ford Museum as a backdrop, another Michigan favorite son — Mitt Romney — submitted his impressive resume for the job of president of the United States here this week. As a candidate boasting degrees in law and business, and a wildly successful career that includes stints as a CEO, investor, Olympic Games president, and governor of Massachusetts, Romney’s foray into the presidential race should have brought headlines celebrating an applicant with such a diverse background.

But the national media’s definition of diversity does not include Mitt Romney’s rainbow of accomplishments.

After weeks of lead headlines about “diversity” candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Romney’s entry received cursory coverage in the daily media. Liberals may dismiss Middle America as “flyover country,” but, ironically, flyover country is also “Gannett country” — home to a good chunk of America’s biggest (by far) newspaper chain that feeds its readership a decidedly liberal, blue-state brand of journalism. As a consequence, flyover country is getting a hearty dose of coastal political doctrine in the early days of Campaign '08.

Like the Democratic party, the “diversity” mantra is central to Gannett’s mission, which it preaches through a newspaper empire running from Phoenix to Des Moines to Detroit to Louisville to Nashville. On any given day, millions of Middle America readers have two newsprint choices on their street corner: a local Gannett paper or Gannett’s USA Today. Diversity is an industry-wide faith (the infamous Jayson Blair was cultivated under the New York Times diversity requirements), but nowhere is it practiced more zealously than Gannett. Diversity rules Gannett’s newsrooms. There are hiring quotas for underrepresented minorities and women page layouts; page layouts, where a percentage of all stories and photos on each page have to meet a diversity formula; and even in the content itself, where sources are “mainstreamed” — that is, a minority voice must be quoted in every story.

It’s no surprise then, that the 2008 presidential race is being defined in Gannett country in terms of its “racial and gender” diversity.

"'08 race for president a winner on diversity," declared the lead A1 headline in a Jan. 21 Detroit Free Press story about the Democratic field. Let's review the top three candidates:

• a lawyer now serving in the Senate;
• a lawyer now serving in the Senate;
• a lawyer who served in the Senate.

Now for the three Republican frontrunners:

• a naval officer, Vietnam veteran, and POW now serving in the Senate;
• a businessman who founded Bain Capital, one of the country's most successful investment firms; president of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City; governor of Massachusetts, 2002-2006;
• a lawyer who served as associate attorney general, 1981-1983; U.S. attorney for New York South District, 1983-1989, prosecuted major organized crime and Wall Street insider trading; served as New York City mayor, 1994-2001; named Time's Man of the Year, 2001 for his leadership in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack on New York City; founded an investment and consulting firm, 2004.

Clearly, the Republican candidates bring more diversity to the job of president and commander-in-chief. But, in the media lexicon, "diversity" only counts for race and gender. Thus, to quote CNN, the Democrats boast the most "historically diverse field of contenders" because it includes Clinton and Obama (the third is John Edwards). The GOP candidates (McCain, Romney, Giuliani), by contrast, are dismissed as "white men.”

But diversity is much more than skin color and a Y chromosome. It is class, it is religion, geographical background, education, life experience.

And it is ideas. All three Democrat frontrunners are liberals in lockstep with their party's platform.

Not so the GOPers. McCain is a well-known firebrand who bucks his party on tax and environmental issues. As a Republican governor in the bluest of states, Romney (the first Mormon vying for president, by the way) was noted for his bipartisan achievements (some of which will be unpopular in a national primary). And Giuliani is an outspoken heretic on the party's abortion agenda.

Yes, race and gender matter. All voters should be proud that a black and a woman — representing Americans denied basic rights until the 20th century — are contenders for America's top job. But for a truly diverse choice of applicants to the White House, Republicans have a genuine claim.

[mgpm-2009]

Romney's opinions over the years are diverse enough for the whole pack...

[taddles-2009]

"Maybe Mr. Payne should stick to Cartoons and leave the serious journalism to people that know how to research their facts. It takes about 2 minutes on Google to figure this one out.
Posted by jsilver2th at 03:14 PM : Feb 17, 2007"

FACTS!?! That's not the Republican way, they don't live in the reality based world, they live in the faith based world...you know, candy land.

[taddles-2009]

"A cult member who believes in his heart that Joseph Smith received revelation from a 'talking' white salamander.
Posted by dallison7 at 01:23 PM : Feb 17, 2007"

So your trying to say that if a salamander talked to you, you wouldn't listen? Remember, we're not laughing AT Mit, we're just laughing along with all the OTHER people who are laughing at Mit.

[taddles-2009]

NRO = Neocon Republscum Online

[taddles-2009]

"I'll have to hand it to them. The Republican Party has become the party of diversity. They used to be just a party of rich white men. Now they have bigots and religious nuts too.
Posted by wvce at 08:49 PM : Feb 17, 2007"

Hey, at least they are pushing their personal boundaries. With any luck they can embrace diversity and accept both the rich bigot AND the ultra rich bigot into their ranks.

[cbgb31]

"But, in the media lexicon, "diversity" only counts for race and gender"

You got that right.

[wvce]

I'll have to hand it to them. The Republican Party has become the party of diversity. They used to be just a party of rich white men. Now they have bigots and religious nuts too.

[wogerwabbit]

Of course the republicans can do no wrong, they are the party of God. Insah Allah!

[bluestardad]

If you like the Bush Surge this is for you! Diversity thisbitch!

http://www.carlosmencia.com/content/videos.php?id=66

[feelfree1]

jsilver2th,

Re: "Let's hope the author checked out the rest of his facts better than this one."

It is the National Review Online. What do you expect? This group has no use for "facts". They specialize only in dark-comedy.

[jsilver2th]

The author Henry Payne writes: "Romney (the first Mormon vying for president, by the way)."

Let's hope the author checked out the rest of his facts better than this one. At least four other Mormons have run for President.

These include:

1) Joseph Smith, Jr. the LDS Founder - In February, 1844, Smith announced his candidacy for President who was shot to death in Carthage, Ill., during his campaign in 1844.

2)George Romney, Mitt's Papa, governor of Michigan in 1968, but quit the race after his "I was brainwashed" Flip-Flop about the Vietnam War.

3)Liberal Democrat Arizona Congressman Morris Udall was an early front runner in 1976.

4)Utah Senator Republican Orrin Hatch also ran for president 2000.

Maybe Mr. Payne should stick to Cartoons and leave the serious journalism to people that know how to research their facts. It takes about 2 minutes on Google to figure this one out.

[dallison7]

The most pathetic attempt to spin a topic I have ever seen. Let's look at what the republican choices really are:

1.) A male slvt, married three times.. obviously doesn't make very good decisions,

2.) A 70 year old has-been who likes to fall asleep in public, and

3.) A cult member who believes in his heart that Joseph Smith received revelation from a 'talking' white salamander.

[rafterman1]

"And it is ideas. All three Democrat frontrunners are liberals in lockstep with their party's platform."

Which is why those three repubs listed won't get a sniff. They are not far right enough for the current state of the republican party. They are all moderates.

Oh, and by the way, all three dems (Hillary, Edwards, Obama) are more moderate than the standard lefty - hardly in "lockstep" with the dem party.

So, ideally, you would have a moderate from each party. However, while the dems will surely pick a moderate - if not from that list, from somewhere else, the repubs will probably pick another far right guy. Unless Bush and company make things so much more worse than they are now that the repubs will have no choice but to pick a moderate.

[rafterman1]

Gotta love the NRO. After giving such "in depth" looks at the qualifications of the dems, they go on to list the repubs - and two of them are what? A lawyer and a senator, just like the dem candidates. Priceless.

Hey NRO, I'm sure if you looked at all the qualifications of the dems like you did the repubs, they would have more than just "lawyer" listed.

So let me describe the repubs in the same great depth that they described the dems:

%u2022 a Senator;
%u2022 a businessman;
%u2022 a lawyer.

Yes, quite "diversive".

[plowhandle]

Diversity ? The Republishit Party is going to actually claim to be championing DIVERSITY after their entire history since Ronald Reagan has consisted of keeping the ******* down, bashing the kweers, boosting corporate profits at the price of enslaving the poor, giving away our national treasury to the rich, minding the store for corporations that poison our air and pollute our land, and using evangelical 'christians' ignorance to further their aims by confusing the issues by wrapping them in scriptural references ?

Diversity DOES NOT include raising followers of cults, i.e., the mormons or the scientologists, to the level of recognizing their golden calves as GODS, or as raising their beliefs to the status of religions. They are neither religions nor believable by anyone with a third-grade education.

We are surely not ready to hand our government over to a man who believes Joseph Smith was anything but a charlatan.

[rafterman1]

"But for a truly diverse choice of applicants to the White House, Republicans have a genuine claim."

Yeah, they are all rich white guys. They are as "diverse" as the previous 40+ presidents we've had.

[skyk-2009]

Yes, race and gender matter. All voters should be proud that a black and a woman %u2014 representing Americans denied basic rights until the 20th century %u2014 are contenders for America's top job. But for a truly diverse choice of applicants to the White House, Republicans have a genuine claim.

Sure they do! They have within their leadership people who BLAMED 9/11 on other American's because of their Political Beliefs. They have a leadership who totally ignore Ameican's and their desire to end a war based on Lies. They have within their leadership people who just a few short years ago were teaching "Equal but Different" in our classrooms. They have people in their ranks who want to trash and ignore all the provision's of our Constitution described by Thomas Jefferson as the Seperation of Church and State. They have leaders who send our kids off to die attempting to "Give" other countries a Government OF the People and by the People while right here at home IGNORING the right of those same American's to stop a Mad Man and his War. Yeah folks go out and vote for the Gestapo and the SS in the modern day Republican Party!! ROFLMAO