Milo LOVES Mitt Romney. But, to the relief of his progressive parents, not because of any nascent right-wing political leanings or plutocratic ambitions. The opposite, rather. Milo loves Mitt Romney because he thinks he is the plumber. Whose name is Ronnie. As in, when he comes over, which is not infrequently in this aging house of ours, we ask the kids to use their manners and call him "Mr. Ronnie." Which sounds to a three-year-old just like "Mitt Romney." Milo started identifying Mitt Romney on the radio a couple of months ago: "Hey! They talk about Misto Wonnie!" And I laughed and tried to explain that Mitt Romney was...well, I had no short answer, but left it at, "No, they are talking about Mitt Romney and he is running for president. MISTER RONNIE fixes the sink."
But then today on the way home from school, he was flipping through the New York Times Magazine (not reading it, just to be clear), and he saw a picture of Mitt Romney and said, "Misto Wonnie! Where his mustache?" The real Mr. Ronnie, who also has a lovely head of salt and pepper hair, but can actually fix things, does indeed have a mustache. That, a tool belt and the trust of a three-year-old? Some campaigns are built on less.