THE SELF DEFEATING

Jorge Luis Borges once published an essay in which he expressed his surprise when, in 1944, the Fascists of Argentine seemed pleased by the liberation of Paris by Allied troops. That event was, after all, a defeat for their side. Borges concluded two things: that the Fascists knew on some level that they were out of touch with reality and that some part of them wanted to lose.

This brings me to Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. After his latest primary wins, Romney relaxed on TV by boasting of his enormous wealth and saying, with a sneer, that he refused to apologize for it. That was not what an increasingly troubled middle class wanted to hear. Meanwhile Santorum had flown to the largely bilingual Puerto Rico in order to criticize its upcoming primary voters, most of whom speak Spanish as their native tongue, for speaking Spanish.

These two fools are out of touch with reality, and some part of them understands that and desperately wants to lose the election.