Romney: Engineer?

July 17th. 2006
Sent to but not published in the Boston Globe

Mitt Romney really should stick to what he knows and not mouth off on things about which he is uninformed.

He was quoted today, speaking of the Ted Williams Tunnel, as saying "The panels are much narrower .. They are not 4-inch thik slabs of concrete. There are many more fasteners holding them up, the beefiness of the fasteners is much more substantial, and there is no indication of movement."
Romney has no credibility saying that.

The person saying that, if it is to be convincing, is a trained structural engineer -- or did Romney play at being a structural engineer when he did "a job for a day" during his election campaign four years ago.

Another version:

July 18th. 2006
Sent to but not published in the New York Times

This gets sillier and sillier.

When Mitt Romney was running for Governor he held a weekly 'work day' when he played at being a fisherman and being a hamburger cook at a Red Sox Game.

In the past year, he hasn't had many 'work days' at the Governor's job, as he's been out on the stump quite a lot.

Now with his takeover of the Big Dig, Mitt Romney is playing at being an engineer. Your picture (Big Dig Ceiling Must be Modified, Governor Says, New York Times, July 17th. page:A17) shows him with his sketches of the tunnel ceiling supports.

I wish he would step back and let the experts get on with their job. His ill informed interventions could be dangerous. But, as when he ran for governor, he needs the photo-ops.