Here at SingleforaReason, we try to stay nonpolitical, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that a presidential election is hours away here in the US. So in the spirit of the election, we decided to address the race from our perspective and ask ourselves: which of the candidates passes the SFAR test? Did anyone pull a douchebag move in order to lock it down? Here is our empirical analysis*
The “Meet-Cute”: How They Met
Mitt and Ann
Mitt and Ann met in elementary school when he was a Cub Scout. She was riding a horse and he threw stones at her. Nice move Mitt, we all know how much girls like getting rocks hurled at them.
Mitt recalls it ever so fondly: “I’d seen the girl in elementary school, but she was in the second grade, I was in the fourth grade. So, I didn’t pay a lot of attention at that point. But when she turned almost 16, I thought she was pretty interesting.” Ah yes, the girl now known as the woman he lets speak “sparingly” so “people don’t get tired of her.” Charming.
Shakespeare could not have said it better, Mitt.
vs.
Barack and Michelle
In 1989, Michelle was Barack’s boss when he was a summer associate at her law firm. Awesome. He wanted to date her, but she thought it was advisable to be friends instead. After some effort on his part, she finally accepted his invitation for a date. They would become each other’s first serious relationship. According to Michelle’s brother, no one before Barack “met her standards”. Awesome again.
The First Date
Mitt and Ann
Their first date on March 21, 1965 was at the movies to see “The Sound of Music”.
We can imagine Ann singing it now- “I am 15, going on 16. You are 18, going on 19, so now you have to marry me to avoid being charged with statutory raaaape.”
vs.
Barack and Michelle
On their first date, Barack and Michelle spent the day going to the Chicago Art Institute, had lunch at an outdoor cafe, walked and talked, saw the movie “Do the Right Thing”, and had a drink on the 99th floor of the John Hancock building. He was 26 years old. She was 24 years old.
The Proposal
Mitt and Ann
Mitt invited 16-year-old Ann as his date to senior prom after only two months of dating. They took a break from dancing and stepped outside for some air and Mitt popped the question. She said “yes,” but they kept their engagement under wraps. Mitt re-proposed four years later on a car ride home from the airport.
Nothing says romance like a car ride after a flight!
Mitt and Ann have received a fair amount of flack for their personal welath, in turn playing up the simplicity and struggles of their early years together. In recent weeks, journalists have dug deep to fact check the humble roots story that Mitt and Ann have been professing. Turns out the early years were less “scraping by” and more “riding stock options”, but potato potahto.
vs.
Barack and Michelle
According to the Huffington Post, “Under the decoy of an evening to celebrate finishing his bar exam, Barack took Michelle out to a romantic candlelit dinner. He slipped the engagement ring to the Maitre’D at the start of the meal and when the waiter served the dessert course, Michelle was shocked to discover a beautiful diamond ring. Barack asked Michelle to marry him right then and there.”
Cute. The cuter thing though is that he worked hard to date her even going so far as saying he would quit the law firm so that she would be comfortable with their relationship. Now that’s a commitment.
This is not to say that the first couple didn’t bust their asses to make it as a young married couple. Both have been public about the fact that they took our loans to get through school, with President Obama saying he paid his off just eight years ago. In fact, he first took the job at the lawfirm because it was well-paying and would help him start to pay off the loans. Unfortunately, social organizing, which he had been doing previously, doesn’t come with stock options.
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Whose story is more ideal? That’s up to you to decide. For us, we believe in the feminist camp of work hard, play hard. We like a man who calls his wife the smarter one in the relationship. More importantly, we like a man who fights for her to have not only a voice, but equal rights as a woman. On that point, there is no contest for us.
* This is not empirical; and we’re both bleeding heart democrats, so this is also completely biased. If you want engrossing political commentary, please see www.NYTimes.com, or if you’re a Republican, ask Sarah Palin, she can tell you what she likes to read.