“During my campaign for governor, I decided to spend a day every few weeks doing the jobs of other people in Massachusetts. Among other jobs, I cooked sausages at Fenway Park, worked on asphalt paving crew, stacked bales of hay on a farm, volunteered in an emergency room, served food at a nursing home, and worked as a child-care assistant. I’m often asked which was the hardest job – it’s child care, by a mile.”

“One day I gathered trash as a garbage collector. I stood on that little platform at the back of the truck, holding on as the driver navigated his way through the narrow streets of Boston. As we pulled up to traffic lights, I noticed that the shoppers and businesspeople who were standing only a few feet from me didn’t even see me. It was as if I was invisible. Perhaps it was because a lot of us don’t think garbage men are worthy of notice; I disagree – anyone who works that hard deserves our respect.

From: No Apology; The Case for American Greatness

The SEIU, a far left labor union, has started running an ad featuring a guy who claims to be the garbage man who works the route that includes Romney’s California home. In the ad, this public employee snivels about his job:

My name is Richard Hayes, and I pick up Mitt Romney’s trash. We’re kind of like the invisible people. He doesn’t realize that the service we provide – if it wasn’t for us, it would be a big health issue, us not picking up trash.”

I guess this is supposed to be a killer of an ad. More of the 99% vs the 1% crap the SEIU shovels out when it doesn’t have its snout shoved into the public coffers. Unfortunately, the Romney campaigns supine push back efforts will probably result in this egregious calumny actually hurting Romney.

It is a shame. Mitt Romney is without doubt one of the most generous and gracious men who have run for the presidency. Especially when compared to the grasping Elmer Gantry in the White House.