Pro-military candidate Mitt Romney has been called out for not mentioning the troops in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.

Honestly, this felt like making something out of nothing — until Romney offered his justification.

Regardless of why he failed to specifically praise U.S. troops, Romney's explanation makes him sound like an asshole.


His first mistake was dismissing troops as part of a "laundry list." His second was contrasting them with "things that you think are important."

Much like Paul Ryan casually referring to rape as a "method of conception," Romney's glib response only gives more credence to his critics' "he doesn't give a shit" argument.

Perhaps more importantly, Romney continues—

I didn't use the word "troops." I used the word "military." I think they refer to the same thing.

The fact that he sounds like a condescending dick when he says that is beside the point: what's significant is his conflation of the organization ("military") with the individual ("troops"). It recalls Romney's "Corporations are people, my friend" remarks.

While criticizing Romney for his failure to mention troops in his speech might be a stretch, it's worth noting his continued inability to distinguish large entities from individual people and their sacrifices.