Review- Romney: A Reckoning
Thought-Provoking Things 2023
Looking back at the books, podcasts, and media I encountered this year that I’ve caught myself thinking about again and again.
In 2012, Mitt Romney was his party’s nominee for president; less than a decade later, he would be a pariah in his party, casting the lone Republican vote to convict President Trump. Much can be remarked about the seismic shift in the American political landscape, but perhaps no person has experienced that shift beneath their feet more Mitt, which is why his memoir Romney: a Reckoning, is the topic of the next thought-provoking thing.
I know the appetite for political content varies widely, so thankfully there are three different portion sizes to accommodate any palate.
The lunch break portion can be read from an excerpt in The Atlantic, where the author, McKay Coppins, is a staff writer; the entree, a fantastic podcast on Radiowest, The Reckoning of Mitt Romney; and for the political junkies out there, just break down and get the book.
Part of the appeal is the intimate portrait that the book paints of an otherwise aloof and bland political figure. Romney, with his ken-doll good looks, idealistic family, and crisp resume, always suffered from seeming relatable. This is not the type of political memoir to read for the skeletons in the closet, Romney really is that guy. In order to get the juicy bits, you don’t look at Mitt’s history but what’s going on inside Mitt’s head and his feelings about the other actors in the political ecosphere, thoughts which are laid open with stunning candor.
Romney and author Coppins have a significant history–Coppins, was part of the press junket for both of Romney’s bids for the presidency. This trusted relationship resulted in what seems to be a somewhat unprecedented “no-holds-bar” access to hundreds of Romney’s email, personal files, and journals. Coppins asserts that Romney reserved no editorial control or influence over the manuscript, and sat with Coppins for dozens of interviews.
I found many parts of the book engaging, but I’ll focus on one bit here.
When Romney was wrestling with the prospect of running for the Senate, Romney did what he always did on occasions when contemplating a big decision: he bought a fresh yellow legal pad. Over several weeks, after conversations with trusted advisors, Romney would work out his thoughts on the yellow paper, carefully listing the pros and cons. As some point, he scrawled at the top of the pad a line from a Yeat’s poem: “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”
That line has not left me alone since reading it. I can’t stop thinking about why it seems so perfect to describe our current societal moment. I don’t think its just a simple case of the Dunning-Krueger effect playing out publicly, although that is a partial explanation. There seem to be other issues compounding the problem.
In the age of Twitter, the narrow algorithmic window of relevance prioritizes speed over accuracy, and the result is everyone is expected to have a hot take about everything. The perception is that If you don’t respond while the topic is trending, you may as well not bother. This makes it impossible to ever have time and space to sort out the nuance in any major issue.
Further compounding the problem, our collective short attention span can be weaponized in several ways: one way to avoid accountability for poor behavior is to simply perpetrate another stunt before accountability can catch up, skipping from controversy to controversy until it becomes uninteresting or a greater distraction diverts attention. Another tactic is simply flooding the airwaves with “information”, intentionally creating ambiguity thus making it near impossible to identify the signal through the noise.
In such a state, it’s hard not to despair, turn jaded, or become apathetic. It takes courage to muster conviction and take up a viewpoint, in full acknowledgement of the ambiguity and complexity.
Romney’s choice to enter the Senate is so interesting because, in many ways, it was a step down, something which cannot be said for most members of Congress. It is not uncommon to see failed presidential contenders in the Senate, but what sets Romney apart from the others is that, typically, that person was a sitting Senator prior to losing. Romney’s critics might argue that a senate seat is Romney’s consolation prize, and his actions smack of desperation to remain relevant, but the book argues convincingly that such a view is inconsistent with Romney’s personality.
Mitt Romney is not a white knight, he and I do not see eye-to-eye on many things, but I think he served in the Senate out of a sincere sense of duty to do the right thing. I admire that he did so acutely knowing how difficult, thankless, and isolating that would be. Our world needs more people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work, especially when there isn’t a prospect of higher glory or personal enrichment.
My hope is that when faced with similar decisions, on whatever scale, we have the courage to find our conviction, in spite of the complexity and ambiguity, and participate.
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