He must have
known every reporter would dig up what he’d said in February, 2012, when Trump
endorsed him for President, which was, one, “I’m so honored and pleased to have
his (Trump’s) endorsement,” and, two, “I spent my life in the private sector.
Not quite as successful as this guy (Trump), but successful none the less.”
Why did
Romney give that speech? My guess he
could not help himself: he could no longer contain his disgust for Trump. Of course, everything he said about Trump was dead-on
accurate.
“If we
Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee,” Romney said, “the prospects
for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished.” Check.
“If Donald
Trump’s plans were ever implemented,” he said, “the country would sink into
prolonged recession.” Check.
“Mr. Trump’s
bombast,” he said, “is already alarming the allies and fueling the enmity of
our enemies.” Check.
“I’m
afraid,” he said, “that when it comes to foreign policy he (Trump) is very,
very not smart.” Check.
Romney’s
attack was hardly a political masterstroke.
He did not
endorse any other Republican candidate.
His core message was unrealistic and rather strange: I think he was suggesting
that the three men still in the race besides Trump should collude in taking
turns winning the various upcoming primaries.
“Given the
current delegate selection process…,” he said, “I’d vote for Marco Rubio in
Florida and for John Kasich in Ohio and for Ted Cruz or whichever one of the
other two contenders has the best chance of beating Mr. Trump in a given
state.”
That counsel
aims to deny Trump a majority of delegates, apparently in the hope of creating
a deadlocked convention.
There is no
doubting Romney’s intellectual skills. He’s accomplished extraordinary things
in his life and has raised a wonderful family with his wife Anne. By any
measure – and dramatically so compared to Trump -- Romney is a thoroughly decent
and compassionate human being. But he
was born lacking any particular talent for politics.
While he
certainly got better at politics since his first unsuccessful run for office
against Ted Kennedy, there are many intangibles about the political arts that
have always eluded him, and doubtless always will.
Within a
couple of hours of Romney’s speech, the New York Times posted an editorial on
its web site under this headline: “Mitt Romney Aims at Donald Trump, Hits GOP.”
Check.
You may find the NYT editorial
at:
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