hawkwing wrote:
The Nation is lucky to have him.
Fully agree. I live in the DC region and work a block and a half from the WH--though not for the government. Can't get away from politics out here, the same way we couldn't get away from Hollywood, aka "the industry" when we lived in Santa Monica.
I'll be curious to see how Romney does out here. He has deep pockets and lots of connections. He's clearly not your fun-of-the-mill freshman senator. I've only ever lived in Utah when I went to BYU, but the state lost a solid champion in Orrin Hatch--his committee work was very influential in ways that would never make national news. It's usually tough for a state to lose such a senior lawmaker. But I don't believe Utah won't be losing much with Romney.
As for his motives, I actually believe him when he says that he wants to do it out of a sense of civic duty. It's a real thing, and it runs deep in his family. And being a former stake president, I think he may understand the breadth of the human experience more than other people born into his privileged position not that he didn't also work hard, but he certainly started several rungs up the ladder).
There are some things I don't like about him, but having lived in Massachusetts when he was elected and then when he was governor, I was impressed.
I don't think he has the same moral backbone as Jeff Flake, but I do think he can be a useful counterpoint for decency against the current administration, while still promoting innovative policy around conservative values.
