Remember Mitt Romney? That national candidate who saw 47% of the country as lazy parasites? The one who assumed all the polls were "skewed" and that he was poised for victory? Apparently, he misses you.
More than half a year after his election loss, Mitt Romney is putting a tentative foot back onto the public stage.
Restless, a little wistful and sharply critical of President Barack Obama's second term, Mr. Romney said in an interview that he plans to re-emerge in ways that will "help shape national priorities." As a first step, the former Republican presidential nominee plans to welcome 200 friends and supporters to a three-day summit next week that he will host at a Utah mountain resort.
He is considering writing a book and a series of opinion pieces, and has plans to campaign for 2014 candidates.
Traditionally, failed presidential candidates, unless they hold office and/or plan to run again, quietly fade from public view, content with the knowledge that they had their say, made their pitch, and came up short.
But Mitt Romney is apparently feeling restless. "By and large," he told the Wall Street Journal, losing candidates "aren't very much in the public view." Romney then added, "But it doesn't have to be that way."
In fairness, I should note that he's not completely oblivious to the circumstances. He also told the WSJ, "In our country, the guy who loses the presidential election isn't expected to jump on the airwaves and try and promote himself. We will speak out from time to time, but I'm not going to be bothering the airwaves with a constant series of speeches."
Romney won't stay on the sidelines, either. There won't be a "constant series" of speeches, but there will be some speeches. And op-eds. And campaign appearances. And a closed-door summit. And maybe a book.
What's less clear is whether anyone will care what the former one-term governor has to say.
It's easy to forget, but in the immediate wake of Election Day 2012, Romney wasn't an especially popular figure with, well, much of anyone. When he spoke to donors about American voters being effectively bought off with "big gifts" such as affordable health care and public education, Romney's standing managed to deteriorate further.
By mid-November, Romney was something of a pariah, with a variety of Republican leaders eager to denounce him, his rhetoric, and his campaign style. Remember this?
Mitt Romney, who just two weeks ago was the Republican Party's standard-bearer, seen by many as the all-but-elected president of the United States, has turned into a punching bag for fellow Republicans looking to distance themselves from his controversial "gifts" remark. [...]
Whether it's an instance of politicians smelling blood in the water as the party, following Romney's defeat, finds itself without a figurehead, or genuine outrage, a number of Republicans have eagerly castigated their former nominee.
Josh Marshall said at the time the GOP pushback amounted to "Lord of the Flies" treatment, which seemed like an apt comparison.
And now Romney wants to "help shape national priorities" and "campaign for 2014 candidates"? I'm trying to imagine a list of Republicans who would welcome him and choose to campaign alongside him. I can't think of any.