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It’s About the Legacy, Not the House
April 16, 2013 | 43 comments
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Understanding the Left’s Demands on What Others Own
March 13, 2013 | 205 comments
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Football, Fairness, and Hayek
February 1, 2013 | 18 comments
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An Elite That Still Reject Him
December 24, 2012 | 76 comments
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Why Rice?
December 11, 2012 | 31 comments
A Further Perspective
One Small Step for Romney
The Republican nominee’s tribute to Neil Armstrong was nicely self-revelatory.
A seemingly perfunctory reference offers insight into Romney and his possible White House path. For a man so accomplished, Romney still has not managed to introduce himself. It is not his nature to do so, but it is the nature of the job he seeks. It was a similarly difficult mission for a man he mentioned almost in passing: Neil Armstrong.
By following Armstrong’s lead, Romney could turn the small step of his acceptance speech into the giant leap of this campaign.
Romney’s Tampa speech was his biggest. It was also his hardest because it focused on him. His goal was to go within himself and over the media to finally reach the American people.
Self-revelation is part of the presidency’s job description. Today, America must at least feel comfortable, if not like, its presidents. It is not an unreasonable request.
Our presidents are before us 24 hours a day, seven days a week for at least four years — and usually eight. Today’s president embodies a government that controls ever more of our lives. Now, in increased economic uncertainty — its control appears even more precarious and important.
If Americans are going to have you continuously with them — and you are going to run the biggest variable in their lives over which they have a say — they expect to know you, they have to trust you, and they would like to like you.
But while a public figure, Romney is a private man. Intensely so. He has extended himself in many endeavors but without revealing himself.
So as he stood at last before the Republican Party to accept its nomination, he faced a new mission. And so he started: “I was born in the middle of the century in the middle of the country, a classic baby boomer.… When President Kennedy challenged Americans to go to the moon, the question wasn’t whether we would get there, it was only when we’d get there. The soles of Neil Armstrong’s boots on the moon made permanent impressions on our souls and in our national psyche… God bless Neil Armstrong.”
Certainly, Armstrong had died just days before Romney’s speech, but far more can be taken from the reference than that. Like Romney, Armstrong was humble, quiet, and accomplished. He had excelled in everything he had undertaken — up to the moment he made himself monumental.
He was a man whose moment was bigger than he was, and he was man enough to let it be so. He did not need to embellish it, or his role in it; it spoke for itself and for all time. It fairly sums up Armstrong’s life: he was always the right man at the right moment. Talent alone constantly put him in place for the next mission, until it led to his ultimate one.
The parallel with Romney is striking. Romney’s struggle is that to undertake his mission he must seemingly aggrandize himself. Politics is not like Armstrong’s area of endeavor — a reason why he assiduously avoided it. Long gone are the days when politics was thrust upon the most deserving, like Eisenhower. Today, you succeed only by thrusting yourself on it.
The dichotomy between Kennedy and Armstrong is equally telling. Its broad outlines trace that of Obama and Romney.
We still remember Kennedy’s words; Armstrong’s most memorable line — “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” was actually flubbed (he intended it to be: “One small step for A man…”) and a point of controversy thereafter.
Kennedy was eloquent, charismatic, the one who brashly threw down the gauntlet. Armstrong was the engineer who picked it up.
Obama too is the man of soaring rhetoric — of hope and change and promise. And Romney could be the man who fulfills that mission. He knows that mission is more important than he is — than anyone is — and is not only comfortable with it, but welcomes it overshadowing him.
About the Author
J.T. Young served in the Department of Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget from 2001 to 2004 and as a Congressional staff member from 1987 to 2000.
Darin| 9.7.12 @ 6:38AM
Romney should be commended for not blowing his own trumpet. Humility is not a weakness but is rather a sign of deep inner strength and moral character. While Romney must make himself known to the American people, those around him can also help by sharing how Romney has impacted their lives. Real people endorsing someone with real accomplishments will be a nice change.
Appleby| 9.7.12 @ 7:10AM
I think a lot of people are ready for a President who isn't in our faces 24/7, on every single channel, on every single show. We want a President who will buckle down and do the job he was hired to do, which is not the job of Rock Star.
Al Adab| 9.7.12 @ 2:05PM
It would be a welcome change to move back to an executive rather than a celebrity, schedule for the President. Heck, the State of the Union doesn't need to be a speech but rather an executive summary of the current state of the country, its programs, defense and economic health. Wouldn't it be great to get back to governing rather than posturing?
Stuart Koehl| 9.7.12 @ 9:03AM
What has happened to us since the days of George Washington, a man whose reticence was so imposing that it inspired awe among those who met him? Washington never spoke of himself, unless in a self-deprecatory manner: he never spoke of how he was the only man for the job; rather, he usually expressed reservations that he was worthy or capable of it--and in that way, convinced everybody that he truly was. Of course, he also lived up to the expectations of others, but he did not set those expectations, they did. And knowing that other expected much of him, Washington usually managed to deliver, because his honor demanded it.
TeaPartyNow| 9.7.12 @ 10:40AM
The two most destructive forces have been media and liberalism. You asked what has happened. The American People were trained to be noninformed, noninvolved, marxist compliant dupes. And now, the right has joined them. The American People are wasted, hence America today.
Occam's Tool| 9.7.12 @ 11:50AM
My Professor of History at TCU, Paul Boller, used to tell a story about a political associate of Washington's who bet to another one that he could go up to Washington, drape his arm around him, and say "How are you doing, George?" The other one told him that that would be impossible, due to Washington's gravitas.
Well, the time came, the associate did it, and Washington looked at him as though he were a dead cat that someone had thrown on his doorstep. As he slunk back to his friend to accept his winnings, he told the friend that he would NEVER do that again.
Washington was recognized by his living peers as a non-pareill.
I am liking Romney more and more.
TeaPartyNow| 9.7.12 @ 10:36AM
Look, I get it, the right needs an alter to worship their government on, and Romney is it. Spin miserable failure. Oh, Romneys' not weak sauce, he's strong in a way that looks like weak sauce. That's what the right says, there's your spin baby. And, point to O's hate campaign while Romney/Ryan has more hate and lies than them, and spin it.
Mitt Romney is impotent as a leader. Remember his white board? He said he'd do nothing with Medicare. And then Ryan, the right, the left, and every one ran him over. He soon conceded and said that he'd go along with the Ryan plan. But how pathetic is that? Mitt Romney personally is impotent, which is why he could never write his own speech, or think for himself as a leader.
Here you have a nation going over a cliff, and then you get a turd to take the wheel. Instead of being honest, the right just whines, and justifies their own abysmal failure as "strong in a way that looks weak".
America is wasted. As the right worships it's new found savior, we can only hope that the stink of their driver will make some jump off of the bus before it goes over the cliff. Other than that, eat bottom.
Dave Williams| 9.7.12 @ 2:16PM
Oh, will you please just STFU????? Right from your phony name down to your idiotic posts, you, TeaPartyNow, are nothing more than a painful rectal itch.
CJW| 9.7.12 @ 2:41PM
TPN sounds like Clint
Albert Constantine Jr.| 9.9.12 @ 2:09PM
I must respectfully disagree. TPN claimed to have supported Santorum a couple of weeks ago, and Clint could not have brought himself to do that (though Margie could have). I believe TPN is a fraud which comes from a Southern college campus.
Ken (Old Texican)| 9.7.12 @ 10:48AM
Tea Party Now,
I get really tired of you whining about our elected nominees.
You are henceforth relegated to my scroll-by button.
Drunken Sailor| 9.7.12 @ 12:02PM
Dear Ken,
What took so long?
Al Adab| 9.7.12 @ 2:07PM
Agreed. Why is it that those who whine most are themselves least likely to enter the arena and even run for city council, school board or some other?
CJW| 9.7.12 @ 2:52PM
Al Adab
I was impressed with the personal stories of Mitt helping others, especially the young boy who died.
There are no such stories for Obama, otherwise they would be plastered everywhere. Obama does not even help his brother living in a hut in Kenya, while O has 2 million dollar house in Chicago.
Obama's stories are all about taxing us to give it to favorites, such as all this talk about saving the auto industry. They gave our tax money to two badly run companies, GM and Chrysler.
The auto industry of Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and others in the USA did not ask or receive federal handouts.
Obama argues that bailing out GM saved some of the GM jobs. True, but then why not give money to every company and business that needs it to avoid layoffs. The money to GM was for the UAW that supports O with money and manpower., and because most of the UAW members are in Michigan and Ohio, two states he needs to win.
Al Adab| 9.7.12 @ 3:21PM
Hi W:
You have it right about the govt. (read this president) picking winners and losers based on who will better support his campaigns financially. Last I knew that was known as corruption (or fascism if you will) and was something we did not want in our system. Ohio is must for GOP to prevail along with FL of course. The electoral count eludes the GOP when considering the new situation in MO. Lots of hard work ahead. Might we find enough sponsorship to put "2016" movie on say MSNBC or FX or Spike or somewhere, by buying the time? Time to pony up.
Have a great weekend.
CJW| 9.7.12 @ 4:34PM
Thanks, Al Adab, have pleasant weekend. Keep the faith. Romney by a landslide.
Fiscal| 9.7.12 @ 8:46PM
Romney's a good guy -- and a better alternative than Obama -- but he's running a lousy campaign. He's a great manager, but he's lost his ability to have perspective because he wants to be President so much. His strength as a manager was that he looked at everything as a zero-based problem regardless of ideology. He has become an ideology based candidate devoid of real world analysis. His budget numbers just don't add up and there is no way anyone would believe he'd be able to build a consensus in Washington -- something it was thought Obama could do and an important attribute to independents who will eventually decide this election. This is too bad because all Obama has is "hope" and reality left the Dems a long time ago. Romney should be positioned as the adult in the room and not make the outrageous comments that fact checkers can mock. It makes him look just as bad as Obama and plays right into the Dems hands.
No objective view of the conventions would dispute that the Republican convention was a group of angry people and the Dems convention was a very diversified group of happy people. You can't win an election by being angry.
He needs to fire his staff...
Aristocat| 9.8.12 @ 1:32AM
The Dems were a very diversified group of morons.
WKH| 9.8.12 @ 4:38PM
Thanks JT for a very insightful article. It was good to see the stories about Romney come out at the RNC. These are things very private to him, never intended for the general public. They weren't done as a photo op for the press or to make points for a constituency. They were done, quietly and privately because this is the man he is. As opposed to our President, for whom jobs and the economy are secondary to winning and ego. I read recently that while Romney has given millions away in charitable donations, Biden over the last 10 years has averaged about$356/year. Our President? He didn't start giving until after announcing his candidacy for president. Tells a lot about what kind of man he is.