Who is Mitt Romney when the campaign trail ends and the limelight of the speeches fade? For nearly two decades, that question has lingered in the minds of voters and political cognoscenti alike, never receiving a clear answer. Is he a political chameleon, adjusting his policy positions to the prevailing wind? Or is he a principled emblem of bipartisanship navigating the treacherous waters of American politics with a moral compass that at times benefits and at times undermines his ambitions?
In his gripping new memoir “Romney: A Reckoning,” veteran journalist McKay Coppins, plunges readers into a fascinating exploration to answer the question by chronicling Romney’s journey from the conference rooms of the largest corporations in the world to the halls of the Senate. The result of 30 interviews with the senator, in addition to dozens of email and text exchanges, the book is nothing short of a political masterpiece and a necessary read for anyone seeking to uncover the fraught origins of our vastly complex political landscape.
Coppins, for much of the book, details Romney’s exploration of the arena of politics and his struggles to find an authentic voice in such a polarizing, unpredictable field. He describes Romney navigating a balancing act between his non-partisan leanings and the endless demands of the far-right. Authenticity, the biography suggests, is a prized, yet elusive, commodity.
However, it’s the dance between Romney and Donald Trump that provides some of the biography’s most captivating moments. Coppins details how Romney, under duress to acquiesce to the Tea Party faction, gleefully accepted the endorsement of Trump, who quickly became the group’s most public face. Coppins explains how Romney found himself fascinated by Trump and his brash, braggadocio persona. Yet a mere eight years later, in arguably his finest political hour, Romney would become the only Republican to vote to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial, invoking the former President’s wrath. Though Coppins meticulously presents Trump and Romney’s relationship in the book, I only wish he could have delved even more deeply, extracting more from the goldmine of drama and tension that this relationship undeniably provides.
The book is undoubtedly revelatory, dropping several bombshells that would fill political gossip columns. Yet there are times it veers toward the precipice of being overly deferential. The introspective moments from Romney, though insightful, sometimes come off as a tad self-indulgent. Furthermore, the cyclic patterns of guilt and rationalization become repetitive. I truly hoped for a more critical lens throughout the book, a keen dissection of the contradictions that mark Romney’s journey, but unfortunately, I settled for less while reading this book.
Still, Coppins displays his dexterity as a biographer, ensuring the narrative remains anchored in his view of Romney’s successes and setbacks. His storytelling prowess transforms what could have been just another political biography into a compelling human story about morality and principle. Readers don’t need to agree with all of Romney’s actions or decisions to appreciate the challenges he faces, both externally and internally. This intimate portrayal invites readers into Romney’s world, casting him not merely as a politician but as a man wrestling with his convictions in a turbulent, unforgiving landscape.
While the book does an admirable job of charting Romney’s trajectory, I found it occasionally glossed over some of his more contentious moments. The infamous “47 percent” remark, in which Romney was recorded taking a shot at the “47 percent” of voters “dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims,” arguably proved the most pivotal moment of the 2012 presidential election and required a more in-depth analysis of the psyche of the man behind the remark. Romney’s complex, often unpredictable journey throughout the volatile political world is a critical reflection on the nature of politics in our times.
As the adage goes in politics, “In the middle of the road, you get run over.” But “Romney: A Reckoning” urges us to question the hard-line partisanship and take-no-prisoners style of modern politicians that has seemingly swept through our nation in recent years? It forces us to ponder how we can compromise on issues without compromising our principles, and in an age where polarization and extremity often edge out nuance and compromise, Coppins thankfully and importantly reminds readers of the value, and indeed the complexity, of the middle path.
