Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Reuters
My first reaction to Mitt Romney’s decision not to seek re-election was sadness. He’s a decent and honorable man, and we need more of them in Washington, not less.
And since Joe Biden’s age (and the ages of Sens. Mitch McConnell and Dianne Feinstein, as well as Donald Trump) has been a major topic of conversation of late, it was refreshing to see a politician of a certain age (in Romney’s case, 76) voluntarily relinquish power before he starts missing a step.
On the other hand, Romney’s exodus is a net negative for those of us who believe in liberal democracy. It’s yet another name on the long list of decent conservatives who have been put out to pasture during the Trump era.