Mitt Romney Is a Consultant to Believe In

By Michael Kinsley - Oct 13, 2011

 

How great a leader can you be if you go on and on about what a great leader you are?

In Tuesday’s Bloomberg-Washington Post Republican presidential debate, Mitt Romney crowned himself a leader -- “a leader with the experience of leading” -- again and again, without doing much to demonstrate it, such as taking a courageous -- that is, unpopular -- stand on something. Anything.

He also said, obnoxiously, that in deciding whom to vote for, people “are not going to be looking for someone who is not successful.” For Romney, the presidency is just the last rung on a long ladder of success. Not reaching it the last time hit him hard; he had never missed a step before.