Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney makes a range of observations and criticisms in his latest essay, “America Is in Denial,” published in The Atlantic on July 4 — commentary that’s just panoramic enough, with only one individual called on the carpet by name, that the senator from Utah might be seen as appealing for something like a national consensus on solving the problems we face. Not least among them, the fact that we can’t seem to find a national consensus about anything.
Fair enough — reach should exceed grasp, right? But in the current gridlock backdrop, it’s not unreasonable to suggest that Romney’s comments — relatively benign, mildly reproving — could also be the genial opening overture for a 2024 Romney campaign. He’ll vigorously deny this, of course, pro forma that’s to be expected. Some of Romney’s essay observations go out of their way to position him as a nonentity in any serious talk about the 2024 derby.