Defending Romney

I see from the Twitter traffic that these Romney readings are being picked up by people who dislike the former governor, from the right and from the left. Just to clarify: The middle chapters of No Apology are some of the most impressive ever to appear in a campaign book.

Click here for all of David Frum’s blogposts on Mitt Romney’s “No Apology”.

I see from the Twitter traffic that these Romney readings are being picked up by people who dislike the former governor, from the right and from the left. Just to clarify: The middle chapters of No Apology are some of the most impressive ever to appear in a campaign book. Listen to this, from the chapter on education:

Following my election as governor of Massachusetts, and knowing that I now shared responsibility for the education of hundreds of thousands of young people, I studied the education literature to gain perspective. What I found was a virtual quicksand of differing opinion in which it would be easy to sink, but what was missing was an examination of data. Instead, most writers sought to convince readers by appealing to their inherent prejudices and by recounting anecdotes that supported their particular policy preferences. ... Anecdotes are illustrative, but data is compelling - particularly if it is comprehensive and presented by an unbiased source. (201)

Isn't that just how a president should think?