Unapologetically Good Reading

Just like Sarah Palin, another Republican governor that was involved with—and ultimately had their plans delayed—in the 2008 presidential race has decided to release his side of the story. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s No Apology, released earlier this month, takes its title as a rebuttal to President Obama’s worldwide Apologize-For-America tour during fall 2009.

Mitt Romney is a well-accomplished renaissance man of sorts. His wealth of experiences in government, business, consulting, and the Mormon Church all shape his patriotic, hands-on, no-nonsense worldview. In No Apology, Romney breaks down chapter-by-chapter many of the contemporary issues facing Americans. Some of Romney’s touchy topics include education, health care, entitlement reform, environmentalism, oil dependency, ethics in government, abortion, education, and defense. Romney offers his practical, intriguing two-cents worth on what America can do to deal with these issues in a sustainable and meaningful way.

The writing style of this book is simple, straightforward, and for the most part, easy to read and comprehend. While he never promises silver-bullet cure-alls for what ails America today, he offers common-sense, feasible solutions, that if enacted, have potential to build a stronger America.

Especially of interest to myself were his views on healthcare reform. Romney was governor of Massachusetts when the Bay State enacted its sweeping overhaul of state health care, a plan that is often touted as a model for Democrat’s recently passed national health care legislation. I’ll admit I never fully understood the Massachusetts system, and I still don’t completely understand it. That said, what Romney and the Massachusetts legislator enacted several years ago makes good common sense, and allows government to effectively assist in what is still a private-sector managed entity.

With a March 2, 2010 release, No Apology is very up-to-date and full of current events. But one quote from page 105 caught me as an unfortunate irony:

“In the auto world, Toyota innovated what we now call ‘quality manufacturing’—placing such consistent attention to each detail at every step of the manufacturing process that flaws and rejects virtually disappeared.”

I realize nobody saw the Toyota fiasco coming, including Romney. I just found this a darkly amusing irony.

While Romney staunchly defends his patriotic, right-of-center, pro-life viewpoints, he also is careful to avoid upsetting minorities, immigrants, single parents, and other sensitive groups discussed in his writing.

From a public relations standpoint, this book may be an early springboard for Romney Round 2 in the 2012 presidential elections. I liked Romney better than McCain in 2008. I like the Mittster even more now after reading his practical, personable, country-loving tome. I believe his Bay State gubernatorial experience plus his America-first solutions for our nation’s challenges could move America in a direction more true to our roots and our Constitution. In contrast, things Obama, Pelosi, and crew are doing scare me as the foundations of America are threatened by their spend-happy, left-of-center mindsets and worldviews.

One last thing, and this one is purely subjective. The cover photo of Mitt Romney is a curious one. The lighting is such that his eyes are cast into deep, dark shadows while every crevice, pockmark, and razor-induced imperfection on his skin is illuminated. The eyes are the window to the soul…a film professor I studied under in college demonstrated techniques to ensure eyes were properly lit, not appearing as two blacked-out recesses of the face. I’d like to know the reasoning behind this choice of cover art: