This afternoon I have been plagued by the thought of someone named Mitt was running for president. The Mitt to whom I refer is, of course, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The candidate for the Republican presidential nomination is the son of the late George Romney, a former Michigan governor and presidential candidate who lost to Richard Nixon for the GOP nomination.
Not a whole lot comes to mind when I think of George Romney, other than I wonder why he named his son after a baseball glove and that I once knew from my work as a reporter the person who wrote a biography of George Romney. I never read Dr. Dan Angel’s book — George Romney: A Political Biography — but perhaps if Mitt Romney wins the GOP nomination, I will. That is provided I can find one as I saw only two copies for sale on Amazon.com.
Oh, and there was that unfortunate gaffe the elder Romney made about being “brainwashed.”
Actually, I doubt that George Romney named his son after a catcher’s mitt although I don’t know that for a fact. However, the Romney family does have an interesting background including grandparents with multiple wives.
Of course, just because someone’s great grandparents or great-great grandparents did something doesn’t mean a person is going to take up that particular trait or activity. All I am saying is that if polygamy was still legal in the United States, just think of what a business florists and greeting card companies might do with anniversaries and Valentine’s Day.
Even if polygamy was legal I would have trouble remembering one anniversary date much less 12.