Romney bows out, leaving a legacy that would make his father proud

When I met Mitt Romney, we were aboard a six-seater chartered jet headed for Iowa. It was 2007, and he was a former Massachusetts governor embarking on a bid for the presidency.

What was on his mind that morning was a four-decade-old letter he had come across the day before as he was searching through family mementos for old photos that his campaign had requested. The letter was from his father and was about standing up for what was important — even, or maybe especially, when it goes against the political currents.

In 1964, George Romney, the Republican governor of Michigan, withheld his support from his party’s presidential nominee because of Barry Goldwater’s opposition to civil rights. Four years later, the elder Romney was briefly the GOP front-runner himself until he made a rash and candid admission that his initial support for the Vietnam War was the result of “brainwashing” by generals and diplomats. Telling the truth killed George Romney’s White House hopes, but his principles remained intact.