As some old-timers here know, I was an early fan of the governor of Massachusetts, back when he was still governor of Massachusetts. Taking on Harvard on cloning and putting his neck out on religious liberty were some of the things that got my attention.

This last presidential cycle, when he was the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney (and Paul Ryan) told the truth about the attack on conscience the Obama administration has so unnecessarily waged. That was something that would have never penetrated the mainstream media without him. Still today, we have miles to go yet, but I’m grateful to him.

I obviously wish Mitt Romney had won in 2013. He obviously does, too. I think it’s a healthy thing for American politics that he’s not running again. Fairly or unfairly, if Romney were the candidate, we’d probably wind up rehashing some of the same old, even as he tried to reframe his campaign.

That and I actually am not as cold on a Jeb Bush run as some others, so I was not delighting in Mitt and Jeb cancelling one another out. I don’t think he should be crowned GOP nominee tomorrow or anything, but Jeb’s a serious person, with executive experience, and real policy knowledge. A conservative and a Catholic convert, I’d hope his campaign might help challenge the GOP to always see the human person in politics and lawmaking. And I think his presence could potentially make for some smart and challenging debates. We shall see . . .