Standing with their families, Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney stands with his wife Ann, and Republican vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., second right, stands with his wife Janna after Romney's concession speech at his election night rally in Boston, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012.
Charles Dharapak, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Is the immediate second-guessing and criticism of the losing political campaigns really appropriate, however well-intentioned? Maybe the time for analysis is farther down the road when wounds have been given a chance to heal.
Losing a campaign is hard enough without the armchair quarterbacks telling you what you did wrong. I thank all those courageous candidates who ran and lost for making that effort.
Mitt Romney gave his heart and soul to run an honorable campaign, and it must be heartbreaking to lose such a close contest. He ran out of love for his country and a desire to improve it. I salute him and the many brave others who ran while subjecting themselves to the brutal scrutiny and constant criticism that these campaigns inflict.
Most of us are not willing to do this, but our democratic republic needs it to survive.
Paula Bergeson
Orem
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I don't think Mitt Romney ran an "honorable campaign" at all.
And I think a whole lot Utahns could use a lesson in humility, class, and grace in the face of defeat.
And I think Mike Lee's assertion that Utahns have an More..
Unfortunately, Romney did not run an honorable campaign. From his comments and actions, it is clear that he did not run out of love for his country and a desire to improve it; he ran out of a desire for power and the feeling that he was entitled to More..
Particularly disappointing was Romney's reliance on surrogates, like Trump, to launch malicious attacks on Obama. Romney could have distanced himself from Trump, but did not. Instead, he posed with Trump for photo ops. Maybe Romney was afraid More..