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No Apology: The Case For American Greatness (2010)

by Mitt Romney(Favorite Author)

3.7 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0312609809 (ISBN13: 9780312609801)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

St. Martin's Press

review 1: I'm only about 1/10 of the way through this book and I find myself fundamentally in disagreement with almost everything he says. His comparison of governments to businesses is such a bad analogy that its hard to read. Often, I find Romney to be a puppet of Limbaugh, whose phrases and buzz words Romney borrows without apology. No apology indeed . . .Almost 1/3 done now. Romney is fear-mongering now. Mostly riffing on George W Bush's War on Terror rhetoric, he talks about Islam in a way that is contrary to anything I've ever read about Islam.Over a third of they way now. Romney criticizes Russia and China for wanting to take over the world. Then he outlines a "soft plan" to take over the world via regional leaders who ensure American interests are growing without oppo... moresition. This is but a small portion of the power-hungry rhetoric chock full of hypocrisy.About half way through. I was getting close to throwing in the towel on this one. Pretzel logic, inconsistencies and contradictions abound whenever Romney talks about government, foreign or domestic. But, now he's talking about business--something he does seem to know about. The chapter I'm slogging through now has examples of how business works, what productivity really means, and how to be the best in business. Here, I believe Romney is at home. I hope that the rest of the book stays with something he understands--how to run a business.I understand Romney's ideas about world competition in business and how government seems to control innovation--and this seems to inhibit business. It's a good argument. He certainly makes the case for keeping government out of the free market. But, Romney argues in favor of the company/corporation. I can't support an inanimate object over the people who work for it. And if you don't believe a company/corporation is inanimate, wait til something goes wrong and see how fast the management washes their hands of the sinking ship. And it's amazing how management always seems to land on their feet, while the workers don't know where to turn. But then Romney really starts to get under my skin by talking about stuff I do know about--education. I get infuriated when people suggest that it's the teachers' fault that students aren't educated. Teachers are better trained, with greater technology and philosophy than ever before. They are certainly not in it for the money--so they are very interested in the welfare of the student. But when students (encouraged by parents) completely disrespect the school system, it makes it hard to teach them. And who encourages them to disrespect the school system? Romney, Limbaugh, Beck, and Hannity--all of whom suggest that the school system and teachers are liberal parasites with Svengali-like powers that hypnotize students into becoming Democrats. And then they wonder why we can't reach the students. Very few things piss me off more about the Republican Party right now than the rhetoric that teachers are ineffective. I'll bet very few, if any of them, have ever spent a day in a classroom, let alone tried to teach one. When Romney talks immigration, here we agree. Make it easier for people to immigrate. Make people who came here illegally go back home and then return through the legal, easier immigration process.I tried, people. I have given up. Romney makes little sense to me. But I did get half way, so I'm calling it read.
review 2: I probably should start by saying that I am a fan of Mitt's, but even if I weren't I was appreciative of the things he had to say about why we live in a great country and what will continue to make it great, namely 1) a strong economy, 2) a strong military, and 3) a free and strong people. I admire Mitt's fight to stand for greatness and truth even though he lost the election. I only made it through 1/2 of the book before the election. However, there is a handy epilogue in the back of the book (per the suggestion of Ann) that summarizes Mitt's agenda--very helpful. A few key points:--"Stop the trillion dollar deficits and spend only what we have. No more borrowing for unnecessary "nice to have" government programs."--"Publish an annual balance sheet for the country." How basic is that?--"Establish incentive and employer-based job-training programs to help people find new and sustainable employment."--"Let states craft their own programs in insure and the uninsured, providing flexibility in the use of federal funds that already go to the states."--"Reform medical malpractice." Absolutely.--"Establish a comprehensive energy security plan--a "no-regrets plan"--that frees us form dependence on oil oligopolists and that reduces our emissions of greenhouse gases.--"Establish a forum for democracies to collaborate and promote freedom, using NATO as a foundation."--"Encourage states to develop programs that prepare parents of at-risk children for education."--"Promote state and local programs to keep kids in school--teacher bonuses, mentors, curriculum matching, etc."--"Teach our children the benefits to them and to their children of getting married before they have babies." less

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