An interesting piece with the above title by Geoffrey Norman at The American Spectator:

The earth has become small, and on it hops the Last Man, who makes everything small. His species is ineradicable as the flea; the Last Man lives longest. – Nietzsche

So it seems it will be Mitt. And good thing he won’t be offering his main rival the second spot on the ticket. “Mitt & Newt” sounds like the name of a comedy act or a network sitcom. Not right for something epic or tragic. Which is to say… not right for the times. Not even close.

When you think about this election — and you must, there is no escaping it — you wonder if it is not just the same old, same old. Is this just another “most important election of our lifetimes,” or something, actually, a little more important than that? Is it business as usual or are we entering a pre-revolutionary phase of history when, soon, nothing will be the same again?

Who knows? But to ask the question is to point out how unfit Mr. Romney may be to lead during these times.

To begin with, he has never given any indication that he even understands, or appreciates, the mood of these days. You can listen to Mr. Romney debate or speak for hours (some have, poor souls) and never get the feeling that he senses the fear, the uncertainty, and the outright dread that is loose in the land. People, millions of them, are not merely frightened; they are terrified.

Mr. Romney’s message of assurance?

“I’ll fix things. Trust me, I’m a businessman.”

An example of Mitts’s insouciance would be that line about how the health care mandate isn’t something to “get angry about.”

Nah. Geeze, man. Chill.

Read the rest here.