Mitt spent the past 8 years campaigning, and a good portion of that time he had to suck up to people he hates and disdains. Slumming in NH and Iowa diners having lunch with riffraff, going to state fairs and talking to regular people, all those fundraising lunches and dinners.
Sure, he was kept in the bubble as much as possible, and plenty of the dinners were with his fellow 1%, but there is still a lot of retail campaigning and a lot of pressing of the flesh with the 47%, and lots of meetings with campaign staff where nonmillionaires tried to tell him what to do.
And what did he get for it? NOTHING.
(a bit more after the jump)
Actually, worse than nothing, since before he ran he could pretend that he was a respected national figure. Now the entire country thinks of him as an out-of-touch loser weirdo, and even big chunks of the right wing think he personally lost them a winnable election.
You could tell how uncomfortable he was all the time, which point was made clear to me by listening to the 47% video. Only there, in that context, did he sound enthusiastic and articulate and into what he was saying.
But it really warms my heart to think of all those years Mitt had to suck up to normal Americans. I'm sure he compulsively washed his hands over and over and told himself it'd all be worth it when he became president.
And now he never will.
And he'll never get those years back either.