While most of the focus of today will be on President Obama's reelection victory, I want to take a second to acknowledge the immeasurable hard work and sacrifice of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.
I'll admit it -- Mitt wasn't my guy in the primaries. But when he secured the nomination, I put our few ideological differences aside to join him in supporting the many other things we have in common. As the campaign went on, he grew on me -- especially after he plucked Ryan from national obscurity and confronted serious issues lesser men would have never touched (ahem, Barack). He ran a good campaign, a clean campaign. While President Obama disgraced his office with mudslinging class warfare and immature name-calling, Romney kept his eye on the bigger picture: the future of our country.
At the end of the day, I respect Mitt Romney. I'm proud to have been represented in this election by a man who carried himself with dignity, even when he faced vicious & narrow-minded attacks on his personal character, his work ethics and his faith. And to the families of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, we also owe immense thanks -- they have all sacrificed so much for the past 18 months, not for personal gain but for the good of our country.
Mitt Romney may have lost yesterday's election, but as he said in his most gracious concession speech, he "left everything on the field." For that, we owe him our sincere gratitude.
