provence where the incumbent short fall has been the most glaring. why did mitt romney write this? >> it seems to be a declaration of sorts for romney. you know, it's not really clear what exactly it is in service of in a larger strategy. is he going to be able to go in and be a principle voice against the president? obviously we can see that. a lot of what he said is not new. parts of it seemed as if they were lifted from the 2016 speech, but if you go back to the 2016 speech, it didn't really change or alter the trajectory of the race, and trump still became the nominee. the question here and what is unclear is whether or not this op-ed is in a service or strategy that mitt romney will have as he begins to build the