David Javerbaum’s Quantum Theory of Mitt Romney is eerily accurate. Normally these kinds of columns seem forced as the author feels compelled to slam everything into their model even though some parts fit much better than others. But, in this case, the model seems to work in a universal sense. Romney’s candidacy actually does defy classical politics and cannot be explained by Newtonian physics. It’s no coincidence that this is occurring in a party that has made its final break with science. And it’s no wonder that even the best political prognosticators, such as myself, have struggled to predict the outcome of this contest. Who could be certain, for example, that an anti-Romney particle would not be created that was capable of annihilating Romney? And how could anyone know what Romney would do when his behavior was always controlled by the one observing his behavior? His candidacy is absurd. Or, as Albert Camus put it:
“If I try to seize this self of which I feel sure, if I try to define and to summarize it, it is nothing but water slipping through my fingers. I can sketch one by one all the aspects it is able to assume, all those likewise that have been attributed to it, this upbringing, this origin, this ardor or these silences, this nobility or this vileness. But aspects cannot be added up.”
No, indeed not. And Romney’s father was insulted on last night’s airing of Mad Men. So there’s a culture war going on, too.
