Mitt Romney spent inauguration day at home in La Jolla, California, the first time since 1997 that a presidential runner-up didn’t attend his opponent’s inauguration ceremony, and the furthest a runner-up has been from an inauguration ceremony since, probably, 1973, when George McGovern was in London for Richard Nixon’s second swearing-in. (Walter Mondale was somewhere in 1985, but it’s not clear where. “He is not going to be in the city,” the executive assistant at his law firm said at the time. “He is not going to participate. That is as much as he wants known.”)
But back to Romney. An aide tells NBC News that Romney had “no big plans” for today, and found it “doubtful” he would watch the ceremony on TV. So it’s not clear exactly how Romney spent the day, but we’re guessing Giant Poolside Jenga. If there’s one thing that could cheer up Romney on a day like today, it’s Giant Poolside Jenga.
