What makes Romney run?

It can be odd to read a biography of a major political figure for whom, every day while one reads it, the story continues. Everything we hear in the news now about Mitt Romney seems to have been the case in 2008, when he first ran for president; or 2002, when after leading the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City he returned to Massachusetts and became governor (still the only election he has won); or even 1994, when his political career began with a race for US Senate against Ted Kennedy, to whom he delivered a few scares before losing comfortably, 41-58.

Still the question of authenticity — what does Mitt believe? — dogs him; still the question of whether he is really an anti-abortion, gay-unfriendly, social conservative; still the question of whether he can connect with ordinary citizens who grew up without his many advantages, and who never hoped to earn even a sliver of his $250-million fortune.