This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It's been four years since Mitt Romney lost a presidential election, but he's clearly not over it.
Asked about that by CNN correspondent Gloria Borger in the upcoming documentary "Almost President: The Agony of Defeat" (Wednesday, 7 p.m.), Romney doesn't actually answer the question. But his feelings are clear.
"Losing an election is not fun," he says. "It was very disappointing on election night and in the weeks that followed. And we thought of all the people that had helped so much. And it's very hard, even to see them again. And to say, 'Oh gosh, we wish we'd've gotten the job done.' But we didn't."
"We felt like we'd let people down," adds Ann Romney, Mitt's wife.
The fact that they're not over it doesn't make the Romneys unique. Borger also interviewed John McCain, Michael Dukakis and Walter Mondale for the special, and none of them is over it, either.
"To be blunt about it, losing sucks," said Dukakis, who lost to George H.W. Bush in 1988.
And Mondale, who was crushed by Ronald Reagan in 1984, recalls 1972 Democratic nominee George McGovern's response when asked how long it takes: "When I get over it, I'll call you."
In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Borger said she was struck by photos of the Romneys taken shortly after the 2012 electoral defeat.
"There were pictures of them loading their groceries into the car at the Costco," she said. "And when I saw that, it kind of just stuck in my mind. Because one day, you're on the top of the world. And the next day you're at the Costco.
"There has to be an adjustment … going back from this crazy bubble you live in for years when you want to be president."
The Romneys tell Borger it was just getting back to normal.
"The refrigerator was bare, so — go to the market and get some food," Mitt Romney says in the documentary.
"Life goes on," Ann Romney adds.
But not without scars. Mitt Romney says losing was "a heart-wrenching experience." Ann Romney speaks of it as "a very difficult thing for families."
And yet Mitt Romney tells Borger he considered trying again.
"Talk about not getting over it," Borger said. "He toyed with it this time around."
In an interview conducted eight months after his general election defeat, Romney admits that — after losing the nomination to McCain in 2008 and the election to Barack Obama in 2012 — he wanted to run again this year.
"It's a real thrill and an experience that we will never forget," he says. "And, frankly, I'd do it again. Look, I would do it again, but it's not my time."
"OK, I'll go with that," says Ann with a laugh.
"I would love to do it again," Mitt Romney adds. "Are you kidding? I'd love to do it and win."
So would all of the losing candidates Borger interviews.
John Kerry, who lost to George W. Bush in 2004, politely declined an interview, because he's busy as secretary of state, "and I don't think he really wants to revisit this at this particular moment in his life." Al Gore, who lost to George W. Bush in 2000 despite winning more votes, "doesn't do interviews on this," Borger said. "I don't think it's anything he wants to revisit."
But the others — including Romney — readily agreed.
"They were actually all pretty willing to talk about it, because they've thought about it for such a long time," Borger said. "You don't lose a presidential campaign without becoming reflective about it."
Romney, McCain, Dukakis and Mondale are all candid about mistakes they made in their campaigns. "And there isn't one person I talked to who didn't think they would have been a better president than the person who got elected. Period," Borger said.
(And in Romney's case, better than the current GOP nominee. "When my grandkids say, 'What did you do to stop Donald Trump?' I want to be able to say something," he says.)
Romney, McCain, Dukakis and Mondale all come across rather well in "Almost President," which is far more about personalities than it is about politics.
"Hard to believe, but they are human beings," Borger said. "And what made it so fascinating for me was that I got to talk to them, not about the issues so much, but about the humanity of the process they were engaged in."
Twitter: @ScottDPierce —
On TV
The CNN special report "Almost President: The Agony of Defeat" airs Wednesday, Aug. 31, at 7 and 10 p.m.