Weigel

Actually, He Remembered Poland

Republican presidential candidate and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney (R) and his wife Ann (L) hold the hands of former Polish President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa (C), during a meeting at Artus Court, in Gdansk, on 30, 2012. White House hopeful Mitt Romney is to hold talks with Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the anti-communist icon Lech Walesa, as he makes his first venture beyond the old iron curtain. On the final leg of a three-stop tour designed to burnish his foreign policy credentials, the Republican contender has chosen to visit a country which has notably testy relations with Russia and is now a key pillar of NATO and the EU. AFP PHOTO / JANEK SKARZYNSKI (Photo credit should read JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/GettyImages) Photo by JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/GettyImages

HARRISBURG, Penn. – I’m in the impressive Judicial Center here, covering the crucial last few days of legal arguments over the state’s new voter ID law. What it means for you, dear reader – several hours a day when I’ll be in a courtroom, no laptop, no phone.

The withdrawal doesn’t need to start immediately. Yesterday I published this new piece about the fairly recent, ever-stronger American conservative love affair with Poland and the Poles. Hopefully, it will add some context to Romney’s trip, his big policy speech (the gist of which was “Ronald Reagan and John Paul II had it right”), and the rest of his stops before he gets back stateside.