Romney Love, a Russian Novel

On Super Tuesday, the GOP delivers another chapter in its update of “Anna Karenina,” a serialized Tolstoy tale of the clash between love and duty, the search for passion in high places.

Ann Romney recently named it as one of her two favorite books, raising literary eyebrows like those of Virginia Heffernan:

“Shouldn't, for one, a political wife...be naming American novels as her favorites? With wholesome themes like ‘stay married to that government tool Karenin, even if he makes you feel dead inside’? It's just an idea.”

GOP voters are still showing that kind of inner conflict by running off for interludes with a low-rent Vronsky, Rick Santorum, in backwoods states and embarrassing Mitt with a close call in Ohio, even if it portends ending up under the wheels of a train in November.

Unruly Republican hearts just can’t seem to settle for the conventional, prolonging the melodrama to a possible Convention duel with all kinds of unforeseeable plot twists.

In fact, they may well be following the example of Tolstoy, who quarreled with his editor over the final chapter of Anna and never delivered it, leaving readers in limbo until the story was finally published in book form.

One way or another, the GOP has to come up with some kind of socko ending this summer, and Sarah Palin is sending out signals that she’ll be there to take the stage if all else fails.

That would turn the tragedy into farce, with a chirpy heroine who claims she can see Russia from her Alaskan outpost and perhaps Tolstoy revolving in his grave.