The Romneys Were Just a Few Days Late for the Inauguration

There was much discussion of Mitt Romney's conspicuous absence from the inaugural festivities this Monday, but everyone can breathe easy: he'll be in Washington, just a little late! National Journal reports that Romney is journeying from his home in California, where it is “doubtful” that he watched the inauguration on television, to D.C. for a reception in his honor:

Two major Romney campaign fundraisers, Virginia philanthropist Catherine Reynolds and hotel magnate Bill Marriott Jr., have invited guests to wear business attire to a luncheon at Washington’s J.W. Marriott Hotel. Reynolds’s office confirmed that the Romneys would be on hand.

This writer wasn't particularly impressed with the complaints of the MSNBC crowd, who bemoaned Romney's absence from Monday's proceedings, but plenty of people did find it a bit grating. If there were ever any evidence that Romney is done attempting to please the masses and back to doing whatever he feels like, it's probably this— making no comment to his critics who complain about his refusal to sit through a ceremony celebrating Obama, then showing up to Washington four days later for a ceremony honoring him. Ah, the prerogatives of a private citizen.