Politics

presidential race

The Almost Untold Story of Gov. Mitt Romney

By David Brody
CBN News

CBN.com – BOSTON - Mitt Romney's life story is one that was almost never told. The title of this story could very well have been "Dead Man Walking."

In Paris 1968, 21-year-old Romney was on a Mormon missionary trip when his car was hit head on, knocking him unconscious.

"The police that arrived on the scene had to get us out with the Jaws of Life, and in my case, they took my passport and wrote ‘il est mort’ – ‘he is dead,’" Romney said. 

When the news back home reported him dead, his father, the governor of Michigan at the time, didn’t believe it. He called the French police to confirm, but learned that the reports had been wrong. His son was alive.

And so it goes with Mitt Romney. Turning around that near-death experience is a theme that has followed him through much of his life.  Just when it appears all is lost, he's able to find an answer.

The New York Times calls him a turnaround specialist. Romney knows when to take advantage of positive press. In fact, his only book is called Turnaround.

"There's been failures and missteps and mistakes along the way, but you do your very best and look forward to trying to be successful whichever way you can," Romney said.

He was the successful founder of a capital investment group in the 1980s. During the 1990s, he took over the Salt Lake City Olympics, plagued by corruption and a $400 million deficit. He turned a $100 million profit and the games went down as one of the best ever.

Fast forward to today – he's the conservative governor of Massachusetts, facing a state legislature made up mostly of Democrats.

"There are some things that just drive me nuts I wish I could change,” Romney said, “and I know this legislature will not progress in certain areas, but there are other areas where we've been able to make extraordinary progress."

On day one of taking office, Gov. Romney inherited a $3 billion deficit. He was determined to fix it, even while promising not to raise taxes.

After cutting spending and finding plenty of government waste, today there's a budget surplus. He also won on universal healthcare.

Massachusetts is now the first state in the country to require health care for everyone.

These accomplishments are important to Romney but there may be even bigger things in his future.

Boston, like the entire state of Massachusetts, is known for a lot of things, including liberalism. While Massachusetts is known as the being bluest of blue states, Boston is also known for the famous bar, Cheers, from the 1980s television sitcom.

And, if the slogan at Cheers boasted, “Where everybody knows your name,” Romney's name is certainly well-known in Massachusetts. Nationwide, however, is another story. But that's about to change.

Romney is stepping down this year, after just one four-year term. Today, he travels the country a lot, spending time in places like Iowa – the site of one of the first presidential caucuses in 2008.

A growing number of Republican activists are claiming that Romney is the party's best bet to be the Republican nominee in 2008. CBN News put the big questions to Romney, including asking about his presidential aspirations for 2008.

“Well, I'll give that some thought,” Romney said. “Clearly, I want the option of making that decision."

He has the resume for it and the reviews so far have been positive. There have been cover stories like “Matinee Mitt,” “Romney Rocks,” and “Lord of the Rings.” There's even a “Mitt Romney for President” blog site.

"The decision to go forward is one which I haven't made finally yet,” he said, “but it's an intriguing opportunity because I believe that this country faces some real challenges."

The country may face challenges, but so does the governor – in particular, his religion. He's Mormon. Some, including several evangelicals, believe Mormonism is a cult. The Southern Baptist Convention Web site includes Mormonism as a cult on their a major cults and sects in America page.

But the labeling doesn’t phase him, he said.

 “Well, there's very little that bothers me,” he said. “And that's in part because when people make references that I disagree with, I generally conclude that they don't have all the facts, and if they had all the facts they'd feel differently."

This could be a problem with voters. According to a some polls, about 17 percent of voters say they just won't vote for a Mormon.

But such responses are not something Romney said he believed would hinder him in the long run.

“I think Americans want people of faith to lead their country,” he said. “Generally they don't care so much about the particular brand of faith, if the people that they're looking at have the same values they have. And people of my faith have the values of other great religions that are represented here in this country.

If Romney believes he has been beating the odds his whole life, this "Mormon issue" could be the latest chapter.

"People said, well gee, can a Mormon win here in a state that's, what – 50 to 55 percent Catholic?” Romney said. “Well, the answer is yes! Could an actor who'd been divorced win as President? Yes. Ronald Reagan was able to do that,”

If Romney enters the presidential race, he'll be faced with questions about abortion, too. He says he is “firmly pro-life."

But in his 1994 Senate race against Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Romney wanted abortion safe and legal.

When he ran for governor four years ago, he supported a woman's right to choose, and said he would keep the state's abortion rights laws intact.

“I made it very clear that, while in the past I said I would preserve the laws in Massachusetts as they existed, that I was firmly pro-life and that I would support justices and policies that are pro-life," Romney said.

He also said that his views changed, in part, by the debate in his state over a stem cell cloning bill, which convinced him that life begins at conception. He vetoed the bill. He also vetoed an emergency contraception bill.

"As governor, all of the issues that have come to my desk that have dealt with the matter of abortion, I have decided on the side of life," Romney said.

The pro-life Romney now seems to have the entire social conservative values package. He is also not pleased with activist judges and supports the push for a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage.

"The idea of not allowing ‘Under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance or taking ‘In God we trust’ off our coins – those are just nutty," Romney said.

So as Romney eyes a potential presidential run, he does it in a very carefree way. His handlers say he's pretty funny.

His humor even came to light at his gubernatorial inauguration -- Romney finished the oath, not waiting for the judge to say it first. 

He'll need a good sense of humor and a thick skin if he decides to take on presidential politics. During the CBN News interview, he even warmed up the stump speech:

"When it comes time to choose the next President of the United States,” Romney said, “that they'll look at the men and women who are running at that time and they'll say, who can deal with the Jihadists? Who can also make sure that we can remain the world's economic superpower, staying ahead competitively of the Chinese and other Asians and other European nations? Who can make sure we preserve the culture and values that are America? And who will finally reign in the excessive spending in Washington?"

Romney laughed when it was noted his response sounded like a 30-second condensed stump speech.

Perhaps running for president will be the next stop in a life story that was almost never told.
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