AUGUST 26, 2012

PARADE Exclusive: A Conversation With the Romneys

The Romney clan on the deck of their New Hampshire home. [Photo: Ben Baker]

Editor's note: As part of PARADE's 2012 election coverage, the magazine will feature President Obama and the first lady in its Sept. 2 cover story.

It's probably the closest the Romneys have come to kicking back during this campaign summer: a late July afternoon on glistening Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. Grandkids bounce on the trampoline, splash in the gentle waves, soak in the hot tub. The candidate's eldest son, Tagg, 42, and his wife, Jen, keep an eye on their brood while a passel of campaign workers and friends stir things up in the kitchen. 

But you're never off the clock when you're running for president, which is why Mitt Romney‚ wearing pressed jeans and a more relaxed demeanor than he does on the stump‚ and his radiant wife, Ann, agreed to this dinnertime conversation with PARADE contributor Lynn Sherr. On the table, a typical New England lobster-and-corn supper. Nearby, 2-year-old Johnny in a high chair, occasionally cooing at his adoring grandmother. Coming before the announcement of his vice presidential pick and his awkward trip to Europe, the discussion focused on campaign vitriol, the governor's hopes for the Republican convention (set to begin Monday in Tampa), and very pragmatic questions from readers (culled from Parade.com, CafeMom, and two GateHouse Media newspapers: the Peoria Journal Starand the Canton Repository) about Romney's wealth and how he would have voters' backs if elected president.

Governor, your campaign speeches talk about the middle class, but the vast majority of the questions we received from readers asked about your ability to relate to their struggles. In essence, how do you know what it's like to be someone without means, someone, as one reader puts it, trying to scrape by, living on food stamps?Governor Mitt Romney: Each of us faces struggles of one kind or another. Our life was not characterized by financial stress as much as it was by health issues. I served as a pastor of a congregation and saw people with various challenges and did my best to help them. I believe my experience in the private sector, the voluntary sector, and government has helped teach me what it takes to help people with different types of challenges.

We got this question from Kelsey M. of Orange, Va. 'I'm a stay-at-home mom of two children. How will your presidency improve my life?'
MR: One, you'll be able to see better jobs with rising income again. And you'll know that when your kids go to school, it's a school of your choice, not the government's. And you'll know that when your kids come out of school, there will be a good job waiting for them.

There were a number of questions about your financial wealth. New Jersey resident Harry H. asked if you would make this pledge: If elected, do you promise to bank in the United States?
MR: My investments have been managed for almost the last 10 years by a blind trust. A trustee decides where to put our money. If I am president, my understanding is the same principle applies, that I may not direct any of my investments. I can't tell you what my investments might be because I won't make them. But I am happy to have every investment in the United States.

You've received a lot of criticism from your opponents in the primaries. They said a lot of nasty things. Did it hurt?
MR: No. That's part of the political process. I don't worry about that.
ANN ROMNEY: Interesting—it didn't hurt at all this time.

Why do you think that in a recent poll, you lost out to the president in [voter] enthusiasm?
MR: To most folks that don't pay a lot of attention to the Republican primary process, I am not so well known. As I get better known, people will have greater confidence that I'm the person who can get this country working again for the middle class. It's nice to be loved, but it's  better to be respected.

On the topic of respect, former New Hampshire governor John Sununu has said that President Obama needs to learn to be American. You've referred to his policies as 'foreign.' Do you believe that President Obama is un-American in any way?
MR: Governor Sununu was not suggesting he was't American, nor do I. I believe he's making us far more like Europe, with a larger, more dominant, more intrusive government. I believe if we keep going on that path, we will end up like Europe, with chronic high unemployment, no wage growth, and economic calamity at the doorstep. I think you have to return to celebrating success, encouraging entrepreneurship, and finding ways to get government out of the way.

Also from a reader, Nancy B., of Winter Springs, Fla.: 'I trust your acumen to assemble a great turnaround team for the economy. But who do you have in mind for advice on foreign affairs?'
MR: I don't have a secretary of state or national security adviser in mind at this point‚ it might be a little presumptuous. That being said, I speak with a number of the former secretaries of state and [other] leaders‚ Condoleezza Rice, Jim Baker, George Shultz, Henry Kissinger, John Bolton, as well as people less well known. My leadership style is to have people of differing viewpoints express them openly and [then I] select among them myself.

Question from Texas resident Jean S.: 'Have you ever felt like a loser? What did you do to overcome that feeling?'
MR: I define myself by my relationship with God, my wife, and my family. And in those relationships, I am not a loser. I don't worry about what happens in politics and the opinions of others, or I'd lose my hair!

And we all know you haven't done that.
MR: Glue keeps it in place. [laughter]

 

The couple pose in front of a photo backdrop outside their Lake Winnipesaukee, N.H. home.

Let's talk for a moment about your faith. How has tithing [the Mormon practice of giving 10 percent of one's income to the church] shaped your view of how we treat each other?
AR: I love tithing. When Mitt and I give that check, I actually cry.
MR: So do I, but for a different reason.
AR: I know this money is an indication of how much we trust God and love the principle of sacrifice. And it teaches us not to be too, too tied to the things of the world. And it is a very good reminder of how blessed we really are, and most of those blessings do not come from a financial source, but from the power above.
MR: Our church doesn't publish how much people have given. This is done entirely privately. One of the downsides of releasing one's financial information is that this is now all public, but we had never intended our contributions to be known. It's a very personal thing between ourselves and our commitment to our God and to our church. 

Tithing sounds like a form of it takes a village.You're helping the community.
MR:  I think you'll find that conservatives are more generous philanthropically than people who are not conservatives. People who are in favor of small government are very much in favor of personal action to help other people in need. 

Is that a form of socialism?
MR: From the very beginning, the willingness of neighbors to help raise the barn of a next-door neighbor was characteristic of America. But at the same time we take personal responsibility for our lives. Does government play a role? Absolutely. You know, I chuckle when I hear people say, 'Oh, they don't want any government.' Of course we want government! But it is government to encourage the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of its citizens, as opposed to direct the course of their living.

Mrs. Romney, many, many readers asked what would be your cause or causes should you become first lady.
AR: A lot of my life I've been working with at-risk youth. There are many lost children in this generation, and it's just shameful. I hope to continue to help at-risk youth make choices that will make their lives better.

What makes you nervous about your husband on the campaign trail?
AR: The only time I interfere is when I feel like his schedule is way too strenuous. He's only got so much he can give every day. So that's when I really put my foot down, saying, 'Dial it back, dial it back, dial it back.'

And never in a debate, never when he's making a speech? 
AR:  Well, I am nervous in debates. I don't like debates because—
MR: —she knows she could do better. [laughs] She wants to get up onstage and give it to them.
AR: Because there's so many traps you can fall in. But I enjoy his speeches. Even when I hear some of the same stories over and over again, I get emotional.

Do you cry?
AR: I do.

Do you, Governor?
MR: I'm emotional. I don't show it quite as clearly as John Boehner, but I'm an emotional person. There is a, I don't know, a societal norm that if you're running for office, you can't be emotional, and perhaps I bow to that too often.

Should you be elected, give me a picture of the White House. What is the feel? PARADE asked you once before if there'd be horses at the White House, and you said yes.
MR: Well, probably not at the White House itself, but nearby so she could go for her therapy. [Ann Romney was diagnosed with MS in 1998.]

Give me your White House vision.
MR: I'd like it to be open and have people feel welcome there. I don't just mean touring it, but also come to the East Room and see a performance of some kind.

Like what?
MR: Well, I would certainly want to hear from the Beach Boys, even though I know it's not the same group it used to be. Also Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith, and today's rock stars—The Killers are one group I enjoy.
AR:  I love jazz, I love pop, I love rock, I love classical.
MR: I'd let Alabama come back and sing again, and Aerosmith. Different eras.
AR: We have a friend in the Eagles.
MR: These are not all Republicans, by the way. Some may turn us down, but—
AR: No, they would die to be mentioned.
MR: I think the Obamas have done a nice job of welcoming various artists and having people come enjoy the White House. I also think, by the way, that having two children in the White House is a good thing. I hope, if we are lucky enough to be there, our grandchildren could come on occasion. 
AR: They'd want to move in, Mitt!
MR: I think having little feet in the hallway is wonderful.  

And after the convention, how do you see the Republican Party?
AR:  United.
MR:  We're united now. You go and ask people who voted for John McCain: 'Are you thinking of voting for anyone other than Mitt Romney?' And you will have a very hard time finding someone who's thinking of voting in a different direction. ... We go to the convention with high hopes. There's a lot of enthusiasm for new leadership.
AR: It's a recognition that Mitt and I represent millions and millions of people's hopes. It's women's voices in my head right now.

What do they say?
AR: One is, they'e praying for me, which is unbelievably touching. The second is, 'Your husband has to save this country.' And they say it with such passion and conviction. I feel what they're yearning for and hoping for.

What is that?
AR: What I hear very frequently is, 'My children are going to be worse off than I am.'  And I think that it is the first time in the history of America that one generation can say that. There is concern that a lot of their friends, a lot of their family are out of work; they may be out of work themselves. They really feel like something's gone. 'Mitt always says that we can do better. He's giving them a thread of hope to say, 'Join with us. We're going to be okay.'

Should the party change? There's been a lot of talk that it's gotten a little far to the right.
MR: I can't speak for something as big as 100-some-odd million people. The party is much bigger than any one person.

But you're going to be its leader.
MR: Hopefully a good one. [laughs] 


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