Public image of Mitt Romney

Throughout his political career, Romney has often been described as applying analytical and business-oriented methods to political decision-making, influenced by his experience at Bain & Company and Bain Capital. Romney has stated that his time at Bain shaped his approach to solving complex problems through structured analysis and data-driven decision-making. As a result, Romney has sometimes been described in media coverage as an economic policy specialist. Romney's public presentation style has also drawn attention. During his 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign, he occasionally used PowerPoint presentations in campaign events rather than traditional speeches. He has also been noted for incorporating statistics and technical explanations into debates and policy discussions. Upon taking office as governor of Massachusetts, The Boston Globe referred to him as the state's first "self-styled CEO governor". During the 2008 presidential campaign, commentators described Romney as emphasizing analytical reasoning and managerial experience, with some characterizing him as a potential "CEO president". Media coverage has also commented on Romney's demeanor. In 2011, The New York Times described his public persona as cautious, formal, and reserved. In a 2012 interview, Romney acknowledged that candidates for public office often limit emotional expression, suggesting that he may have followed that pattern. Romney's speaking style has also been discussed in media coverage. His use of formal or less commonly used expressions, such as "guffaw," "brickbats," and "smitten," along with mild exclamations including "gosh," "golly," and "heck," has been noted by commentators. Some associates referred to these expressions as "Mittisms," while others described his language as formal or traditional. For example, during the 2012 presidential election campaign, when Romney proposed a $10,000 wager with one of his opponents in a televised Republican primary debate, political rivals and others were quick to call the bet an example of what they argued was Romney's lack of understanding of the concerns of average Americans, who would never treat such a large sum of money so casually. Often in response to gaffes Romney had made on the campaign trail, political satirists based jokes on an image of Romney as a wealthy, pampered elitist. As comedian John Oliver on The Daily Show put it, "Everything about Romney tells the tale of a man who just fired your dad." ==Images of political philosophy==

For much of his business career, Romney did not take public political stances. His early philosophical influences were often non-political, as during his missionary days when he read Napoleon Hill's self-help tome Think and Grow Rich, and encouraged his colleagues to do the same. Until 1993, he was registered as an Independent who in the 1992 Democratic Party presidential primaries had voted for the Democratic former senator from Massachusetts, Paul Tsongas. As a gubernatorial candidate in 2002, and then initially as Governor of Massachusetts, he generally operated in the mold established by Weld and followed by Weld's two other Republican successors, Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift: restrain spending and taxing, be tolerant or permissive on social issues, protect the environment, be tough on crime, try to appear post-partisan. in Washington, D.C. Late in his term as governor, he shifted positions and emphases to better align with traditional conservatives on social issues. He said that learning from experience and changing views accordingly is a virtue, and that, "If you're looking for someone who's never changed any positions on any policies, then I'm not your guy." Romney responded to criticisms of ideological pandering with the explanation that "The older I get, the smarter Ronald Reagan gets." Journalist Daniel Gross sees Romney as approaching politics in the same terms as a business competing in markets, in that successful executives do not hold firm to public stances over long periods of time, but rather constantly devise new strategies and plans to deal with new geographical regions and ever-changing market conditions. Writer Benjamin Wallace-Wells sees Romney as a detached problem solver rather than one who approaches political issues from a humanistic or philosophical perspective. Journalist Neil Swidey views Romney as a political and cultural enigma, "the product of two of the most mysterious and least understood subcultures in the country: the Mormon Church and private-equity finance," and believes that has led to the continued interest in the "dog on the roof" story. Political writer Joe Klein views Romney as actually more conservative on social issues than he portrayed himself during his Massachusetts campaigns and less conservative on other issues than his presidential campaigns have represented, and concludes that Romney "has always campaigned as something he probably is not." ==Religion==

Romney's religious background has been extensively covered by the mainstream media, especially in connection with his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. Romney is a member of the LDS Church, members of which are commonly known as Mormons or Latter-day Saints. In addition to missionary work in France in the 1960s, under the tutelage of Wesley L. Pipes, Romney has served as a bishop and a stake president in his church. In accordance with LDS practice, bishops and stake presidents are lay positions in the LDS Church, so Romney was not compensated for his years of service in those positions. Also in accordance to his religious beliefs, Romney abstains from alcohol and smoking. , to whose organizing and costs Romney was involved. Romney's great-great-grandfather, Parley P. Pratt, was among the first leaders of the Latter Day Saint movement in the early 19th century. Marion G. Romney, his first cousin, once removed, was one of the church's twelve apostles. Romney's paternal great-grandparents practiced plural marriage, and went to Mexico in 1884 after the 1878 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Reynolds v. United States that upheld laws banning polygamy. Subsequent generations of Romney's paternal lineage have been monogamous, and none of his mother's Mormon ancestors were polygamists. Romney's father, George W. Romney, was a patriarch in the LDS Church. Romney's wife, Ann, converted to Mormonism before they were married in 1969. Romney has expressed his faith in Jesus Christ as his "Lord and Savior" openly to evangelical Christian groups. He has received support from evangelical Christians. "Faith in America" speech Romney delivered his "Faith in America" speech on December 6, 2007, at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library, with an introduction by George H. W. Bush. The speech, which was widely regarded as evoking that of Senator John F. Kennedy's September 1960 pledge not to allow Catholic doctrine to inform policy, discussed the role of religion in American society and politics. While the speech was perceived as a response to Huckabee's mercurial rise in the polls in late November within first caucusing Iowa, soon to cast ballots on January 3 (in which likely caucus-goers were deemed to be over 40-percent evangelical), with commentators opining that Romney hoped it would effectively answer the media's longtime preoccupation with the hurdle manifested by Romney's faith, Romney's campaign billed the speech as extolling American freedom of worship while helping to satisfy public curiosity about how Romney's strain of religious devotion would inform presidential governance. After the speech was delivered, Romney's advisors told reporters, off the record, that Romney had said that through this speech he wanted to address his "comma problem": the common practice to put next to his name in media reports, "(comma) who is a Mormon (comma)." Romney's speech gave primacy to the American Constitutional right of religious liberty, which produces cultural diversity and vibrancy of dialog. He called for public acknowledgement of God such as within Holidays religious displays. Romney said, "Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom.". He cited a religious nature to historic abolitionists' campaigns, the campaign for American Civil Rights, and the contemporary campaign for the Right to Life. Romney advocated the maintenance of a separation of Church and State, stating that he, as president, would decline directives from churches' hierarchies, including that of the LDS Church. Romney said while there are those who would prefer he indicated he holds his LDS faith merely as a tradition, actually he believes in his faith and tries to live according to its teachings, and while sacraments and confession of Romney's "church's beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths," he still holds Christ "the Son of God and Savior of mankind." Romney declined to address further the specifics of his Mormonism, implying that any compulsion to do so would counter the Constitutional prohibition of a religious test for political office. Romney wrote the speech himself. In the speech, Romney said, "I saw my father march with Martin Luther King." Some weeks later, the Romney campaign, when asked for the specifics, indicated this to have been an NAACP-sponsored procession in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, led by George W. Romney. However, there are conflicting accounts as to whether King was present at this march. In an interview with Newsweek, Romney said, "I don't think I defined religious liberty ... it includes all, all forms of personal conviction. ... The people who don't have a particular faith have a personal conviction. I said all forms of personal conviction. And personal conviction includes a sense of right and wrong and any host of beliefs someone might have. Obviously in this nation, our religious liberty includes the ability to believe or not believe." Media coverage Contrasting media coverage, Mormonism was not an issue in his father's presidential campaign in 1968. Possible reasons include: he dropped out before it could become one, the candidacy of John F. Kennedy (a Catholic) had neutralized the religion issue, and religion generally was not a major stump issue. During the Boca Raton debate of January 24, 2008, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams asked Romney: "Governor, we've got [a poll ...] in the morning that says ... 44 percent of respondents say a Mormon president would have a difficult time uniting the country. ... " ... to which Romney replied: Romney's "Faith in America" speech, delivered in December 2007, addressed the matter. and echoed Senator John F. Kennedy's famous speech during his 1960 presidential campaign in saying "I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties of the office and the sovereign authority of the law." Instead of discussing the specific tenets of his faith, he said that he would be informed by it and that, "Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone." The authors reasoned that for Romney religion has become an item of interest for voters. Those authors concluded that, "for a Mormon candidate, the road to the presidency remains very rough ... The bias against a Mormon candidate is substantial." Impact on political philosophy Romney's foreign policy views are rooted in the belief in American exceptionalism and the need to preserve American supremacy in the world. This parallels the Mormon belief that the United States Constitution is divinely inspired and that the U.S. was selected by God to play a special part in human history. Indeed, Romney's political beliefs regarding a limited role for government, a need for self-reliance, and requirements for welfare recipients, often reflect Mormon tenets adapted for the secular world. 2008 election In polls of Republican voters taken during the 2008 presidential primaries a quarter of Republican voters expressed that they would be "less likely" to vote for a presidential candidate who is Mormon. Among other criticisms, some evangelical voters view the LDS Church as a cult. However, some social conservatives and evangelicals criticize Romney for not being Mormon enough, regarding social policy. He has avoided speaking publicly about specific church doctrines, and has pointed out that the U.S. Constitution prohibits religious tests for public office. Romney is a proponent of contemporary monogamous, heterosexual marriage: 2012 election , 2011 The question of whether Mormons are considered "Christians" remains a sensitive issue, with possible political implications. As such, analysts expected Romney's affiliation with the LDS Church to become an issue again on the campaign trail. When asked about his faith's view on gay rights in a June 2011 interview with CNN's Piers Morgan, Romney stated: Rick Santorum was asked if Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney will have problems in the race as Mormons. Santorum answered, "I hope not." He continued, "I hope that people will look at the qualities of candidates and look at what they believe and what they're for and look their records and then make a decision." Joe Biden said; "I find it preposterous that in 2011 we're debating whether or not a man is qualified or worthy of your vote based on whether or not his religion ... is a disqualifying provision," Biden told an audience at the University of Pittsburgh. "It is not. It is embarrassing and we should be ashamed, anyone who thinks that way," he said in a response to a student's question about how his own religious faith affected his philosophy of government. On State of the Union with Candy Crowley, David Axelrod was asked on Mormonism as a campaign issue. He said: "We've said that's not fair game". ==See also==