Mitt Romney
Early Life
Romney is the son of former Michigan Governor and presidential candidate
George W. Romney, and 1970 U.S. Senate candidate Lenore Romney. He was
named "Willard" after hotel magnate J. Willard Marriott, his father's best friend.
Mitt, his middle name, comes from his father's cousin Milton Romney, who played
quarterback for the Chicago Bears. He has three older siblings and has been
involved in politics from an early age, having joined his father in pro-civil rights
marches.
Education
Romney graduated from the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
After attending Stanford University for two quarters, Romney served in France
for 30 months as a missionary for the Mormon Church. He then attended
Brigham Young University, where he graduated as valedictorian. In 1975, Romney
graduated from a joint Juris Doctor / MBA program at Harvard.
Family Life
Romney married high school girlfriend Ann Davies. They have five sons and eleven
grandchildren. They have two homes, one in suburban Boston and the other in
New Hampshire. Ann was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998, which Mitt
calls the worst day in his life, but she is now in remission and is active in his
presidential campaign. He is a jogger, and likes Roy Orbison’s music. As for his
dislikes, they include “eggplant, in any shape or form.”
Religion
Mitt Romney’s great-great-grandfather, Parley P. Pratt, was among the first
leaders of the Mormon religion in the early 19th century. Mitt's wife converted to
Mormonism before they were married, but her family could not attend their
wedding ceremony due to a rule preventing non-Mormons from entering temples,
but they attended a separate ceremony held for non-Mormons. In addition to his
missionary work in France, Romney has served as a part-time lay minister, called a
bishop. As part of his religious upbringing, Romney abstains from alcohol and
smoking.
Romney has stated that as president he would "need the prayers of the people of
all faiths," and that he would "serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause,
and no one interest. A president must serve only the common cause of the people
of the United States."
Polygamy remains an image problem for the Mormon Church, although it
renounced the practice over 100 years ago. Romney has denounced polygamy. His
great-grandparents practiced plural marriage, and went to Mexico in 1884 after a
U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding laws banning polygamy. Mitt's father,
George, was born in Mexico in 1907, and was brought to the United States in 1912
by Mitt's grandparents.
Business career
Romney worked for the Boston Consulting Group after graduation, and later
became CEO of Bain Capital. They invested in or bought many well-known
companies such as Staples, Brookstone, Domino's, Sealy Corporation and Sports
Authority.
Romney ran for the U.S.Senate in Massachusetts, but lost to incumbent Ted
Kennedy. After Romney touted his business credentials and record at creating
jobs, Kennedy ran campaign ads showing interviews with union workers of an
Indiana company bought out by Romney's firm. Some of the workers criticized
Romney for the loss of their jobs, one saying, "I don’t think Romney is creating jobs
because he took every one of them away."
2002 Winter Olympics
In 1999, Romney was hired as the new president and CEO of the troubled Salt
Lake Olympic Organizing Committee. He revamped the organization, reduced
budgets and boosted fundraising. He also worked to ensure the safety of the
Games following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Despite the fiscal problems he
inherited, the Games ended up clearing a profit of $100 million.
Governor of Massachusetts
Romney became governor of Massachusetts in January 2003. He faced a
projected deficit, but through a combination of spending cuts, lower taxes,
increased fees, and removal of corporate tax loopholes, the State had a $700
million surplus by 2006.
Romney supported raising various fees for driver's licenses, marriage licenses, and
gun licenses. Romney increased the state gasoline tax by 2 cents per gallon. The
state legislature with Romney's support also cut spending by $1.6 billion, including
reductions in aid to cities, and funding for higher education, which led to 60%
tuition increases. Romney sought additional cuts, vetoing nearly 250 items in the
state budget, but all of those vetoes were overturned by the legislature.
Presidential Platform
In February 2007 Romney formally announced his candidacy for the Republican
nomination for president. Some of Mitt Romney's political positions have changed
over the course of his political career. He says that he has learned from
experience, and that people can rely on him to keep his campaign promises.
Critics are less flattering and portray him as an opportunist. For example,
Democratic U.S. Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts once said, "The
real Romney is clearly an extraordinarily ambitious man and the most intellectually
dishonest human being in the history of politics," to which a Romney spokesman
replied that "We've never really paid much attention to what Barney Frank is
saying, and we see no reason to start now."
Increased Military
Romney supported the invasion of Iraq, and has called for a "Surge of Support"
for the military. Romney has called for increased military spending and wishes to
increase the size of the military by at least 100,000 troops.
Tax Relief
Romney has focused on tax relief for "middle income Americans," and has
advocated eliminating the capital gains tax for all those who earn less than
$200,000 per year. Romney has also signed a pledge to oppose any income tax
increases, and promises to control spending by Congress.
Early Life
Romney is the son of former Michigan Governor and presidential candidate
George W. Romney, and 1970 U.S. Senate candidate Lenore Romney. He was
named "Willard" after hotel magnate J. Willard Marriott, his father's best friend.
Mitt, his middle name, comes from his father's cousin Milton Romney, who played
quarterback for the Chicago Bears. He has three older siblings and has been
involved in politics from an early age, having joined his father in pro-civil rights
marches.
Education
Romney graduated from the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
After attending Stanford University for two quarters, Romney served in France
for 30 months as a missionary for the Mormon Church. He then attended
Brigham Young University, where he graduated as valedictorian. In 1975, Romney
graduated from a joint Juris Doctor / MBA program at Harvard.
Family Life
Romney married high school girlfriend Ann Davies. They have five sons and eleven
grandchildren. They have two homes, one in suburban Boston and the other in
New Hampshire. Ann was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998, which Mitt
calls the worst day in his life, but she is now in remission and is active in his
presidential campaign. He is a jogger, and likes Roy Orbison’s music. As for his
dislikes, they include “eggplant, in any shape or form.”
Religion
Mitt Romney’s great-great-grandfather, Parley P. Pratt, was among the first
leaders of the Mormon religion in the early 19th century. Mitt's wife converted to
Mormonism before they were married, but her family could not attend their
wedding ceremony due to a rule preventing non-Mormons from entering temples,
but they attended a separate ceremony held for non-Mormons. In addition to his
missionary work in France, Romney has served as a part-time lay minister, called a
bishop. As part of his religious upbringing, Romney abstains from alcohol and
smoking.
Romney has stated that as president he would "need the prayers of the people of
all faiths," and that he would "serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause,
and no one interest. A president must serve only the common cause of the people
of the United States."
Polygamy remains an image problem for the Mormon Church, although it
renounced the practice over 100 years ago. Romney has denounced polygamy. His
great-grandparents practiced plural marriage, and went to Mexico in 1884 after a
U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding laws banning polygamy. Mitt's father,
George, was born in Mexico in 1907, and was brought to the United States in 1912
by Mitt's grandparents.
Business career
Romney worked for the Boston Consulting Group after graduation, and later
became CEO of Bain Capital. They invested in or bought many well-known
companies such as Staples, Brookstone, Domino's, Sealy Corporation and Sports
Authority.
Romney ran for the U.S.Senate in Massachusetts, but lost to incumbent Ted
Kennedy. After Romney touted his business credentials and record at creating
jobs, Kennedy ran campaign ads showing interviews with union workers of an
Indiana company bought out by Romney's firm. Some of the workers criticized
Romney for the loss of their jobs, one saying, "I don’t think Romney is creating jobs
because he took every one of them away."
2002 Winter Olympics
In 1999, Romney was hired as the new president and CEO of the troubled Salt
Lake Olympic Organizing Committee. He revamped the organization, reduced
budgets and boosted fundraising. He also worked to ensure the safety of the
Games following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Despite the fiscal problems he
inherited, the Games ended up clearing a profit of $100 million.
Governor of Massachusetts
Romney became governor of Massachusetts in January 2003. He faced a
projected deficit, but through a combination of spending cuts, lower taxes,
increased fees, and removal of corporate tax loopholes, the State had a $700
million surplus by 2006.
Romney supported raising various fees for driver's licenses, marriage licenses, and
gun licenses. Romney increased the state gasoline tax by 2 cents per gallon. The
state legislature with Romney's support also cut spending by $1.6 billion, including
reductions in aid to cities, and funding for higher education, which led to 60%
tuition increases. Romney sought additional cuts, vetoing nearly 250 items in the
state budget, but all of those vetoes were overturned by the legislature.
Presidential Platform
In February 2007 Romney formally announced his candidacy for the Republican
nomination for president. Some of Mitt Romney's political positions have changed
over the course of his political career. He says that he has learned from
experience, and that people can rely on him to keep his campaign promises.
Critics are less flattering and portray him as an opportunist. For example,
Democratic U.S. Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts once said, "The
real Romney is clearly an extraordinarily ambitious man and the most intellectually
dishonest human being in the history of politics," to which a Romney spokesman
replied that "We've never really paid much attention to what Barney Frank is
saying, and we see no reason to start now."
Increased Military
Romney supported the invasion of Iraq, and has called for a "Surge of Support"
for the military. Romney has called for increased military spending and wishes to
increase the size of the military by at least 100,000 troops.
Tax Relief
Romney has focused on tax relief for "middle income Americans," and has
advocated eliminating the capital gains tax for all those who earn less than
$200,000 per year. Romney has also signed a pledge to oppose any income tax
increases, and promises to control spending by Congress.
mitt romney
| Ad Content Served Independently From Google Adsense |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
