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Mitt Romney: The smartest guy in the room
The Kansas City Star ^ | November 14, 2007 | Tim Jones

Posted on 11/15/2007, 11:46:16 AM by Romneyfor President2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Mitt Romney is the earnest, overachieving school kid in the front row, his right arm thrust high and fingers fluttering in the air, straining to get the attention of the teacher. Mitt's got the answer. He always does.

Among all the Republican candidates for president, the chronically striving Romney might be the smartest guy in the room. Armed with a law degree and a master's of business administration from Harvard, he's the well-prepped answer man on health care and immigration, and quick-draw responder to the urgent events of the media moment.

Sen. Larry Craig in the airport men's room? Disgusting.

Letting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speak? Outrageous.

What to do with Guantanamo? Triple it.

But left unanswered is whether Mitt Romney, the Mormon Yankee with centrist political roots, is the real capital "C" conservative for whom the GOP faithful yearn or merely an ideological windsock, an ambitious pol who expediently tacked hard to starboard on abortion, gay marriage and gun rights.

Is the smartest guy in the room trying too hard to prove to GOP voters that he's what they want him to be?

In the litmus-test oriented Republican Party, taking the right positions on the right issues might not be enough for Romney because, for the first time since John F. Kennedy battled anti-Catholic bias in 1960, religion - Romney's Mormonism - is the rumbling subplot in the campaign.

"Would Jesus Christ Vote for Mitt Romney?" asked a flier distributed in Iowa this year. The implied answer was "no."

If these are troubling questions, they do not seem to faze the resilient Romney, a master salesman who travels light and doesn't let his baggage - or his history - get in the way. He's an optimistic, clean-living guy of seemingly boundless energy.

(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: familyalues; mitt; mittromney; romney
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This is a 4 page article about Romney and his upbringing.
1 posted on 11/15/2007, 11:46:17 AM by Romneyfor President2008
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To: Romneyfor President2008

I never have cared for a “Spring Butt.” All they ever want is attention.


2 posted on 11/15/2007, 11:52:46 AM by mosaicwolf
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To: Romneyfor President2008

Not worried about his Mormonism. I’m worried about his political expediency.


3 posted on 11/15/2007, 11:58:29 AM by agere_contra (Do not confuse the wealth of nations with the wealth of government - FDT)
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To: agere_contra

“Not worried about his Mormonism. I’m worried about his political expediency.”

I’m worried about his LIBERALISM that he tries to hide so dishonestly. When it comes to mitt... “JUST SAY NO”!

LLS


4 posted on 11/15/2007, 12:22:45 PM by LibLieSlayer (Support America, Kill terrorists, Destroy dims!)
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To: Romneyfor President2008

Hasn’t Harvard done enough damage to the nation without inflicting another plastic haired liberal upon us?

And Mitt is no Yankee.


5 posted on 11/15/2007, 12:32:01 PM by the gillman@blacklagoon.com (I am a proud anti-invasion racist!)
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To: Romneyfor President2008
"I didn't plan on getting involved in politics," Romney always tells audiences"

"In the Romney family history of political activism.."

"You had a responsibility to participate and to give back. That's what he preached to us," said Scott Romney, talking about his father. In the turbulent 1960s, the Romney dinner table discussion would focus on civil rights, the war in Vietnam and women's rights."

"With Dad, there was always another mountain to climb, another crusade to lead," Scott Romney said."

"The political itch that drew George Romney into politics and Lenore Romney, Mitt's mother, into a run for the U.S. Senate in 1970 infected their youngest child( Mitt ), who shocked.."

"I didn't plan on getting involved in politics," Romney always tells audiences"

6 posted on 11/15/2007, 12:36:38 PM by Leisler (RNC, RINO National Committee. Always was, always will be.)
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To: Romneyfor President2008
"Would Jesus Christ Vote for Mitt Romney?"

Regardless of what you think of Romney, these types of questions do not belong in politics.

7 posted on 11/15/2007, 12:37:04 PM by GWB00 (Barbara Streisand barely made it out of high school.)
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To: Romneyfor President2008
Mitt Romney is belting down a decaffeinated vanilla Coke.

This will be the challenge that Romney will have with his religion. MOst reporters do not understand it. (The HBO series Big Love has not helped either) My understanding is that Mormons can drink caffine, it is that they cannot drink warm caffinated beverages.

8 posted on 11/15/2007, 12:41:44 PM by GWB00 (Barbara Streisand barely made it out of high school.)
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To: Romneyfor President2008

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about Romney reminds me of J-FinK for some reason...........


9 posted on 11/15/2007, 1:24:31 PM by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: Romneyfor President2008
Mitt Romney: The smartest guy in the room, if he is alone

there - corrected...

10 posted on 11/15/2007, 1:24:31 PM by TheBattman (Duncan Hunter '08)
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To: TheBattman

Mitt Romney: The smartest guy in the room, if he is alone.....and has a can of Raid.........There, fixed it again............


11 posted on 11/15/2007, 1:25:20 PM by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: GWB00

I agree, too bad so many religious bigots are using Mitt’s religion as a reason not to vote for him, even if he wins in the primaries.

Quite frankly, I think Jesus would be disgusted that some one would use his name in politics like this, and he’s probably even more disgusted at the people writing off Mitt because he’s a Mormon.

I guess they’ve twisted the words of the Bible so much that they can get what ever they want to get out of it.

Disgusting...


12 posted on 11/15/2007, 1:26:24 PM by gjones77
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To: Romneyfor President2008
I could live with Romney as our candidate although he comes across as a little slick. He needs to work on that.

But I'm on Fred's truck till the end.

13 posted on 11/15/2007, 1:32:07 PM by McGruff (A "Big Time" Fred Thompson supporter!)
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To: Romneyfor President2008
The last guy to tell me he was “the smartest guy in the room” went on to prove that he definitely was NOT smart at all.
14 posted on 11/15/2007, 1:36:19 PM by Ditter
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To: GWB00
I never drink any of the cola drinks and my personal hope would be that no one would. However, they are not included in the Word of Wisdom in its technical application. I quote from a letter from the secretary to the First Presidency, "But the spirit of the Word of Wisdom would be violated by the drinking or eating of anything that contained a habit-forming drug." With reference to the cola drinks, the Church has never officially taken any attitude on this at but I personally do not put them in the class as with the tea and coffee because the Lord specifically mentioned them [the hot drinks]. . . . --LDS Church President Spencer W. Kimball

15 posted on 11/15/2007, 2:00:06 PM by Max in Utah (If your neighbors habitually trespassed, wouldn't you want a nice tall fence with razor wire on top?)
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To: Romneyfor President2008
"This is a 4 page article about Romney and his upbringing.

Yup, I read it. Surprised you would post it. It seemed a bit negative in places. 'If you don't like my principles, I have others,' was one remark. (Or something close to that).

I honestly thought the writer would make a reference to 'Stepford' before he finished writing the article.

Interesting article, nontheless.

16 posted on 11/15/2007, 2:06:51 PM by Eastbound
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To: LibLieSlayer

The most revealing quote in the article:

“I have tremendous disappointment with the way he speaks now as compared to the way he spoke against Kennedy, especially on social issues,” said Arthur Chase, a former Republican state senator and candidate for secretary of state in 1994. “Though he has tremendous ability, I’m not sure anyone knows what he believes because we’ve heard both sides. ... You don’t change that quickly.”


17 posted on 11/15/2007, 2:18:39 PM by rightazrain ("Once we have a war there is only one thing to do. It must be won. " -- Ernest Hemingway)
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To: agere_contra
Not worried about his Mormonism. I’m worried about his political expediency.

Political expediency --polite way of saying no principles
18 posted on 11/15/2007, 2:34:05 PM by uncbob (m first)
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To: Romneyfor President2008

Small room.


19 posted on 11/15/2007, 2:35:25 PM by BibChr ("...behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?" [Jer. 8:9])
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To: gjones77

You clearly have some strong emotions about this.

So, can you explain to me why I cannot consider whether a candidate’s worldview is irrational and/or absurd, or whether his fundamental beliefs indication irrational or absurd thought processes at the deepest level?


20 posted on 11/15/2007, 2:41:45 PM by BibChr ("...behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?" [Jer. 8:9])
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