Revision as of 11:03, 5 May 2006

Mitt Romney has an impressive personal, educational, and professional background. Born in 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. He attended an all-boys school and then Stanford before serving as a Mormon missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France. After his mission he attended BYU where he was valedictorian of his class in 1971. He then went on to receive his MBA from Harvard and was named a Baker Scholar. He also received his JD (law degree) from Harvard Law School.

In 1969, while attending BYU, Mitt Romney married his wife Ann, whom he met in highschool. They are still happily married. They have raised five sons together and have eight grandchildren, with more on the way.

After finishing school, Mitt Romney was "a cofounder and managing partner of Bain Capital, a Boston Private Equity firm; the 1994 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate from Massachusetts… and from 1999 to 2002 the CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee in charge of planning the 2002 Winter Olympics, taking charge after the bribery scandal. He also sat on the board of office supply giant Staples."1

In November 2002, Mitt Romney was elected governor of Massuchesetts as a Republican. Mitt Romney ran on a reform platform, since the state budget was in serious crisis. "Supporters of Romney hailed his business record, especially his success with the 2002 Olympics, as that of one who would be able to bring in a new era of efficiency into Massachusetts politics."2 His opponents claimed that his lack of previous government experience made him unequal to the task but voters disagreed.

Mitt Romney worked to reduce spending through government consolidation and reform and did not increase taxes. Through his efforts and helped by a reviving ecomony he turned the $3 billion dollar deficit into a $700 million surplus by 2004.

Opponents of Mitt Romney claim that he supports big business over the average man and has been more interested in traveling to promote his political career than in being governor of the state.

Mitt Romney is a possible candidate for the 2008 Presidential Elections. If elected he will be the first Mormon President. In looking towards his possible Presidential Candidacy he is often heard, "describing challenges to our national security, to the economy, and to the culture."3

Mitt Romney's greatest obstacle as well as his greatest asset is his membership in the Mormon Church. Because of the conservative beliefs of the Mormon Church he appeals to the conservative Christians of the nation. For the same reason many Christian's would not vote for Mitt Romney because he is Mormon, and the Mormon religion is considered by many to be outside mainstream Christianity.

Many evangelical leaders feel that they could support Mitt Romney, despite religious differences, as a presidential candidate depending on who was running and where each candidate stood. "Romney's appeal to evangelicals might slacken if a competent evangelical or Catholic with social views similar to Romney's were in the race; on the other hand, Romney's stock with evangelicals might go up if he were pitted against candidates holding more liberal social views, regardless of their religion."4

Will the United States see it's first Mormon President in Mitt Romney? Only time will tell.

(1) Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney (2) Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney (3) Eastland, Terry. "In 2008, Will It Be Mormon in America?" 06/06/2005, Volume 010, Issue 36 http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/672kwvro.asp?pg=2 (4) Eastland, Terry. "In 2008, Will It Be Mormon in America?" 06/06/2005, Volume 010, Issue 36 http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/672kwvro.asp?pg=2

Others intersting articles about Mitt Romney:

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=9009