Fortunate son: Romney lives his father's legacy
BOSTON -- Asked recently to name his most treasured possession, Mitt Romney had a quick answer: A 1962 Rambler his sons gave him on his 60th birthday. The relic was manufactured during George Romney's final year as American Motors chairman.
The youngest of George and Lenore Romney's four children, Willard Mitt Romney was born on March 12, 1947, a "miracle baby," his father wrote, because Lenore Romney no longer thought she could become pregnant.
Mitt developed a passion for his father's business and sat alongside George Romney as he pored over auto trade publications. The son absorbed every detail of the auto industry, down to the minutiae of each car's design.
Although they lived a privileged life in the Detroit suburbs, Romney's parents sought to instill working-class values by making sure the kids pitched in with chores. That included shoveling before dawn in snowstorms.
Democrats dominated Michigan in the 1960s, no surprise given the strong auto industry and its union workers. What was a surprise was George Romney's success in being elected governor in 1962 as a Republican.
Like the auto business, Mitt Romney learned politics at the kitchen table. Father invited son to strategy sessions, giving him a front row seat.
"I saw how he solicited views from other people, how he built a team of great individuals, how he made decisions based on data and analysis and solid thinking and not just gut feeling or opinion," Romney said.
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One day as a Cub Scout, young Mitt and some friends spotted a young girl across a set of railroad tracks, riding a horse bareback.
"What do Cub Scouts do when they see a little girl on a horse?" Romney recalled in a later interview. "We picked up stones and threw them."
Fast-forward to a friend's house party several years later, when Mitt Romney, then 18, spied the same girl, Ann Davies. This time, Mitt offered 15-year-old Ann a ride home, even though they came with different dates. Their first date was all-American: a screening of "The Sound of Music."
As their relationship deepened, Ann asked Mitt about his religion. He feared she would be scared off, but he did his best to explain the basic tenets of the faith. Instead of running away, Ann found in the religion something missing in her life.
Romney proposed marriage at the senior prom. In the fall of 1965, he left for Stanford University but put his studies on hold after one year to undertake his missionary trek -- a tradition among male members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon church's proper name.
When he resumed his studies, he went to Brigham Young University, the Mormon institution where Ann had enrolled. Students there embrace the church's prohibitions on alcohol, caffeine and premarital sex -- one reason Romney said so many married young.
The 1960s was a period of social and political tumult. Romney avoided military service, first because of a student deferment, then because of his missionary work.
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George Romney wanted his son to go to law school after BYU, but Mitt wanted to attend business school. He opted for both, enrolling in a dual-degree program at Harvard in 1971. Over five years, he would earn a law degree from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
He graduated with honors from law school and in the top 5 percent of his business class, helping him land a prized job at the Boston Consulting Group. He used his analytical and financial skills to help companies streamline their operations and fatten their bottom lines.
He moved to a rival consulting firm, Bain & Co., in 1977, then headed a spin-off envisioned to combine analytical and management expertise with investments in promising companies.
With Romney at the helm, Bain Capital helped launch or reshape hundreds of companies, including Staples and Domino's Pizza. Romney went on to make tens of millions of dollars, part of a net worth now estimated at up to $250 million.
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In 1994, Romney decided to follow his father's path into politics. And like George Romney, Mitt did not shy from a challenge. In one of the bluest of Democratic states, the Republican decided to challenge Sen. Edward Kennedy, a liberal icon.
Romney started off strong, tapping into a well of Kennedy fatigue. But Kennedy rallied and focused on some of Bain Capital's business deals. Kennedy ended up winning the election.
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In the late 1990s, Utah, the seat of Romney's Mormon faith, was reeling. To land the 2002 Winter Olympics, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee had enticed International Olympics officials with lavish gifts. Accusations of bribery mired the Games in scandal.
Utah officials went looking for a white knight. They turned to Romney.
Romney took the job of president and CEO of the organizing committee. He pared the budget, boosted revenues and worked to repair the committee's reputation with sponsors.
The Games cemented Romney's reputation as a "turnaround" king. That prompted his return to the political arena.
While he was trying to salvage the Olympics, Massachusetts' economy had flatlined. Republicans, who had held the governor's office since 1991, sought out Romney , who presented himself as a fiscal conservative and social moderate. He opposed new taxes, but he also pledged not to change the state's abortion laws and vowed support for gay rights and other liberal items. Boosted by more than $6 million of his own money, he won.
The victory only sharpened the parallels with his father's life: successful businessman, dedicated family man and, now, governor.
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His final year in office, Romney spent more than 220 days outside Massachusetts, laying the groundwork for his presidential campaign.
His gubernatorial tenure coincided with some of the most socially divisive debates in the country. In 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled gay couples couldn't be denied marriage licenses. Romney fought the decision, but he failed to reverse it.
By the end of 2005, Romney neared a self-imposed deadline for deciding whether to seek re-election. His father had served three terms, but Romney decided to leave after just one.