I first encountered the name "Mitt Romney" when I was watching Saturday Night Live. The "Weekend Update" part of the show was on, and it was showing some fake negative ads. Romney was running against Ted Kennedy for the Senate at the time, and the fake Kennedy ad attacked Romney for being a Mormon, implying that he supported polygamy. After all, Mormon founder Brigham Young said that polygamy was a good idea. The ad closed with "Kennedy: One Wife at a Time."
I was living in Massachussetts during Romney's run for Governor, but I moved to another state right before the election. In Massachussetts, I was eating lunch with some ladies in a Democratic area (South Boston), and we started to discuss the election. One of the waitresses was cursing Romney because he wanted to cut certain programs and require testing for teachers. My thought was, "And Romney is evil because...?"
I do not know much about Romney's performance as Governor. If he actually vetoed huge spending bills as he claims, then I like him. That would show he has the courage of his fiscally conservative convictions. He is under fire from conservatives for his health care plan, however, which requires everyone to be insured and extends government assistance to the poor. I'm not sure if I have a major problem with that. If the government is to do something about health care, then it should help mainly the poor, not place everyone under an inefficient bureaucracy.
As far as social issues are concerned, I really do not trust him. As many people know, Romney was once pro-choice. Now, he claims to be pro-life, comparing himself to Reagan, who also changed his position on this issue. I cannot judge Romney's heart, but I think that Reagan was different. According to Lou Cannon's book, Governor Reagan, Reagan as Governor of California actually struggled with the abortion issue when he signed the Therapeutic Abortion bill. He met with priests, and he expressed reservations that abortion could be murder of the weak. And this was before the pro-life lobby was a significant conservative constituency. In those days, the pro-lifers were mostly Catholic Democratic legislators. Most conservative Republicans in California were pro-choicers, since they wanted to keep government out of most areas.
Romney, however, changed his position when there was a significant pro-life Republican base. That screams to me "I'm just changing my position to win votes." Of course, as President, Romney may govern as a pro-lifer to win a second term. But who is to say? If he ever decides that conservative Christians are a dispensable constituency, then he may just support abortion rights. That's the problem with trusting someone who bases his positions on the political winds.
As far as persona goes, Romney is the best speaker in the debates. He is clear and articulate, and he comes across as a friendly guy. Maybe too friendly, like a used car salesman. I liked the debate where Chris Matthews asked the Republicans how they would react if Bill Clinton moved back into the White House, and Romney said, "You've gotta be kidding me!"
So will I vote for him? Not in the primaries. Maybe I will if he runs against Hillary.