In 2000, several polls demonstrated that voters would overwhelmingly prefer to have a beer with George W. Bush rather than Al Gore. During this 2008 election cycle, Governor Mike Huckabee said that he wanted to be a president “who reminds you of the guy you work with, not the guy who laid you off.” Whether or not you liked them personally, Presidents George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter, two recent “common man” Presidents, are atop various polls of the worst U.S. Presidents. So why do American voters continue to vote for common men?
I am proud of being a successful, young businessman, so I am always impressed when I have a chance to meet one of our country’s brilliant leaders. Even though I may choose to vote for a person who is similar to me and one who I can relate to, I don’t want to vote for a common man. I want to vote for someone who is smarter than me, has more leadership and executive experience, and one who has shown that he can and will make tough decisions to improve companies and government bureaucracies. That person is Mitt Romney.
On Thursday as the news stations hypothesized about who John McCain would pick as his Vice President, I traveled with Governor Romney’s fundraising team throughout Los Angeles and Orange County.
For the first hour we were together, I wasn’t sure if I should try to make conversation. It was very interesting to listen to him speak with his advisors. He watched Biden’s speech from the night before on an I-Phone and discussed the accuracy or lack thereof about Biden’s criticisms of McCain. He would have made an extraordinary Consultant-in-Chief. He looks, acts, and is Presidential. Romney’s critics called him a flip-flopper, but he was brilliant in his ability to research, evaluate and dissect issues and their ramifications. As he gathered more information, Romney was willing to change his mind. It takes leadership to admit when you are wrong. President Bush’s popularity is suffering because of his unwillingness to change his stance on issues.
I was surprised at the Governor’s great sense of humor. He was constantly cracking witty jokes, especially about LA traffic. At one point when we hadn’t moved in several minutes, he reached for the door handle and suggested we get out and walk. Because of our similar looks, one of his donors asked me if I was Mitt’s son which led to all kinds of jokes about me the rest of the night. During the campaign, Romney was criticized for sounding too scripted, but he actually has a very clever sense of humor. I used to be unsure, but after hearing his quick wit, I doubt many of his debate puns were planned. He takes America’s challenges so seriously that the public mostly saw his intense side over the last 18 months. He is a businessman and a problem solver – not a performer, like many of this year’s candidates. It is unfortunate that American voters were turned off by his religion and seriousness and did not take time to realize his tremendous potential.
Instead of sitting in the back with his all-star lineup of advisors, he sat up front and talked with me. As he awaited a call from John McCain regarding the running mate position, I asked Mitt if he was nervous. He said that with all of the talent to choose from, he doubted he would be picked, but that was okay, since he looked forward to spending more time with his twelve grandkids. Romney is known for his extreme success as a private equity manager and the huge wealth he amassed while doing so. It is unfortunate that some people associate wealth with arrogance because the Governor is truly a humble and frugal man. Even though he is worth over $250 million, he spent 25 minutes on his BlackBerry looking for a way to save $20 and find the cheapest way to get back to Boston from LAX – simply as a matter of principal.
At the end of the day, when I dropped them off at their hotel, with all of us still unaware if the Governor would be the Vice Presidential nominee, he thanked me for my time and made me promise I would help McCain’s campaign – whether or not he was on the ticket. My business background may relate more to Governor Romney’s than most, but it cemented in my mind that often times what we see on television is not always what we would get.
Winston Churchill once said, “the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” Society has lost sight of what it means to be President of the United States. Governor Romney is but one of the many amazing leaders that have been passed over because of their lack of appeal to the “common man.” If America is going to continue to be the last, best hope of the world, American voters need to vote for smartest, most outstanding leader they can find, not the one who promises to give the most handouts or is most like their coworker or next door neighbor.
