Tuesday 6 November 2012

Standalone: Who is Mitt Romney?

(picture from sharecovers.com)

Election day is upon us, and with there being a very distinct possibility (approximately 50 %) of Republican candidate Mitt Romney becoming president, surely it's rather appropriate to ask, who is he? Who is Mitt Romney?

Background
Willard Mitt Romney was born March 12th 1947 in Michigan, he had a fairly normal but privileged upbringing; his early life could of course be discussed in great detail, but it isn't relevent, what is however relevent, is his experience in working as a buisness man, and as a politician.

Work History
Mitt Romney began working in the private sector in the late 1970's, quickly rising through the ranks, and by 1984 he had co-founded the infamous private equity investment firm Bain capital, through Bain, Romney invested in many private companys, some of these companys thrived, some of them crashed and burned, either way Romney and Bain made a dime.

First Step into Politics
By 1994 Mitt Romney had entered politics for the first time, running for senate in the state of Massachusetts, against long running, Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy. Mitt Romney styled himself as a fair, socially progressive but fiscally conservative individual, who could provide fiscal growth and a balanced budget for the state of Massachusetts. This however wasn't enough, and Ted Kennedy won the election.

Progression
Many would have assumed back then that this would of been the end of Mitt Romneys political life, but those pessimists couldn't of been further from the truth. In 1999 Mitt Romney was made the CEO, President, and Organiser of the 2002 Winter Olympic games of Salt Lake City, thanks to his organisation skills the games were a success. Shortly afterwards in 2002, directly after the games ended, Mitt Romney began his campaign to become governor of the state of Massachusetts. Using his success as CEO of the Olympics games, as a talking point and as justification for his possible election as governor.

Succession
Mitt Romney ran as a republican, on a socially progressive but fiscally conservative platform, similar to his 1994 campaign, he also preached bi-partisanship, which made him seem more moderate and more appealing to voters. Mitt Romney won, and had a fairly successful 4 years as governor of Massachusetts, with many achievments such as the implementation of universal health insurance for the state, lowered taxes, and a balanced budget, overall his tenure was seen as a positive one.

 Falling short
Mitt Romney, however did not run for a second term as governor, for he had set his sights on a much grander prize. On Febuary 13th 2007, Mitt Romney announced his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination for president, he ran a tough campaign but fell short of winning the candidacy, with John McCain becoming the nominee for the Republican party.

Nomination
However, Mitt Romney had not yet given up his presidential hopes, on June 2nd 2011 Mitt Romney, as expected by many, announced his candidacy for the 2012 Republican nomination for president; the race was a wipeout, with Romney easily becoming the Republican nominee on August 28th 2012.

Tiebreak
Since then Romney has campaigned hard, and partaken in three debates with President Obama, it's a close race, with the polls showing them neck and neck, it's anyones game. Now, here are a few interesting facts about Mitt Romney.

-Mitt Romney is a Mormon, and the first Mormon nominee for President, and if elected he would be the first Mormon President.
-Mitt Romney donates 10 percent of his yearly income to the Mormon church.
-His fathers parents fled to Mexico as pologamy was outlawed (pologamy being an important part of the Mormon religion), as a result, Mitt Romneys father (George Romney) was born in Mexico.
-Mitt Romney has changed his view on abortion multiple times.

Hopefully this post and revealed a little more information, about the illusive man, Mitt Romney.
If you have any views on Mr. Romney feel free to leave them below.

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