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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsVanity Fair: The Dark Side of Mitt Romney
That's the title on the web page, at the top -- the headline shown farther down the page is "The Meaning of Mitt."
The article, by Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, is adapted from their book, The Real Romney.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/02/mitt-romney-201202
If Romney is exceedingly comfortable around family and close friends, hes much less so around those he doesnt know well, drawing a boundary thats difficult to traverse. Its a strict social orderus and themthat has put co-workers, political aides, casual acquaintances, and others in his professional circles, even people who have worked with or known him for years, outside the bubble. As a result, he has numerous admirers but, by several accounts, not a long list of close pals. Hes very engaging and charming in a small group of friends hes comfortable with, said one former aide. When hes with people he doesnt know, he gets more formal. And if its a political thing where he doesnt know anybody, he has a mask. For those outside the inner circle, Romney comes across as all business. Colleagues at work or political staffers are there to do a job, not to bond. Mitt is always the star, said one Massachusetts Republican. And everybody else is a bit player. He has little patience for idle chatter or small talk, little interest in mingling at cocktail parties, at social functions, or even in the crowded hallway. He is not fed by, and does not crave, casual social interaction, often displaying little desire to know who people are and what makes them tick. He wasnt overly interested in peoples personal details or their kids or spouses or team building or their career path, said another former aide. It was all very friendly but not very deep. Or, as one fellow Republican put it, He has that invisible wall between me and you. Referring to the time later when Romney was governor of Massachusetts, a Democratic lawmaker recalls, You remember Richard Nixon and the imperial presidency? Well, this was the imperial governor. There were the ropes that often curtailed access to Romney and his chambers. The elevator settings restricted access to his office. The tape on the floor told people exactly where to stand during events. This was the controlled environment that Romney created. His orbit was his own. We always would talk about how, among the legislators, he had no idea what our names werenone, the lawmaker said, because he was so far removed from the day-to-day operations of state government.
This sense of detachment is a function partly of his faith, which has its own tight social community that most outsiders dont see. Indeed, the stories of Romneys humanity and warmth come mostly from people who know him as a fellow Mormon. His abstention from drinking also makes parties and other alcohol-fueled functions distinctly less appealing. He is the antithesis of the gregarious pol with a highball in one hand and a cigar in his mouth. Romneys discomfort around strangers would later become more than just a curiosity; it would be an impediment on the campaign trail. Lacking an easy rapport with voters, he would come across as aloof, even off-putting. A lot of it is he is patrician. He just is. He has lived a charmed life, said one former aide. It is a big challenge that he has, connecting to folks who havent swum in the same rarefied waters that he has. His growing wealth, the deeper he got into his career, only widened the disconnect. Even as he began shouldering more responsibility at work, Romney would assume several leadership positions in the Mormon Church. But he could handle it. Mitt, said Kem Gardner, a fellow church official from this period, just had the capacity to keep all the balls up in the air. Or, as Tagg put it, Compared to my dad, everyones lazy. Helen Claire Sievers, who served in a church leadership position under Romney, got a glimpse of his work habits during weekend bus trips to the Mormon temple near Washington, D.C. Church groups would leave late on a Friday, drive all night, and arrive early on Saturday morning. Then theyd spend all day Saturday in temple sessions before turning around and driving home, to be back by Sunday morning. It was a grueling itinerary, Sievers said, so everyone used the time on the bus to sleep or read quietly. Everyone but Romney. Mitt was always working. His light was on, she said.
-snip-
But a dichotomy exists within the Mormon Church, which holds that one is either in or out; there is little or no tolerance for those, like so-called cafeteria Catholics, who pick and choose what doctrines to follow. And in Mormonism, if one is in, a lot is expected, including tithing 10 percent of ones income, participating regularly in church activities, meeting high moral expectations, and accepting Mormon doctrineincluding many concepts, such as the belief that Jesus will rule from Missouri in his Second Coming, that run counter to those of other Christian faiths. That rigidity can be difficult to abide for those who love the faith but chafe at its strictures or question its teachings and cultural habits. For one, Mormonism is male-dominatedwomen can serve only in certain leadership roles and never as bishops or stake presidents. The church also makes a number of firm value judgments, typically prohibiting single or divorced men from leading wards and stakes, for example, and not looking kindly upon single parenthood.
The portrait of Romney that emerges from those he led and served with in the church is of a leader who was pulled between Mormonisms conservative core views and practices and the demands from some quarters within the Boston stake for a more elastic, more open-minded application of church doctrine. Romney was forced to strike a balance between those local expectations and the dictates out of Salt Lake City. Some believe that he artfully reconciled the two, praising him as an innovative and generous leader who was willing to make accommodations, such as giving women expanded responsibility, and who was always there for church members in times of need. To others, he was the product of a hidebound, patriarchal Mormon culture, inflexible and insensitive in delicate situations and dismissive of those who didnt share his perspective.
-snip-
Emphasis added.
There's a lot in the article about Bain, too, but I can't quote more of it here.
gateley
(62,683 posts)CrawlingChaos
(1,893 posts)And there's the even darker side. He's a profoundly disgusting human being viewed from any angle.
Hepburn
(21,054 posts)...if anyone doubts this, the Seamus incident alone proves the truth of what you said!
JI7
(89,249 posts)or even wants to be President . unless it's for the wrong reasons .
highplainsdem
(48,978 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)the product of a hidebound, patriarchal Mormon culture, inflexible and insensitive in delicate situations and dismissive of those who didnt share his perspective.
highplainsdem
(48,978 posts)RiffRandell
(5,909 posts)It has an articles on OWS and John Corzine in addition to the one on Mitt.
tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)the choice couldn't be more clear!