How many more presidential candidates will Massachusetts produce? Mitt Romney is the latest to come from the state that gave us all three Kennedys, Michael Dukakis, and, most recently, John Kerry. The biggest difference? Romney is vying for the Republican nomination, even though he hails from this traditional liberal bastion. Romney is a multi-millionaire, and bills himself as the “CEO Governor,” able to apply his business sense to governing, like he did from 2003-2007 in Massachusetts. Just like Kerry, Romney is drawing flak for being too stiff, as well as flip-flopping on issues such as abortion and gay marriage. The other major problem for Romney is his religion. He’s Mormon, which could cause friction with the GOP’s evangelical voters. Many pundits suggest he take the same tack John F. Kennedy did, and explain in a very upfront manner what his religion means to him, and how it will or won’t affect his potential presidency. The Republican nomination could well come down to who, between Romney and Rudy Giuliani, conservative Christians see as the lesser of two evils.
Biography
Romney, the son of former presidential contended George Romney, made his first foray into politics during the 1994 Senate election. Early polls showed him even with Democratic incumbent Ted Kennedy, and when it was all said and done, Kennedy won by the smallest margin he’d experienced in his time as Senator. Romney was the CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games, and oversaw the security preparations that were put in place after the 9/11 attacks, before being elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2002.