Mitt Romney, a Humble Man

It was clear last night as Ann Romney delivered her energetic speech in defense of her husband’s human qualities that the GOP, or at least the Republican delegates in the Tampa Convention Center, did not need to be convinced.
Their cheers, jangling of trinkets with Romney’s name on them, waving of flags and posters that read, “We love Ann” and “Romney Ryan” were proof that they didn’t need any convincing.
Political conventions are like that. The delegates are there to nominate their standard bearer for the most important election Americans face. Thank goodness, it’s only once ever four years.
They are partisan. They love the person who will be nominated. They think he will be the best President ever elected, and then they go home to work hard to get him elected. We’ll see it all again next week in Charlotte when the Democrats convene their convention to nominate Barak Obama for a second term.
But, this time around, there has been a media frenzy about whether Mitt Romney is “likeable.” Likeability is supposed to be the new glue that connects a President to the American people for the four years of his term. Obama is “likeable” and it shows up in every poll.
But, likeability is a vague term, “made up” as words often are in English to define a new concept. It seems to mean that the person will be your friend, confidant, cheerleader, pastor, scout master, older brother, mother and grandparents - all rolled into one.
When you consider these definitions - likeability seems easier to understand.
Likeability is being friendly, being easy to talk to, caring about you, being rooted in a way that makes the person dependable and dependably on your side, no matter what.
And, if you consider what Ann Romney said about her husband last night, he is all of those things, and more. It is not only Ann Romney who feels that her husband is likeable, almost every person who has ever worked with or for him expresses the same feeling about him. And, his five sons say he is a super dad.
So, what is the media talking about?
I don’t think it is a question of likeability at all.
It is a matter of character and personality.
Mitt Romney was raised in a Christian church that emphasizes service to others. His family lived those values. He went to France for 30 months to do the same. And when he returned to the United States, he took on church duties, helped his neighbors, and was polite and unassuming about it. His later achievements tell the same story of a man who is downright humble about himself, even in the face of overwhelming success.
If you have watched Mitt Romney deliver a political attack of any kind during the past year, you will surely remember that the attack was always softened by saying something good about the person, or by smiling - not a smirk but a genuine smile - as much as to say, I don’t want to say this, but since I need to, please understand that I’m not attacking you as fellow human being.
I don’t know how he’ll do in the debates against Obama, because Barak Obama is a person full of pride in his accomplishments and his place in the world. It shows in his words, in his facial expressions and in his walk. That is not a criticism, it is just a fact. And, Obama is far more the norm in this regard than is Romney. There are very few people who are successful in the sense that Mitt Romney has been successful who maintain this kind of humility.
Often they are soldiers. My father, who was a decorated and distinguished warrior, never could understand why anybody made such a fuss about it. For him, it was simply a matter of duty. Of doing the best job possible.
I thought of my father last night as I watched Mitt Romney, sitting and forming almost a protective curve of his body, as the convention hall exploded with applause when Governor Christie praised Romney as the next President of the United States.
If you were watching his face, you might have thought he was going to tear-up. His eyes were soft and disbelieving. His body language was that of someone who wished the spotlight would shine on someone else.
Ronald Reagan was like that. Despite his smiling face and twinkling eyes, President Reagan was an unassuming man, proud to serve his country and sure that he had been called to do something important, all the while wondering why he was the one.
His famous, “If not now, when? If not us, who?” was almost the motto of his public service.
Mitt Romney will be the same, in his own way. He knows he has been called to serve. He knows he can do the job. And, I know that what he wants is just to be allowed to get on with it while America can still be saved.