Mitt Romney's biggest brand

The Republican contender sells himself as the ultimate presidential product. But will America embrace a bona fide corporate candidate?

By Michael Scherer

Read more: Republican Party, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Politics, Iowa, News, Immigration, Campaigns, New Hampshire, Michael Scherer, 2008 election, Mitt Romney

REUTERS/Frank Polich

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to supporters at the annual Republican Party of Iowa's Abraham Lincoln Unity Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, April 14, 2007.

June 25, 2007 | MUSCATINE, Iowa -- Corporate wizard Willard Mitt Romney has entered the next phase of his presidential initial public offering: Appearing in shirt-sleeves.

As he comes out before a town hall crowd of about 200 in early June, his suit jacket is missing, his pleated pants ride high and his starched white cuffs are turned twice on each wrist -- not rolled to the elbow like those of a working man or George W. Bush, but just a few inches up the arms, far enough to show that he is not wearing a Rolex. He has been campaigning all weekend in Iowa, eight public events in three days, and his local spokesman says that the jacket started coming off on Saturday, which coincidentally was the same day that the New York Times ran a front-page story with the headline "Romney Struggles to Connect on Stump."

Romney's appearance sans jacket tells the story of that struggle. For 25 years, he conquered corporate America, a place where the suits hang perfectly, the silk ties have tight knots and the presentations come in PowerPoint. Now he is campaigning to lead the Western world, and the rules are different. It is not enough to simply have a set of strategies or the most powerful financiers. He has to become someone people can believe in. He has to step outside his suit and appear to be more than just another rich guy. Though he currently leads the GOP in fundraising and the New Hampshire and Iowa polls, this is still a work in progress.

"In the private sector, things get better," the former Massachusetts governor tells the Muscatine crowd, his suitless shoulders looking narrow, his arm holding the microphone at a perfect right angle. "You make better products year after year, or you are going to go out of business, because your competitor will do a better job. You don't make something better, someone else will."

This is the Romney ethos. He is building a better presidential candidate: New and Improved! Smoother, Smarter and Stronger! Devoted and Effective! Ready to Lead!

Unlike John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, Romney says what a plurality of Republicans want to hear about every issue, whether it be abortion, immigration or the war in Iraq. He appears passionate about the things Republicans are passionate about. He looks like a president should look. He has a family cut from a television sitcom. He does everything he is apparently supposed to do. Ask him a question, and there is a pause before his answer -- he seems to search the files in his brain, double-checking that he is not making a mistake. Then he delivers sentences straight from a memory bank of sound bites.

Immigration? "I love legal immigration. I want to end illegal immigration. This is not rocket science." Energy problems? "We are going to spend whatever it takes to rid America of its dependence on foreign oil." The war on terror? "We'll beat the jihadists by supporting moderate Islam and having a strong military." Gay marriage? "Marriage is primarily an institution for the development and nurturing of children, and therefore I would restrict marriage to a relationship between a man and a woman."

Back in February, the Boston Globe obtained a Romney campaign PowerPoint that explained the "Primal Code for Brand Romney." It said he would campaign as the anti-John Kerry, even though Romney has changed positions at least as many times as the last man to be labeled a "flip-flopper from Massachusetts." It called for Romney to contrast himself with France, even though he spent his formative years as a Mormon missionary in Paris and Bordeaux. It targeted the "European-style socialism" of Hillary Clinton, even though Romney passed a statewide program mandating private health insurance for every citizen.

For months now, Romney's rivals have been trying to use these contradictions to put a dent in his full head of frosted hair. They point out that Romney voted for Paul Tsongas in the Democratic primary in 1992, before he registered as a Republican. He supported abortion rights before he opposed them. He supported gay rights before he campaigned against gay marriage. He favored waiting periods for gun purchases before he joined the National Rifle Association. He liked campaign finance reform until he decided not to like it.

Most of these critiques miss the point: There is a solid core to Romney's character. He is at the deepest level an accomplished capitalist, efficient and effective, who has defined himself through the decades by giving the marketplace what it wants. All campaigns try to turn their candidates into a product. Romney distinguishes himself by attempting to eliminate any difference between that product he has created and the person he really is. Behind all the flashy direct-mail pieces and television spots, there remains a man who fundamentally relates to the world as a series of spreadsheets to be analyzed. "Mitt Romney," the PowerPoint reads, burrowing into the heart of the brand, "tested, intelligent, get-it-done, turnaround CEO governor and strong leader." But it is unclear whether America will embrace a bona fide corporate candidate.

Next page: A flub about the "surge" in Iraq gets personal