Assalamualaikum w.w.w & Good Morning....
Hmmm who would win...Barack Obama or Mitt Romney? I'm not interested in politics actually but who wanna be US President is crucial to the "safest world" haha..tapi so far ni macam tadak beza pun siapa yang menang kan sebab semuanya seems macam nak menindas & menghapuskan penguasaan Muslim especially di Tanah Arab...(itu rakyat marhein like me nampak la....)
Just wanna share biography for both candidates.
Date of Birth
Birth Name
Barack Hussein Obama II
Nickname
Barry
Bama
Rock
The One
No Drama Obama
Bama
Rock
The One
No Drama Obama
Height
6' 1" (1.85 m)
Mini Biography
Barack Obama was born to a white American mother, Ann Dunham, and a black Kenyan father, Barack Obama Sr., who were both young college students at the University of Hawaii. When his father left for Harvard, she and Barack stayed behind, and his father ultimately returned alone to Kenya, where he worked as a government economist. Barack's mother remarried an Indonesian oil manager and moved to Jakarta when Barack was six. He later recounted Indonesia as simultaneously lush and a harrowing exposure to tropical poverty. He returned to Hawaii, where he was brought up largely by his grandparents. The family lived in a small apartment - his grandfather was a furniture salesman and an unsuccessful insurance agent and his grandmother worked in a bank - but Barack managed to get into Punahou School, Hawaii's top prep academy. His father wrote to him regularly but, though he traveled around the world on official business for Kenya, he visited only once, when Barack was ten.
Obama attended Columbia University, but found New York's racial tension inescapable. He became a community organizer for a small Chicago church-based group for three years, helping poor South Side residents cope with a wave of plant closings. He then attended Harvard Law School, and in 1990 became the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He turned down a prestigious judicial clerkship, choosing instead to practice civil-rights law back in Chicago, representing victims of housing and employment discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation. He also began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School, and married Michelle Robinson, a fellow attorney. Eventually he was elected to the Illinois state senate, where his district included both Hyde Park and some of the poorest ghettos on the South Side.
In 2004 Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat, representing Illinois, and he gained national attention by giving a rousing and well-received keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. In 2008 he ran for President, and despite having only four years of national political experience, he won. In January 2009, he was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, and the first African-American ever elected to that position.
Obama attended Columbia University, but found New York's racial tension inescapable. He became a community organizer for a small Chicago church-based group for three years, helping poor South Side residents cope with a wave of plant closings. He then attended Harvard Law School, and in 1990 became the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He turned down a prestigious judicial clerkship, choosing instead to practice civil-rights law back in Chicago, representing victims of housing and employment discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation. He also began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School, and married Michelle Robinson, a fellow attorney. Eventually he was elected to the Illinois state senate, where his district included both Hyde Park and some of the poorest ghettos on the South Side.
In 2004 Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat, representing Illinois, and he gained national attention by giving a rousing and well-received keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. In 2008 he ran for President, and despite having only four years of national political experience, he won. In January 2009, he was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, and the first African-American ever elected to that position.
Spouse
(3 October 1992 - present) 2 children
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Trade Mark
When making informal public visits, often rolls up shirt sleeves and "joins in" on a job site.
Passionate, fiercely idealistic speeches.
Distinctive, clipped manner of speaking.
Trivia
His first name comes from the word that means "blessed by God" in Arabic.
In the Kenyan town where his father was born, the long-brewed "Senator" brand of beer has been nicknamed "Obama."
U.S. Senator from Illinois since 3 January 2005.
Won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word for the CD version of his autobiography "Dreams From My Father" (2006).
Lives in Hyde Park (Chicago).
On "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993), he revealed that President George W. Bush nicknamed him "Bama" and "Rock".
The movie he saw on his first date with Michelle Obama was Do the Right Thing (1989).
Related to Park Overall.
Has two daughters, Malia Obama (born in 1998) and Sasha Obama (born in 2001).
Candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 US presidential election.
Several celebrities including; Halle Berry, George Clooney, Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, Topher Grace, Macy Gray, Bruce Springsteen, Oprah Winfrey Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Hayden Panettiere, Zachary Quinto, Eddie Murphy and John Cleese support his 2008 presidential campaign. Robert De Niro gave his endorsement at the same rally where Barack was endorsed by Caroline and Ted Kennedy.
Enjoys playing basketball and poker.
At his wife's suggestion, he quit smoking before his campaign to win the Democratic nomination began.
His paternal relatives still live in Kenya.
Confessed teenage drug experiences in his memoirs "Dreams from My Father".
One of his ancestors was Mareen Duvall, also an ancestor of actor Robert Duvall.
Shares his surname with a small city in western Japan, which means "small shore" in Japanese.
Plays basketball.
Born to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. (1936-1982) and Ann Dunham (1942-1995), married from 1960 to 1965.
Named one of Time magazine's "100 most influential people in the world" list in 2005 and 2007.
Chosen as one of "10 people would change the world" by New Statesman magazine (2005).
Won his second Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for "The Audacity of Hope" (2008).
On June 3, 2008 he won the Montana primary election giving him enough delegates to become the first Black American presidential candidate to win a major political party's presumptive nomination for the office of President of the United States.
Is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan.
More than 215,000 people attended his speech in Berlin on 24 July 2008.
Has one half-sister, Maya, born to his mother and stepfather in 1970.
Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Les guignols de l'info" (1988).
Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham died Sunday November 2, 2008 in the early evening in Honolulu from cancer. She was 86.
Is the first African-American man to be elected President of the United States (November 2008).
When elected President, he won the battleground states of Florida, Virginia and Colorado - all of which had voted Republican in 2004.
Is the first American president to be born in Hawaii.
Was the 27th lawyer to be elected American president.
Was elected to be the 44th president of the Unites States of America on 4 November, 2008.
As a child growing up in Hawaii, his classmates knew him as Barry.
Presidential campaign slogan: "Change we can believe in".
Is primarily of Kenyan and English ancestry.
Favorite movies are Casablanca (1942), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), The Godfather (1972), and The Godfather: Part II (1974).
Is a fan of "The Wire" (2002).
First ever US President to address a Muslim community at an inaugural speech.
Shares the same birthday as long-time White House correspondent and journalism legend, Helen Thomas. On her 89th birthday (and his 48th), they celebrated by blowing birthday cupcakes together in front of the press corps.
First United States Senator to be elected President since John F. Kennedy.
October 2009, won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Fourth US President to win a Nobel Peace Prize (2009) after Theodore Roosevelt (1906), Woodrow Wilson (1919) and Jimmy Carter (2002).
Defended his decision not to issue a formal written statement on the death of controversial pop star Michael Jackson on 25 June 2009.
Half-brother of Maya Soetoro-Ng.
Brother-in-law of Konrad Ng.
Merited a position in Time magazine's - The 100 Most Influential People in the World ("Leaders" category) - with an homage contributed by David Remnick (Issue: May 10, 2010).
Received a gift of a Portuguese water dog from Senator Ted Kennedy and his wife Victoria. Because the particular breed is reportedly hypo-allergenic, the First Family and friends were highly unlikely to suffer any allergic reactions in the pet's presence. [2009]
Obama's appearance on "The View" (1997) (29 July 2010) made him the first ever sitting US President to appear as a guest on a daytime TV talk show.
Obama's birthplace of Hawaii makes him the first U.S. president not born in the continental United States.
Brother-in-law of basketball player, coach and author Craig Robinson.
Son of Barack Obama Sr..
The character of Matt Santos in 'The West Wing' is based on him.
The first US President to be born after the Vietnam War started.
Is a big fan of the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man and collected the comics as a youth.
Counts "Homeland" (2011) as one of his favorite TV shows.
First U.S. President to be personally presented with an Apple iPad 2 by Steve Jobs before it was officially released domestically. Obama is frequently seen using Apple devices.
Notable for being the first United States President to participate in social media. He is the first President to have a personal Facebook page and a Twitter account, and the first President to hold Q&A sessions via those forums and YouTube. He is also the first sitting President to own and use an iPod, Blackberry (custom made for security purposes), and iPad.
His daily newspapers are The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He claims to not watch cable TV news stations.
Introduced the 50th anniversary television broadcast of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).
Can speak Indonesian to a certain degree, having lived in Indonesia for a number of years during his childhood.
The TV presidential election campaign commercial for Obama featured, Carl Reiner, Garry Marshall, Larry Gelbart, Valerie Harper, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara (slogan: "This Ain't Funny, it's a serious election. Don't vote out of fear, vote for hope - Vote for Obama").
Was a classmate of Hill Harper's at Harvard Law School.
Personal Quotes
[from keynote speech given at the 2004 Democratic party national convention] There's not a liberal America and a conservative America. There's the United States of America. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states, and have gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war, and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.
And it lives on in those Americans -- young and old, rich and poor, black and white, Latino and Asian and Native American, gay and straight -- who are tired of a politics that divides us and want to recapture the sense of common purpose that we had when John Kennedy was President of the United States of America.
[regarding former President Bill Clinton's support for his wife--and Obama's opponent for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination--Hillary Rodham Clinton] Sometimes I don't know who I'm running against.
[when asked whether he would call on Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton to release their tax returns, after Hilary loaned $5 million of her own money to her campaign] I'll just say that I've released my tax returns. That's been a policy I've maintained consistently. I think the American people deserve to know where you get your income from. But I'll leave it up to you guys to chase it down . . . I think we set the bar in terms of transparency and disclosure that has been a consistent theme of my campaign and my career in politics.
In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.
When I am this party's [Democratic party] nominee, my opponent will not be able to say that I voted for the war in Iraq; or that I gave [George W. Bush] the benefit of the doubt on Iran; or that I supported Bush-Cheney [former VP Dick Cheney] policies of not talking to leaders that we don't like. And he will not be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental as whether or not it is okay for America to torture - because it is NEVER okay. That's why I am in it. As President, I will end the war in Iraq. We will have our troops home in sixteen months. I will close Guantanamo. I will restore habeas corpus. I will finish the fight against Al Qaeda. And I will lead the world to combat the common threats of the 21st century - nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. And I will send once more a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, "You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now."
This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.
Change is coming to America.
In America, we have this strong bias toward individual action. You know, we idolize the John Wayne hero who comes in to correct things with both guns blazing. But individual actions, individual dreams, are not sufficient. We must unite in collective action, build collective institutions and organizations.
In Washington, the call this the Ownership Society, and it is especially tempting because each of us believes we will always be the winner in life's lottery, that we're the one who will be the next Donald Trump, or at least we won't be the chump who Donald Trump says: "You're fired!"
In America, we have this strong bias toward individual action. You know we idolize the John Wayne hero who comes in to correct things with both guns blazing. But individual actions, individual dreams are not sufficient. We must unite in collective action, build collective institutions and organizations.
In Washington, we call this the Ownership society, and it is especially tempting because each of us believes we will always be the winner in life's lottery, that we're the one who will be the next Donald Trump, or at least we won't be the chump who Donald Trump says: "You're fired!"
To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and the structural feminists and punk rock performance poets. We smoked cigarettes and wore leather jackets. At night in the dorms, we discussed neocolonialism, Franz Fanon, Eurocentrism and patriarchy. When we ground our cigarettes in the hallway carpet or set our stereos so loud that the walls began to shake, we were resisting bourgeois society's stifling constraints. We weren't indifferent or careless or insecure. We were alienated.
(visiting Ireland) My name is Barack Obama of the Moneygall O'Bamas. And I've come to find the apostrophe we lost along the way.
Hopefully, more and more people will begin to feel their story is somehow a part of the larger story of how we're going to reshape America in a way that is less mean spirited and more generous. I mean I really hope to be a part of the transformation of this country.
I'm not interested in the suburbs. The suburbs bore me. And I'm not interested in isolating myself. I feel good when I'm engaged in what I think are the core issues of the society, and those issues to me are what's happening to poor folks in this society.
It's crucial that people don't see my election as a sign of progress in the broader sense that we don't sort of point to a Barack Obama any more than you point to a Bill Cosby or a Michael Jordan and say "Well things are hunky dory".
To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren court, it wasn't that radical. It didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, or at least as it's been interpreted and Warren court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties, Says what the states can't do to you. Says what the Federal government can't do to you, but doesn't say what the Federal government or the state government must do on your behalf, and that has shifted and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change. In some ways we still suffer from that.
Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years, and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said somehow these communities are going to regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
It's great to be here this evening in the vast, magnificent Hilton ballroom, or what Mitt Romney would call a little fixer-upper.
You know, Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we're talking about their friends and their parents and Malia and Sasha, it wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently. It doesn't make sense to them and frankly, that's the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective. (May 9, 2012)
I have to tell you that over the course of several years, as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I've just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married. (May 9, 2012)
I believe the majority of gun owners would agree we should do everything possible to prevent criminals and fugitives from purchasing weapons. And we should check someone's criminal record before they can check out a gun seller. A mentally unbalanced individual should not be able to get his hands on a gun so easily. These steps shouldn't be controversial. They should be common sense.
We can't continue to sustain a situation in which some countries are maintaining surpluses, others massive deficits and there never is the kind of adjustment with respect to currency that would lead to a more balanced growth pattern.
My image of Onyango, faint as it was, has always been of an autocratic man - a cruel man, perhaps. But I had also imagined him an independent man, a man of his people, opposed to white rule... What Granny had told us scrambled that image completely, causing ugly words to flash across my mind. Uncle Tom. Collaborator. House nigger.
The only way my life makes sense is if - regardless of culture, race, religion, tribe - there is this commonality, these essential human truths and passions and hope and moral precepts, that we can reach out beyond our differences. If that is not the case, then it is pretty hard for me to make sense of my life. That is the core of who I am.
[on election night, November 4, 2008] This is your victory. I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, callused hand by callused hand.
[on the political choice as he sees it in 2012] This isn't a matter of who's more patriotic or who is more empathetic toward people or who is nicer. It's a hardheaded assessment of what makes our economy grow. And the facts are on my side in this argument.
Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now, and facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time, is because we're hardwired not to think clearly when we're scared.
What I wake up determined to accomplish every single day is making the best decisions I can. And the only thing then to guide you is what you genuinely think is best for the country. Because if you start trying to guess what's going to be most politically advantageous or try to game all that stuff out, you'll get lost very quickly.
We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK. That's not leadership. That's not going to happen.
I do think at a certain point you've made enough money.
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business - you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen.
Governor Romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later.
As President of our country and Commander-in-Chief of our military, I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will always defend their right to do so.
If you can't beat your opponent's ideas, you distort those ideas and maybe make some up. If you don't have a record to run on, than you paint your opponent as someone people should run away from.
[on Donald Trump's refusal to trust the validity of the President's personal documents] This all dates back to when we were growing up together in Kenya.
Date of Birth
Birth Name
Willard Mitt Romney
Height
6' 2" (1.88 m)
Mini Biography
Mitt Romney, the multimillionaire financier who was governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and a Republican Presidential candidate in 2008 and 2012, was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 12, 1947 to businessman George Romney and his wife, Lenore Romney. At birth, he was named Willard Mitt after his father's best friend and hotelier, J. Willard Marriott, plus his father's cousin, Milton "Mitt" Romney, a pro football player who was the quarterback of the Chicago Bears. His mother, the former Lenore Romney (nee LaFount), was an aspiring actress who turned down a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to marry George.
George Romney eventually served as the head of the Detroit-based automaker, American Motors, and as a popular three-term governor of Michigan before launching his own aborted bid for the 1968 Republican Presidential nomination. A moderate Republican, who was a liberal on civil rights in the mold of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, George served in the first cabinet of President Richard Nixon as his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. George also was an important figure in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, as was his son, Mitt.
Mitt served as a Mormon missionary in France before marrying his high school sweetheart, Ann Romney (nee Davies), in 1969. Mitt had met Ann when he was attending public elementary school and began dating her in his senior year, when he was attending the prep school Cranbrook, where he was the lone Mormon. (Anne, who was not a Mormon, was attending Cranbrook's sister school, Kingswood). His father oversaw Anne's conversion while he was away in France. The couple eventually would have five sons.
After graduating from Brigham Young University, he earned a joint J.D. (law) degree and M.B.A. at Harvard University. Remaining in the Boston area, he became a management consultant, eventually winding up at Bain & Co., where he became the C.E.O. He created the spin-off private equity investment company, Bain Capital, which made him a multimillionaire with a fortune conservatively estimated at $250 million.
A political independent, he registered as a Republican and won the GOP 1994 nomination for the U.S. Senate in the 1994, taking on the very popular incumbent, Ted Kennedy, who was not only the scion of Massachusetts' greatest political family but a political powerhouse in his own right. Though Romney lost the election 41% to Kennedy's 58%, it was the smallest margin of victory Teddy had experienced since first being elected to the Senate in 1962 when his brother John F. Kennedy was in the White House. (In his previous election, 1988, Teddy had won over the Republican nominee 65% to 34% and, in the next election, 2000, he trounced the Republican nominee 73% to 13%). In 2002, Romney took a sabbatical from business to manage the scandal-plagued Salt Lake Organizing Committee that was responsible for putting on the 2002 Winter Olympics. With a steady hand, he eliminated the problems that threatened the Olympics. The 2002 Olympics turned out to be a success.
That same year, he won the Republican gubernatorial nomination for the state of Massachusetts. He ran, unopposed, to win the Republican nomination; then beat the Democrat, State Treasurer Shannon O'Brien, 50% to 45% in the general election.
As Governor of Massachusetts, his signature accomplishments were eliminating a budget deficit, projected at $3 billion, by hiking fees and implementing spending cuts, and signing a law mandating universal health insurance. Though not as liberal as previous Republican Governor William Weld, he was considered a moderate.
With his poll numbers lagging at the end of his first term, indicating that he'd have a tough time winning re-election, Mitt demurred from seeking a second term. He already had his eye on the Presidency.
Romney had made many trips to neighboring New Hampshire, the site of the nation's first presidential primary, while still Governor, and continued to do so in the year after he left office in January 2007. However, U.S. Senator John McCain, a Granite State favorite (who had won the New Hampshire primary in 2000), bested Romney in the primary held on January 8, 2008.
At the end of January 2008, Romney spent $90 million, $35 million of which was his own money, for the 2008 U.S. Republican presidential nomination. Though he did eventually win several primaries and caucuses, he failed to win in Florida and dropped out of the race on February 7, 2008, two days after his disappointing showing on "Super Tuesday". He endorsed McCain a week later.
Romney was questioned by federal courts on topics of campaign monies. Freed of constraints on campaign cash by the Supreme Court decision, Citizens United vs. F.E.C., Romney and his allies have spent much more than $90 million in the 2012 election cycle. Some opponents to Romney feel that in the Florida primary, alone, he won because of the money spent on advertising the campaign. Romney and his allies spent $15.4 million on TV and radio ads, which was $3.4 million more than John McCain spent on ads during the entire primary cycle of his 2008 campaign. In 2012, much had changed from 2008, though. Computers and social media now play a huge role in getting messages to every person in America who vote. This required spending much more money than in the past. He won the Republican nomination against opponents (in alphabetical order) Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson, Thaddeus McCotter, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum.
George Romney eventually served as the head of the Detroit-based automaker, American Motors, and as a popular three-term governor of Michigan before launching his own aborted bid for the 1968 Republican Presidential nomination. A moderate Republican, who was a liberal on civil rights in the mold of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, George served in the first cabinet of President Richard Nixon as his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. George also was an important figure in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, as was his son, Mitt.
Mitt served as a Mormon missionary in France before marrying his high school sweetheart, Ann Romney (nee Davies), in 1969. Mitt had met Ann when he was attending public elementary school and began dating her in his senior year, when he was attending the prep school Cranbrook, where he was the lone Mormon. (Anne, who was not a Mormon, was attending Cranbrook's sister school, Kingswood). His father oversaw Anne's conversion while he was away in France. The couple eventually would have five sons.
After graduating from Brigham Young University, he earned a joint J.D. (law) degree and M.B.A. at Harvard University. Remaining in the Boston area, he became a management consultant, eventually winding up at Bain & Co., where he became the C.E.O. He created the spin-off private equity investment company, Bain Capital, which made him a multimillionaire with a fortune conservatively estimated at $250 million.
A political independent, he registered as a Republican and won the GOP 1994 nomination for the U.S. Senate in the 1994, taking on the very popular incumbent, Ted Kennedy, who was not only the scion of Massachusetts' greatest political family but a political powerhouse in his own right. Though Romney lost the election 41% to Kennedy's 58%, it was the smallest margin of victory Teddy had experienced since first being elected to the Senate in 1962 when his brother John F. Kennedy was in the White House. (In his previous election, 1988, Teddy had won over the Republican nominee 65% to 34% and, in the next election, 2000, he trounced the Republican nominee 73% to 13%). In 2002, Romney took a sabbatical from business to manage the scandal-plagued Salt Lake Organizing Committee that was responsible for putting on the 2002 Winter Olympics. With a steady hand, he eliminated the problems that threatened the Olympics. The 2002 Olympics turned out to be a success.
That same year, he won the Republican gubernatorial nomination for the state of Massachusetts. He ran, unopposed, to win the Republican nomination; then beat the Democrat, State Treasurer Shannon O'Brien, 50% to 45% in the general election.
As Governor of Massachusetts, his signature accomplishments were eliminating a budget deficit, projected at $3 billion, by hiking fees and implementing spending cuts, and signing a law mandating universal health insurance. Though not as liberal as previous Republican Governor William Weld, he was considered a moderate.
With his poll numbers lagging at the end of his first term, indicating that he'd have a tough time winning re-election, Mitt demurred from seeking a second term. He already had his eye on the Presidency.
Romney had made many trips to neighboring New Hampshire, the site of the nation's first presidential primary, while still Governor, and continued to do so in the year after he left office in January 2007. However, U.S. Senator John McCain, a Granite State favorite (who had won the New Hampshire primary in 2000), bested Romney in the primary held on January 8, 2008.
At the end of January 2008, Romney spent $90 million, $35 million of which was his own money, for the 2008 U.S. Republican presidential nomination. Though he did eventually win several primaries and caucuses, he failed to win in Florida and dropped out of the race on February 7, 2008, two days after his disappointing showing on "Super Tuesday". He endorsed McCain a week later.
Romney was questioned by federal courts on topics of campaign monies. Freed of constraints on campaign cash by the Supreme Court decision, Citizens United vs. F.E.C., Romney and his allies have spent much more than $90 million in the 2012 election cycle. Some opponents to Romney feel that in the Florida primary, alone, he won because of the money spent on advertising the campaign. Romney and his allies spent $15.4 million on TV and radio ads, which was $3.4 million more than John McCain spent on ads during the entire primary cycle of his 2008 campaign. In 2012, much had changed from 2008, though. Computers and social media now play a huge role in getting messages to every person in America who vote. This required spending much more money than in the past. He won the Republican nomination against opponents (in alphabetical order) Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson, Thaddeus McCotter, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum.
Spouse
(21 March 1969 - present) 5 children
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Trivia
Governor of Massachusetts, 2 January 2003 - 4 January 2007.
Stated in an interview that his favorite novel is "Battlefield Earth" by L. Ron Hubbard.
His father, George Romney, was a candidate for President in 1968, but ultimately lost the nomination to Richard Nixon.
President and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics Games.
2012 GOP presidential candidate.
Son of George Romney and Lenore Romney.
Is a Mormon.
Lived in France for 2 and a half years in the 1960s and so speaks French.
1994 Republican U.S. senatorial candidate.
Father, with Ann Romney, of five sons: Ben Romney, Craig Romney, Josh Romney, Matt Romney and Tagg Romney.
Friend of Benjamin Netanyahu, since 1985, when they were both recruited by Boston Consulting Group in Boston.
Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Les guignols de l'info" (1988).
Personal Quotes
"It's time for innovation and transformation in Washington. It's what our country needs. It's what our people deserve." Campaign speech, 2007.
I pay all the taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more.
My faith is grounded in the conviction that a consequence of our common humanity is our responsibility to one another - to our fellow Americans foremost, but also to every child of God. Some people believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy. If they are right, so be it. But I think they underestimate the American people. Americans do not respect believers of convenience. Americans tire of those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world.
[on Obama's supporters] There are 47% pf the people who will vote for the President, no matter what. All right, there are 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, you name it. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.
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