Show Some Heart, Mitt!

This afternoon, everything seems to be going according to script. Mitt Romney stands on a stage in the main auditorium of Capital University in Bexley, Ohio, surrounded by fans and friends. The preceding speakers all praise his victories in Michigan and Arizona and his wife, Ann, isn’t alone in referring to him as “the next U.S. President.”

Americans call such gatherings “town hall meetings,” where candidates mix with the citizenry, give a brief speech and then open the floor up to questions from the crowd. It doesn’t take long before it’s apparent what the audience of 300 wants to hear. When a young girl asked Romney how he wanted to be remembered, he replied as “a good father.”

He said he remembers his father, who lived to be 88 and who once told him that the most important thing to him was to be a good father to his children. Romney said his father succeeded in that goal and added that were he to become president, he hoped people would later remember him as a leader who “helped the American people with good jobs … and a bright and prosperous future.”

So he at least tried. But to say he got through to his audience’s hearts would be stretching things. Romney doesn’t “humanize” that easily.

The crowd tried again with one man asking him if he couldn’t tell them something that showed that he had a heart and really loved America.

Standing in front of a gigantic U.S. flag, Romney took a few moments to answer and then gave a response that lasted four minutes and 38 seconds. He began by saying the most important thing in his life was his wife, Ann, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and at whose side they had succeeded in getting control over the disease together. He gave no details as to how he actually stood by his wife. His declarations of love for his grandchildren also came off as being rather impersonal and empty, such as “They come running up and give me a big hug. It’s so exciting!” No anecdotes, no adventure, nothing.

He related how, because the Mormon religion has no paid clergy, he and his fellow parishioners have to assume pastoral duties. He did so for 10 years in Boston, as well as being a volunteer caring for others from all parts of the world. He described that as an uplifting experience but didn’t elaborate further. And he never once mentioned the word “Mormon.”

Much to the surprise of reporters covering his appearance, he never brought up the anecdote in which, during his tenure at Bain Capital, he once spent three days helping find the daughter of a colleague who had gone missing in New York. His advisers had even gone to the trouble of producing television spots on the subject.

Political campaigns in the United States are conducted on an extremely personal level. For Romney, that’s a problem because he finds it challenging to get close to people even when, as on this occasion, he succeeded in coming off less robotic than he usually does in televised appearances. His responses came more quickly and he didn’t resort to the bleating “Hehehe” laugh he often uses to cover uncomfortable situations.

Following public opinion polls, he strongly warned of Iranian nuclear ambitions, criticized President Obama for a failed presidency, trumpeted his own business acumen and took China to task for currency manipulation. All this resonates in Ohio, where hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost over the past few years.

He was relatively reticent with criticism of his opponents, notably Rick Santorum, who was ahead in Ohio polls last week. His mild criticism: “Rick Santorum’s a nice guy, but he’s an economic lightweight,” said Romney, noting that slogans were no substitute for long years of experience. Romney is certain he’s the only candidate capable of defeating Obama at the polls.

Finally, there was a question that had nothing to do with his personality: One man wanted to know if, as president, Romney would allow him to continue owning guns he said he needed as protection for himself and his family against a government he saw as becoming increasingly tyrannical. Weapons to use against the government? Romney didn’t hesitate even for a second before affirming his belief that Americans had an absolute right to gun ownership. “I believe in the second amendment,” Mitt Romney said. “I’ll protect the second amendment. I have guns myself.”

After question time was over, Romney posed for photos, signed autographs and shook hundreds of hands under the watchful eyes of his bodyguards. At least now a few Republicans were able to get really close to their favorite candidate.