we want to you have the latest on tropical storm isaac. the storm is lashing the florida skis and much of south florida with high winds and rain. the weather channel's maria la rosa is in key west. >> and we continue to watch isaac very closely. right now, if you are looking at that time radar, it is sort of the light green and we have the rain falling down. i will say that the winds are probably steadier not quite as gusty but the center of isaac is just a little bit that ways away. we expect the next couple of

hours, perhaps maybe to see a little bit of clearing sky. >> for the latest forecast let's turn to bill karins. >> it has been just a glancing blow for areas of south florida. by their standards not a bad storm. just a wet day with a lot of canceled plans for anyone outdoors. where is the storm heading? eyes on the north central gulf, 48 hours from right now and appears the path will be somewhere between mobile and new orleans. all of louisiana still at risk. all the way back over through the coastal areas of alabama and mississippi. now as far as the pinpoint of the storm goes, it looks like most likely intensity growing to a category 2. high end would be category 3 and low end category 1. looks like regardless we have a serious situation for a lot of areas in the north central gulf as we go throughout the next couple of days. watch closely the computer models and right now they still split a little bit between louisiana and then back there towards mobile. all of those areas now is the time and tomorrow to prepare for that storm. >> bill, thank you so much. more on tropical storm ice

accumulator on. now we bo to romnwe to "mitt ro making of a candidate." have you given me a great honor and solemn responsibility. and together we are going to win on november 6. >> willard mitt romney. the soon-to-be republican nominee for president of the united states. exactly who is he? and just what does he stand for? >> i believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. we need people who recognize that pro-life is the way to go. >> people off ensay well, who is the real mitt romney, liberal, moderate, conservative? >> i was a severely conservative republican governor. >> it is really all of those

things. >> tonight the making of a presidential candidate. his rise through business and politics. >> we took on an entrenched machine and we won. >> what forces have shaped the man? >> my dad was a huge presence in my life. i wish he were able to see what i'm up to right now. i believe in my mormon faith and i endeavor to live by it. >> all of these folks that worked with him throughout his life with still right there beside him. that just tells you everything you need to know about his character. >> there are people who know him personally and say he is a very warm, engaging person. wish i had met that person. >> and with wisconsin congressman paul ryan as his choice for vice president, what might a romney/ryan administration look like? >> my belief is restoring economic freedom. making sure that we also get to about a answer budgets at some point and champion small business. >> he will come across it is a candidate of the few by the few and for the few. >> most qualified man to run for

president in my memory. everything he has done he has been successful at. ♪ >> there is the left-hand attorney sunset boulevard. >> the year, 1994. in the news, the o.j. simpson case. 2 continuing brutal attacks by the serbs in sarajevo and an earthquake shakes southern california near northridge. meanwhile in massachusetts a little known businessman, willard mitt romney, announces his candidacy for the united states cincinnasenate. his foe, one of the biggest icons of american politics. senator ted kennedy. >> some of us wondered why would

you want to take on ted kennedy in massachusetts as your first political task. and he was very committed, very engaged. >> in fact the 1994 massachusetts senate race would be a fascinating precursor to the 2012 presidential election. with many of the same issues and campaign tactics put in play by both sides. romney, playing up his business success. his opponent, questioning it. and questions about romney's religion. the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. but in 1994 it was ted kennedy, a five-term senator who seemed vulnerable. coming off the well-publicized 1991 rape trial of his nephew, william kennedy smith. even though smith is acquitted, the political damage to kennedy is clear. >> in 1993, 1994, ted kennedy was somewhat weak. he had just come off this period of kind of reckless bachelorhood that brought him a lot of bad headlines. he didn't look particularly

good. he seemed actually like somebody who you could beat. >> romney offers himself up as the anti-kennedy. >> he made a great impression and thought he had a great story. >> romney is married. the father of five sons. and has the right dna. >> i'm standing here now with governor george romney. >> his father, george, was a three-term republican governor in michigan. and even ran important the 1968 republican presidential nomination. it causes team kennedy to rethink its campaign strategy. >> we had a meeting, someone said -- first thing we have to do is talk about the budgetary implications this and he said no. the first thing i want to know is bob, what are woe going to do on television in the next couple of weeks. and i don't care about the budgetary implications. i'm not losing my cincinnasenat >> he scared the daylights out of them. >> good to see you. how are you doing. >> i'm so glad you are not a

kennedy. >> go, mitt, go! >> by early september, polls have the two candidates virtually tied. so the kennedy campaign does something unprecedented. they produce their first attack ads ever. >> mitt romney's ads claim he created jobs. what's the record? >> their target, one of romney's perceived strong points. his background as a successful businessman. and as head of the private equity firm bain capital. one of its investments was scm. also known as ampad. stationery supply company. >> i worked there 30 years and -- i never dreamed i would lose my job. >> it works. shortly after the negative bain ads launch, the momentum shifts. >> new attacks out every few days. by the time you respond to one you were hit by another. >> mitt romney and his campaign were caught pretty flat-footed. they did not respond to those attacks very well.

>> the kennedy team also goes after another perceived romney vulnerability -- the fact he's a member of the mormon church which until 1978 kept african-americans out of the clergy. >> where is mr. romney on those issues in terms of equality of race. >> religious is a topic romney prefers to avoid in 1994 and today. >> i'm not going get into discussions of how i feel about all my church's beliefs and church's dock are ins and how about this doctrine and that doctrine. >> when that became an issue, what was your personal-gut reaction at the time? >> i understand enough about politics to know the opposition will in some cases do almost anything to try to hold on to power. you are seeing that now and you saw that back in 1994. >> fearing the religious attack was backfiring, kennedy campaign adviser bob shrum picks up the phone and calls the senator. >> i said, we got to get out of this immediately. immediately. we don't want anything to do with this. >> to try to win the election, romney and his campaign position

their candidate as a moderate. logical tactic since massachusetts is a liberal and struggling democratic state. one adviser he seeks out is rich taffold, head of the log cabin republicans that advocates for gay rights. >> for to you win gay support have you to be better than ted kennedy to win that race. what would it take for me to be better than ted kennedy? >> in august, 1994, romney gives an interview to "bay windows" promising he would be better than kennedy on gay rights. >> well, i think we ought to have health care for everyone. >> gun control, abortion, health care, romney takes similar moderate to liberal positions. >> he was pro-choice, as everyone knows, and -- in the '1994 race. >> i believe we should sustain and support. >> it there weren't any discussions about the

positioning of hup. those were his views. >> he even declares a debate with senator kennedy he was not a regular republican or even a republican at all in the '80s. >> look, i was an independent during the time of reagan/bush. i'm not trying to return to reagan/bush. >> i'm o election day, kennedy defeats the moderate romney by double digits. but it was actually the slimmest margin kennedy ever had. to political observers, young mitt romney is a politician on the rise. >> how can you take on a kennedy in massachusetts? but if you do, and you -- at all successful, everybody in the state is going to know who you are. >> we have done a survey of our own to see how many people heard of my name. 1% said that they heard of the name mitt romney. those were the liar. >> and nationally get a reputation. >> they know it now. >> to those he's worked with, romney doesn't come across as your typical politician. rich taffold remember as call

from a friend that worked for romney's campaign. a man dying of aids. romney called him to wish him well. >> when you work in politics, it is very transactional. people work for you for the minute and then are gone. so this -- former candidate would call the person. that stuck in my head. >> those say his quiet decency remains to this day. to understand the man, one needs to go back to the beginning. >> my dad was huge presence in my life. i respect him enormously. i wish he were able to see what i'm up to right now. ♪

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mitt romney's life it is the love and veneration he holds for his father, george romney. one needs to look no further than his race in 1994 and a campaign in which george romney played a key advisory role. >> his father, i think, essentially moved into the house in belmont and he was a wonderful guy. always thinking. >> your dad, what kind of adviser was he? >> he loved the campaign. and he would go on -- if you will -- rallies, go out and speak to rallies. he would do parades, walk down street and shake hands with people. probably wonder who'd is this 88-year-old guy who is out there campaigning for mitt romney. >> massachusetts governor bill weld sat down with george romney and his son shortly after mitt's loss to ted kennedy. >> but the thing i remember most is what mitt romney was doing and he was turning sideways in his chair looking at his father, an expression i can only

describe as hero worship. >> my purpose in make thing trip is not to impose my views on anyone else. >> governor george romney is the sort of republican not seen much these day. >> george romney was what they used to call a moderate republican. i don't believe the animal exists anymore. by that politically it meant that they had somewhat conservative fiscal policies but they were socially lib zblal but george romney's political career imploded in 1967 during his run important the white house as a moderate republican. that's when he told a tv sperber his early support of the vietnam war was because he was brainwashed by u.s. military and diplomats during a trip to vietnam. >> you know, when i came back from vietnam i just had the greatest brainwashing anybody can get when you go over to vietnam. not only by the general but also by the diplomatic bureau over there. >> mitt romney's road to the

presidential nomination begins in 1947. that's when he was born to george and his wife, lenore. lenore had sign ad contract with mgm but gave up her movie career to be a full-time mom to four children. before his political are a rear george was a successful businessman and turned around american motors in the 1950s by launching a small fuel efficient car called the rambler. the rambler still brings a smile to mitt's face whatever he runs into it the campaign trail. mitt comes of age during the wonder years of the '50s. time of elvis and eischic eisch >> he grew up as a son of privilege. and family of prominence and significant wealth. and a lot was expected of him. >> as the '50s meld into the '60s he gets his first taste of politics. campaigning with his dad during miss first successful run for

governor of michigan of 1962. >> i actually went on the minivan that went from county fair to county fair, set up booths and speak to people and explain why they should vote for my dad. i was 15. and it taught me a lot about how people make their decisions on managing politics. ♪ >> from middle school on, romney attends the cranbrook school. one of his classmates is sidney war barthwell. >> at the time it was all male. about 430 students. 7th grade through 12th grade which was called first forum through the sixth forum. he was modeled after the english boarding school. >> also at cranbrook meets ann, his future wife.

>> mrs. romney went to kingsley which was the accompanying girls school. it was a fairly tight community. you know, you would -- there would be dances with the kingsley girls and interactions and things of that nature. >> like his father, ann would become a star in romney's you don't knowers. >> she is an emotional center for his life. she is a linchpin for him. and emotionally, i think -- important part of everything he does. >> my appreciation to her for what an extraordinary friend, sweetheart, and counselor she is. >> when he is goes away to college at stanford mitt flies home many weekends to court ann who was still in high school. after his freshman year when it is time to go on his mormon mission, it is ann who urges him to go.

>> expressed reservations about going. partly it seems that he was concerned he might lose ann, being gone for a couple of years. ann said to him that if you don't do this you will always regret and it you should go. a pattern ann would rerepeat throughout their lives together. >> mitt listens to ann and as a result, that mormon mission to france becomes a major turning point in mitt romney's religious evolution. >> somebody not just been a member of the mormon faith, it is part of him. it is a very deep faith. part of who he is. ♪ et fresh coffee. not in my house! this new flavor lock pack from maxwell house helps seal in freshness. wow! that is fresh! am i still yelling? [ male announcer ] maxwell house flavor lock. always good to the last drop. constipated? yeah. mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks.

[ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. t there.ps' lady ] live the regular life. - one serving of cheese is the size of four dice. one serving of cereal, a baseball. and one serving of fruit, a tennis ball. - you know, both parties agree. our kids can be healthier... the more you know. ♪ i do not define my candidacy by my religion. i will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause and no one interest. >> in awful his runs for political office there is a topic that mitt romney prefers not to touch on or even discuss much. the fact that he's a member of the church of jesus christ of

latter day saints. >> i get the feeling that he would prefer not to discuss his religious background. not because he is ashamed of it or not that he does p know anything about it but rather he simply feels he shouldn't have to. >> those that follow politics think there may be political reasons as well. >> it is one of the last we have in this country. i don't fully understand it myself. . >> david is the founder of jetblue airlines. he is a good friend of romney's and a fellow mormon. >> church of jesus christ of latter day saints, probably the most misunderstood organization on the planet. i think there's people that think all kinds of strange things. >> when i spoke with romney last december, he admitted house religion might have hurt him during his 2008 run important the republican presidential

nomination. especially in iowa. >> do you feel like you are getting a better reception from evangelical this time? >> well, i think so. i mean, as i go across the country, as i meet with evangelical groups, i get great support for a number of them. and don't think that religion is going to play as big a role as some felt it may have last time. >> despite his reticence to discuss his religion, romney's faith runs deep. very deep. >> somebody not just been a member of the mormon faith, this is somebody has been a missionary for the mormon and mentored human beings for the morm mormons. this is the deepest part of him. a very deep faith. >> what also runs deep is the romney family history with the latter day saints. >> the story of mormonism is in many way it is story of the romney family and vice versa. mitt's great great grandfather, miles romney, was living in

liverpool, england. mormon missionaries come from the u.s. and preach their message and mitt's great-great grandfather believed the message was true and converted and then took his family to illinois which was the center of mormonism in the united states. >> yet, since its founding in the early 1820s, mormons have often been persecuted because of their 19th century practice of plural marriage or polygamy. also, their belief that there's a third testament, "the book of mormon" which maintains jesus visited the new world. >> and soon as they begin to get established, you begin to have persecution, a kind that is very american. if you have a new movement, it is very often treated badly. >> mormons off find themselves forced to flee from new york state where their young founder says he uncovered the golden tablets that became the book of mormon. to ohio and missouri and then

illinois. in 1844 joseph smith, along with his brother, were murdered by vigilantes in illinois. as a result, in 1846, the mormons move once again. their new leader, brigham young, takes a large contingent to the great salt lake valley. in 1885, the mormon church considers banning polygamy as a way to gain statehood. church elders approach miles park romney, miles' son, asking him to set up a mormon colony, where polygamy could be practiced. first in the arizona territory and then in mexico. >> they went to mexico when the mormons had to give up polygamy in the united states. and they went to mexico so they could continue to practice plural marriage. and then when you had the mexican revolution in 1913, they had to come back. they had to start all over. >> although steeped in his

family's history with the church, as a teenager mitt romney is far from a devoted mormon. >> he then went on his mission to france and as he left, he's since said he upon had thin tissue of a connection to his faith of mormon its. >> many but missions serve two purposes, helping convert others while also deepening the faith of the young missionaries themselves. >> important roles would be what missionary work does for the young men and women who serve missions. that is it may be one of the most effective tools for building a leadership in the church. and helping to broaden the scope of young people. >> in france, a young mitt romney has little success converting the french but his mission leaves him with a lasting impression. one day as he is driving the mission's president and wife, their car is hit head-on by a reckless driver. >> the police officer that arrived at the scene found a -- a serious accident. i was unconscious. and he wrote in my passport, he

is dead in french. that made the papers in michigan that george romney's son had been killed in an automobile accident. so my dad called sergeant shriver, u.s. ambassador to france, asked the ambassador if he could look into it and they sent a representative to the hospital i was in and sure enough i was alive. >> one of the passengers in the car, the wife of the leader of the mormon mission in france, she was killed. this had a big impact on mitt romney. >> when he returns home, romney is a changed person. now deeply committed to his family's religion, he attends the mormon church's brigham young university along with ann davies. mitt and ann marry and eventually move to boston where romney gets a difficult combined mba and law degree from harvard. the romneys set until massachusetts. and mitt serves in higher and higher official positions in the mormon church. first as a bishop and then as head of the boston state which is similar to a diocese.

mitt romney might be one of the mohr devout major party presidential nominees in american history. >> he spent up to, they say, 25, 30 hours a week being the volunteer bishop. their religion is their lives in many ways. >> but in addition to attending to religious matters, mitt romney is also in the process of building a major business. one that would make him a millionaire many times over. >> during the 15 years that i was there and mitt was there, i believe bain capital probably had the most successful track record of any investment firm ever. throughout our entire lives. ♪ one a day men's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. ♪

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tropical storm isaac is on the move. gaining strength as it starts to move into the open waters of the gulf of mexico and expected to make landfall somewhere along the northern gulf coast as a

hurricane with new orleans as a potential target. isaac has started hitting the keys with rain and strong winds. a full update on the storm at the top of the hour here on msnbc. back to "mitt romney: the making of a candidate." mitt romney came to politics late in life. after graduating from harvard, mitt romney decides not to practice law, the usual profession to politicians. instead he becomes a business management consultant and first at the boston consulting group. that's where he makes the acquaintance of binyamin netanyahu who goes on to become prime minister of israel. he takes a position at another consulting firm, bain & company.

after a few years p. the company's ceo and founder bill bain asks romney to head up a spin-off, bain capital. >> mitt was hesitant. he was making a good salary and had a growing family and essentially said no and bill bain said run this new company called bain capital and if it fails i will bring you back to bain & company so you can't lose. >> bain capital initially invests in startup companies. in 1986 after tough two years, bain strikes it big. >> we invested in staples early in the year and staples in short order started doing well and helped start sports authority. all within a six-month period. >> romney helps launch staples not only with money but with business and strategic advice. >> this could be a store. it loose like it can be big. >> our lead investor and lead investor in the early stage company is very important.

because they manage relationships with other investors and board. having somebody with mitt as savvy at your side is helpful. >> next for bain is funding leverage buyouts. acquiring mostly troubled companies using loans or leverage and then restructuring and selling them off for a profit. >> bain usually makes money no matter what. one thing about leverage buyouts is they are structured so that the investment firm can make money for their investors which are pension funds and endowments. the trouble is once you go in will and you need to turn one of these companies around or perhaps it is struggling or perhaps you have a certain goal for this company, you end up cutting costs and cutting employees and bain generally gets its money back. >> mitt romney has spent his life building more than 20 businesses and helping to create more than 10,000 jobs. >> romney and his campaign's focuses on the jobs he helps create from his start-up company. >> i think that it certainly is

fair for mitt to say he created jobs. with over 50 venture investments and well over 100,000 jobs created, staples, bright horizons and sports authority created over 100,000 jobs between them. >> mitt romney as a job destroyer. >> romney's opponents, both republicans and democrats, point to the bain leveraged buyouts that failed. like impad and gst steel. >> bain capital sought elimination of the pension plan and termination of employees and retiree life insurance and health insurance. >> his critics argue despite romney's campaign ads, bain capital and romney weren't in the business of creating jobs. >> let's not try to rewrite history and turn what was one responsibility, make money for his investors, into something else which was to make him sound like one-man employment age. >> i romney admits money can be made by bain when a business fails but says it is not a

formula that works well for investors. >> if we are successful, good start-ups and good turnaround and businesses, we give the pension back and -- very nice return. by the way, i get paid and people in my business get paid if we do a good job. we don't get paid if we don't do a good job. >> what is accepted about his years at bane, even by democrats, is that romney ran bain capital very well. >> during the 15 years that i was there and -- mitt was there, i believe bain capital probably had the most successful track record of any investment firm ever over a 15-year period. >> campaign for change. >> after his unsuccessful run for the senate in 1994 are romney returns to bain capital. but by 1999 he's looking for a new challenge. >> boston millionaire mitt romney is the new head of the scandal plagued olympic organizing committee in salt lake city. ♪ >> it comes in the form of an offer to run the 2002 winter olympics. right near where he went to

college. >> i thought it was a perfect opportunity for mitt. i said, look, there will be -- obviously political benefits to having done a bright job at the olympics. >> but it is not without risk. romney step into a financial and management mess. charges of corruption, lots of red ink. >> in our case, we took a financial audit and operational audit and said we are in much deeper trouble than we thought. we are about $375 million in the hole when we got going. >> the 2002 winter olympics become the ultimate turnaround project for the turnaround specialist. >> they were quite successful from a financial standpoint. they ran a profit. and numbers varied between 60 and $100 million. >> miracle on ice hockey team. >> winter olympics occurring only a few months after 9/11 are one of those feel-good god bless america moments. it included the use of a flag

from ground zero at the opening ceremonies. the reviews are all positive. the ultimate local boy does good story. >> is this a grit show or what? >> had a lot of friends that worked for him and just spoke highly of him. you know, living in utah and having the games be in trouble, bringing his management style and his vision saved the games and made the state a lot of money. he is seen as a big hero out there. ♪ >> so now what? during the olympics, a new opportunity presents itself. >> great to be home. >> i flew out to see the end of the olympics and talks about the options of coming out to massachusetts and running for governor. i felt very strongly that the people of massachusetts needed him. whoooa i'm in a river. what are some good kayaking words? like...rapids?

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great to be back on massachusetts soil. >> march 2002, still basking in the glow of the salt lake city olympics, mitt romney is beckoned by the bay state gop to run for governor. despite the fact that a republican already was in the job. >> james swift wne swift was go. there were a lot of republicans nervous she was going to lose if she ran. and so you have mitt romney in utah eyeing the political landscape knowing he wants to be in politics. >> within 48 hours of romney's return, governor jane swift tearfully drops her bid for another term. >> i have never walked away from a fight in my life. >> hi. sorry to bring out on a day like this. >> aware he might be seen as strong-arming a woman out of the race, romney addresses reporters in his driveway this. >> i want this to be governor

swift's day. i want to note, however, les there be any doubt i'm in. >> romney easily secure it is nomination. and in the general election, his campaign produces tv ads preempting the anticipated democratic attacks. romney learned well the hard lessons from that run against ted kennedy. define yourself before your opponent does it for. >> did you i think i will win by more an couple of votes. >> and again romney runs as a moderate. embracing many of those same positions he ran on eight years earlier. >> i will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and all the confusion you try to throw on this issue is doing nothing to help people. >> never going to elect -- a governor of mass glass november 5, 2002. romney defeats his democratic opponent, shannon o'brian, by five percentage points. he wins his first political office. the same one his father won 40 years earlier. a governorship. >> tee took on an entrenched

machine and we won. i, mitt romney -- he soon becomes known in boston media as governor no. relying mostly on the veto. using it more than 800 times in four years with almost all of them overriden by the huge majority in the state legislature. something state legislators since that his heart and head may be elsewhere. >> will is not the slightest evidence that he ever intended to run for a second term. it seemed from very early on in his tenure that the governor's office was just the way to a presidential campaign. >> early in his term romney begins a right ward move on social issues. opposing abortion rights and gay marriage. on november 18, 2003, the massachusetts supreme court legalizes same-sex marriage. the first state to do so. romney opts to crusade against the change even testifying before the u.s. senate.

>> i believe we should preserve that which has endured over thousands of years. >> my sense was you look at his future in massachusetts and said i can't go too much further here if i want to run for national office, i'm going -- real problem. being mormon, republican party p. evangelical and i need to hit it on the social i shall news no longer positioning himself as a moderate massachusetts republican, romney announces what has become obvious, he will not run for re-el next a year from now it will be time for me to pass that privilege to someone else. i will not be a candidate for re-election. >> yet, on his way out the door, in the final year of his term, romney seizes on health care reform to establish a legacy. >> got his hands dirty with negotiating and went to the legislative leaders' houses on the weekend to try to really push them to do what he felt was right. >> really excited like cool, you know, this piece together with

this piece. we can make it work. we will fit night the budget. it was like solving a son sulting problem. >> very strong efforts to reach out across the aisle and make sure we had partners, whether it was senator kennedy, whether it was the head of the senate in massachusetts. we reached out. >> the key concept of romney's plan is the so-called mandate. developed by the conservative think tank, heritage foundation. it requires all citizens to have health insurance or pay a penalty. the goal, expand the pool as a way to reduce the cost of health insurance. >> mitt romney found it very appealing on a personal responsibility front. this is a conservative vision of health care reform. >> on april 12, 2006, a jubilant governor romney signs the bill into law at a ceremony in boston's fanuil hall. he wants the world to see what he has done but credits ted kennedy who worked with romney to get the bill passed.

>> my son said having senator kennedy and me together like this on this stage behind the same piece of landmark legislation will help slow global warming. that's because hell has frozen over. >> mason said something, too. that is when kennedy and romney support a piece of legislation, usually one of them hasn't read it. that's not true today, is it, governor? >> the health care bill becomes romney's crowning achievement as governor and even has it placed on his desk in his official portrait. >> would you call health care your best accomplishment in massachusetts or simply the most famous accomplishment? >> well, certainly was an important accomplishment to get republicans and democrats to find common ground and to solve a problem for our state in a way that was creative and i think that is working by and large pretty well. i'm very proud of what we did

there. >> in january 2007, romney choreographs his exit from the state house with ann by his glide it is a great state, great people, an honor i will never forget. >> that same year, 2007, romney embarks on his first and ultimately failed presidential president obama bid. >> i am honored today to give my full support to senator mccain's candidacy for the presidency. >> but now after a second try, willard mitt romney is the soon-to-be republican nominee for president of the united states. >> he is a far better candidate in 2012 than he was in 2008. ♪

>> that same year, 2007, romney states. [ female announcer ] pop in a whole new kind of clean. with new tide pods. just one removes more stains than the 6 next leading pacs combined pop in. stand out. >> that same year, 2007, romney states.

were you saying hello to everybody last night about 3:00 a.m.? >> in weighing a second run for president in 2012, mitt romney's

first concern is the health of one of his most close advisers, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and beast cancer. >> if she was struggling with ms, our entire fork us would be keeping her well. in the olympics, we were getting ready for a wheelwheelchair, an the time the olympics, she ran with the olympic porch. >> ann wasn't sure she was emotionally ready, after the failed presidential camp dane in 2008. >> i told mitt four years ago i would never do this again. >> i said never again. never again. this is it. this is too hard, this is too difficult. it takes too much out of you. never again. however, i am 100% committed. >> she was the one that said i ought to do it.

>> when he announces his candidacy in june 2011, romney is crystal clear about his reason for running. >> barack obama has failed america and in the campaign to come, the american ideals of economic freedom and opportunity need a clear and unapologetic defense and i intend to make it, because i have lived it. >> really romney is running as a mr. fix it, it plays more to what he considers his strength. >> these are conservatives that looked at my record, looked at my plan. >> though he is picked as the early favorite, romney's front-runner status doesn't shield him from the slings and arrows of his front-runner components. >> your mondandate is no better than obama's mandate. >> we need more venture capitalism in america, and not vulture capitalisms. >> when we elect moderates, they

can't debate. >> i thought it would come from the left and it's coming from speaker gingrich and apparently others, and that's part of the process. >> by march, one man stands between romney and the nomination, a long shot, former pennsylvania senator rick santorum, who has no love lost for romney. >> he is the worst republican in the country to put up against obama. >> they go toe to toe. in early april, santorum out of money and hope exits. >> we will suspend our campaign effective today. >> by the end of april, the prize is his. >> after 43 primaries and caucuses, many long days, and more than a few long nights, i can say with confidence and gratitude that you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility. and, together, we are going to win on november 6th.

>> with the republican party's choice clear, president obama's campaign goes back to the future, stealing a page from bob shrum shrum's plan with kennedy. they call on him to do with what his own father did, releasing multiple years of personal tax returns. >> i think bain is the beginning of a narrative. bain will be around for the whole campaign, so i think it's the foundation, and that narrative will tie together by the end of this campaign if romney doesn't find an effective answer to this, he will come across as the candidate of the few, by the few, and for the few. >> his wealth and his success in a year where these are all issues that people are talking about, you know, have the possibility at some dimensions to, you know, make him a

caricature of himself. he'll have to offer a pork hopeful vision for the future of the country. which he has the capacity to do. >> through the dissidence, the romney campaign fights to get out its message. >> you put yourself out there, you describe what you believe, hopefully people sort through the chaff thrown by the opposition and they getton what's the core of the person running for office. i hope to do that in this campaign. >> what would a romney presidency look like? he's been short on specifics, but domestically, romney says he would cut federal regulation, reduce the size of government and trim the ever expanding federal deficit, but he's calling for tax cuts and increases in defense spending. >> he believes in the dynamic power of american entrepreneurial free enterprise, and the government has suppress thad and killed jobs, he wants to unleash that energy again. >> i disagree with the supreme court's decision. >> also on day one, he said he

would seek to repeal obama's health care law, even though it largely replicates his own massachusetts law. >> this is a time of choice for the american people. our mission is clear. if we want to get rid of obama care, we have to replace president obama. >> this change of heart surprises john gruber, the m.i.t. economist who worked with governor romney on the health care reform bill. he even gave gruber an indescribed picture of the bill signing. >> no explanation except pure partner politics. look this was a conservative idea. it's only because a democratic president endorsed it and passed it, that now it's the devil's work. no other explanation. >> as president, i'll treat our allies and friends like our friends and allies. >> on foreign policy, romney would align himself more closely with the israelis. >> a president romney would take the u.s./israel alliance to a whole new level. and strengthen it.

>> romney also calls for tougher stands on russia and china, and iran, where he says president obama should have backed the iranian democracy movement and imposed tougher sanctions sooner. >> the president's mistakes on iran are partially at fault for the fact that they are closer to a nuclear weapon today than they were then. >> i would describe him as tough minded on foreign policy. >> the final piece of romt knee campaign falls into place. >> honor to announce my running mate and the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan. >> the ryan selection clearly defines this republican ticket, offering a conservative and free market approach to the nation's problems from the federal deficit to medicare. the othe ryan budget plan passe

the house but never made senate approval. >> what i've heard lately, that's what troubles me the most. >> romney's vice presidential selection has energized the party's conservative base, but romney know as a tough campaign lies ahead with many unknowns. >> events that occur that you can't possibly anticipate. there are words that are spoken that come out of context that have an impact. that's the nature of the political process and you have to understand that when you get into it. >> this year, the political process has given american voters, the clearest choice they have in years between the governing philosophies of president obama. >> i believe in bottom up economics. that's the choice in this election and that's why i'm running for a second term as president of the united states. >> and willard mitt romney. >> this is not about me, not about him, it's about america, the country we love. in its trouble. >> come november 6th, the american voters will make their decision. >> thank you so much.