you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility. and, together, we are going to win on november 6th. wi willard mitt romney. the soon to be 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 bho recognize that pro-life is the way to go. >> people often say well who is the real mitt romney? >> i was a severely conservative

republican governor. >> it's 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. >> i live by my mormon faith. >> they're still right there beside him. that's everything you need to know about his character. >> i wish i had met that person. >> now, as his choice for vice president, what might a romney ryan administration look like? >> my belief is restoring economic freedom. and then champion shawl business, he will come across as by the few, for the few.

everything he's done, he's been successful. >> there's the left-hand turn onto sunset boulevard. >> the year? 1994. in the news, the o.j. simpson case. the continuing brutal attacks by the seshs in sarajevo. and the earth cake shakes southern california. meanwhile, an announcement for the united states government. his faux? one of the biggest icons of american politics. senator ted kennedy.

it would be a fas natsing recursor with many of the same issues and campaign tactics put in play by both sides. romney playing up his business success, his o poent, questioning it and questions about romney's religion, the church of jesus christ of latter day sants. even though smith is acquitted, the political damage to kennedy is clear. >> in 1993, '94, ted kennedy was somewhat weak. he had this bachelor hood that

had brought a lot of bad headlines. he seemed to be somebody you could beat. the miracle happened. >> romney is married. the father of five sons and has the right dna. his father, george, was a three-time nominee. it causes team kennedy to rethink its campaign strategy. we had a meeting. he said the first thing i want to know is bob, what are we going to do in television in the next couple of weeks. i don't care about the budgetary implications. >> he scared the daylights out of the kennedys. he really did.

>> i'm sure glad you're not a candidate. >> by early september, polls had 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. >> their target? one of romney's perceived strong points. his background as a successful businessman, as head of the private equity firm, bane capitol. one of his investments was scm, also known as ampad. a stationary supplies company. >> i worked there 30 years. i never dreamed i would lose my job. >> the momentum shifts. >> the tax would come every few days. so by the time you responded to one, you would be hit with another. >> mitt romney and his campaign were caught pretty flat-footed.

they did not respond to those attacks very well. where is mr. romney on the quality of race. >> religion is a topic he prefers to avoid. both in 1994 and to today. >> i'm not going to get into discussions about today and this doctrine and that doctrine. >> what was your personal guts reaction at the time? >> i understand enough about politics that they will try to hold onto power. you're seeing that now. you saw that back in 1994. >> fearing their religious attack was backfiring, kennedy campaign advisor picks up the phone and calls the senator. >> i said we've got to get back

at this. romney positioned. since massachusetts, it's a liberal and strongly democratic state. one advisor he seeks out is rich tadfill. you'll have to be better than ted kennedy. what would it take for me to be better than ted kennedy. >> in august, 1994, romney gives an interview to gay windows, boston's gay newspaper. >> well, i think we ought to have health care to anyone. >> other issues, health care, romney takes similar to moderate positions. >> he was pro-choice, as everyone knows.

i believe toez were his views. gh he declares that he was not a regular republican, or even a republican at all in the '80s. >> look, i was an inpendent. i'm not trying to return. it was actually the smallest he ever had. he was a politician on the rise. >> how can you take on a kennedy in massachusetts? but if you do and you're at all successful, everybody in the states could know who you are. we had done a survey to see who had heard of my name. 1%. and, of course, they were the liars.

rich tadfil remembers a call from a friend who worked for romney's campaign. he said romney had called him to wish him well. when you're working politics, they're kind of working for you for the minute and then they're kind of gone. so this former candidate would call the person. that stuck. to understand both the man and his lifelong commitment to the family bez, politics, one needs to go back to the beginning. my dad was a huge presence in my life. i wish you're able to see what i'm up to right now.

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if there is a true north in mitt rom fee's life, it's the love and venn ration he holds for his father. a campaign in which george romney played a key advisory role. his father moved into the house in belmon. always thinking. sometimes independent and often independent of mitt. >> what kind of advisor was he? >> he loved the campaign. he would do parades, walk down the street, shake hands with people. massachusetts ma's governor sat down shortly after ted kennedy. >> wu the thing i love most is what mitt romney was doing. he was turning sideways in his chair looking at his father

through an expression i can only describe as hero worship. >> my purpose is not to impose my views on anyone else. george romney was what they used to call a moderate republican. by that, politically, i meant that they had somewhat conservative fiscal policies, but they were socially liberal. >> but george rom ne's political career imploeded in 1967. during his run for the whielt house as a moderate republican. he told the u.s. military he was brainwashed during a trip to vietnam. not only by the generals, but also by the diplomatic call there.

>> mitt romney's own road to this presidential nomination begins in 1947. that's when he was born to his wife le nor and gave up to be a full-time mom to four children. before his political career, george was a successful businessman. he turned around american motors by launching a small, fuel e fishlt car called the rambler. mitt romney's childhood was not typical. he grew up in one of the welt thiest neighborhoods. a lot was kpchted of him. >> as the '50s meld into the '60s, mitt gets his first taste

of politicings. i actually went from the mini van that explained to people why i should vote for my dad. i was 15. it taught me a lot on how people make their decisions on matters of politics. from middle school on, he attends the kranbrook school in bloomfield hills, michigan. at the time, it was all male. it was 7th grade through 12th grade. he was out on the left with the english boarding school.

>> mrs. romney went to kingsport. it was a fairly tight community. fairly hermetically sealed so there would be dances with the girls and interactions and things of that nature. like his father, anne would become a load star. >> she is an emotional center for his life. she's a lynch pin for him. and emotionally and i think the important part of everything that he does. >> my appreciation to her for what an extraordinary friend, sweet art and counselor she is. >> when he goes away to college in stanford, mitt flies home many weekends to court anne who is still in high school. after his freshman year, it is anne who urges him toe go.

and anne said to him, you should do this. >> mitt listens to anne. as a result, that mormon mission to france becomes a major turning point in mitt romney's religious evolution. >> this part of him is a very deep faith. and it's part of who he is. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. >> announcer: meet tom, a proud dad whose online friends all "like" the photos he's posting. oscar likes tom's photos, but he loves the access to tom's

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and deep wrinkles than professional treatments. roc® max for maximum results. >> 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 all of 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 is 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's ashamed of it or not that he doesn't know anything about it. but rather that he simply feels he shouldn't have to. those who follow politics may think there be political reasons, as well. i don't fully understand it myself. david neilaman is the found of of jet blue airlines. >> the church of jesus christ of latter day saints, mormons, like us, we're probably the misunderstood organization on the planet.

during his 2008 run, especially in iowa. >> do you like you're getting a better reception this time? >> i think so. romney's faith runs deep, very deep. >> if somebody had not just been a member of the moment. it eegs somebody who's been a minister for the moment. this is a deep -- this is part of him. what also runs deep is the family history. >> the story of mormonism is the great, great grandfather was

living near liverpool england. it was the center of mormonism, united states. >> yet, since its founding in the early 1820s, mormons have often been persecuted because of their 19th century practice of polygamy and believe that there is a third testament, the book of mormon which believes that jesus vited the new world. as soon as they get accomplished, if you have a new movement, it's very often treated badly. >> the mormons often found themselves forced to flee from new york state where their young founder joseph smith says he

uncovered the golden tablets that wam the book of mormon. in 1844, joseph smith along with his brother were murdered by vigilantes in illinois. as a rumt, in 1846, the mormons move once again. in 1885, asking him to sets up a mormon colony where mormon could be practiced. >> they went to mexico when the mormons had to give up polygamy and in the united states. and they went to mexico so could continue to practice marriage. and then they had to come back and they had to start all over.

>> although steve spent his history with the church, as a teenager, mitt romney is far from a devoted mormon. >> he went on his mission to fransz. as he left, he said he only has a thin tissue in connection to his faith with mormonism. >> but mission served two purposes, while deepening the faith of the young missionaries themselves. >> the important roles would be what missionary does for the young men and women who serve migss. that's maybe one of the most effective tools for building leadership in the church and helping to broaden the scope of young people. his mission leaves him with a lasting impression. one day, as he's driving the mission's president and wife, their car is hit head on by a recklessless driver. >> the police officer was in a very serious accident and i was

unconscious. and he wrote in my passport, he is dead in french. and that made it to the papers in michigan that george romney's son had been killed in an automobile accident. but one of the passengers in the car, the wife of the leader of the mormon mission in france, she was killed. so this had a big impact on romney. now deeply committed, he attends brigham young university. mitt and anne marry and get a difficult, combined mba law degree. they settle in massachusetts and mitt serves in higher and higher official positions in the mormon church.

mitt romney might be one of the more devout major party presidential nominees in american history. >> we spent up to, they say, 25 or 30 hours a week. their religion is their life. in many ways. >> mitt romney is in the process of building a major business. one that would make him a million their many times over. >> during the 15 years that i was there and that mitt was there i believe bane capitol had the most successful track record of any investment firm ever over any 15-year period.

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veronica delacruz. louisiana and mississippi are boet under states of emergencies. the storm is expected to make land fall by late tuesday or early wednesday. isaac shuts down gulf oil rigs. analysts will shut down 85% of oil production. >> romney came to politics fairly late in life. after graduating harvard in 1975, mitt romney decides not to practice law, the usual profession for politicians. instead, becomes a businessmanagement consultant. first, at the boos ton consulting kbrup. that's where he makes the acquaintance of the prime

minister of israel. then in 1977, he takes another consulting firm. bane&krochlt. co. >> after a few years, the founder asks romney to head off a spin off. bain capital. >> hit was he has tantd. he essentially said no. if and it fails, you sort of can't lose. after a tough two years, bane strikes it big. >> we invested in staples early in the year and staples started doing well. we helped sports authority. he helps to launch staples with business and strategic advice.

>> we add as a lead investor. a lead investor is very important because they manage relationships with other investors. having somebody at your side was really, really helpful. next for bane is funding buy outs and then restructuring and selling them off for a profit. >> bain usually makes money no matter what. one thing about leverage buy outs is they are structured so that the investment firm can make money for their investors, which are pension funds, endowments. the trouble is once you go in there and you have a certain goal for this company, you wind up cutting costs, cutting employees. bain generally gets its money back.

>> i think it's certainly fair for mitt to say he created jobs with other 50 adventure investments and well over a hundred thousand new jobs created. i believe they created a hundred thousand jobs just between them. >> but romney's o poents, both republicans and dem krats, point to the buy outs that failed. they serm termination of health insurance. >> and his critics argue that romney's campaign ads, bain capital and romney weren't in the business of creating jobs. >> et wilet's not try to rewrit history.

romney admits money can be made by bain but says tsz not a formula that works well for investors. >> if we're success vl with good start ups and turn arounds by business, why, then we give the pension back a very nice return. and, by the way, i get paid and people in my business get paid if we do a good-bye job. >> what is accepted about his years at bain, even by democrats, is that romney rain bain capital very well. >> during the 15 years that i was there, i believe bain capital had the most successful ever. >> romney returns to bain capital. but by 1999, he is looking for a new challenge. >> boston millionaire mitt

romney is the head of the 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. >> and i thought it was a perfect opportunity for mitt. and i had said, look, there will be, obviously, political benefits to having done a great job at the olympics. we said we're in much eper trabl than we thought. we're about 375 million dlarsz in the hole that we've got going. the 2002 winter olympics become the turn around project.

only a few months after 9/11 and included a flag from ground zero at the opening ceremony. the reviews are all positive. the ultimate local boy does great. i have a lot of friends that work for him. you know, having the games be in trouble and him come in and bring his managemented style and his vision. kind of save the games and made the state a lot of money. he's seen as a big hero out there. >> i flew out to see the end of the olympics. i'm talking about the options to massachusetts and running for governor. i felt very strongly that the

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it's great to be back on massachusetts soil. >> in march, 002, mitt romney is beckoned by the bay state gop to run for governor, december piets the fact that there's somebody in the job. >> a lot of what mitt romney out in utah sort of eyeing the political landscape knowing that he wants to get in politics. >> i've never walked away from a fight in my life. >> hi, sorry to pring you out on a day like this.

>> but aware that he might be seen as stronging a woman out of the race. >> i want this to be governor swiss day. i want it to be known that unless there's any doubt, i'm in. >> romney preechts the democratic attacks. romney learned well the hard less sons from that run against ted kennedy. define yourself before your o poent does it for you. and, again, romney runs as a mod rat, embracing many of those same positions he ran on 8 years earlier. >> i will preserve and frekt the woman's right to choose. >> you're never going to elect a right winger as governor of massachusetts. >> november 5th, 200, romney defeats his democratic opponent by five percentage points.

he wins his first political office. the same one his father won 40 years earlier. a governor ship. we took on an entrenched machine and we won. >> he's relying mostly on the veto, using it more than 800 times in four years, with almost all of them overridden by the huge democratic majority in the state legislature. meanwhile, some slate legislatures sense that his heart and head may be elsewhere. it seemed from very early on that the governor's office was just a way station on the way to the presidential campaign. >> early in his term, the governor begins a rightward move on social issues. on november 18th, 2003, the massachusetts supreme court

legalizes same sex marriage. >> i believe we should preserve that which has endured over thousands of years. my sense was we can't go too much furter here. i need to hit it on some of these social issues. >> no longer positioning himself as a moderate, massachusetts republican. romney announces what has become obvious. he will not run for reelection. a year from now, it will be time for someone else. romney establishes a legacy. >> he got his hands dirty,

negotiated, went to the legislator's houses on the weekend to try to push them to do what he felt was right. >> he was really excited. oh, cool, if we move this piece with this piece, it will work. it was like solving a national con sulting problem. plaintiffs it was senator kennedy or the head of the senate, the key is the so called man date. developed by the conservative think tank. all to have the health insurance or pay penalty. the goal? the way to reduce the cost of health insurance. on april 12th, 200, signs the law.

he wants the world to see what he has done, but he also credits his old adversary, ted kennedy, who worked with romney to get the bill pass. >> my son said that having senator kennedy and me together behind the same piece of legislation will help slow global warming. that's because held has frozen over. >> when kennedy and romney su port a piece of ledge slagsz, usually, one of them hasn't red it. that's not true today, is it governor? >> he even has it placed on his desz k in his official portrait. >> would you call health departmentcare your best accomplishment in massachusetts? or simply the most common?

>> i think it's working pretty well. i'm very proud of what we did there. >> in january, 2007, romney kor you graphs from the state house with anne by his side. >> it's a great state, great people. it's an honor that i will never forget. >> a that same year, romney votes on his failed primary bid. >> i have honored today to give 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's a far better candidate than he was in 2008.

were you saying hello to everybody last night at about 3:00 a.m.? >> mitt romney's first consideration is the health of one of his most important advisors, his wife. who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998 and then successfully treated for breast cancer in 2009. >> if anne were really struggling with ms, my entire focus would be on keeping her helg thi. >> though fezically up for the 2012 run, anne wasn't sure she is emotionally ready after that emotional campaign in 2008. i said never again. this is it. this is too hard. this is too difficult.

it takes too much out of you. never again. however, i'm a hundred percent committed. >> she was the one that said how to do it. >> when he announces his candidacy in june, 2011, romney is crystal clear. >> and in the campaign to come, the american ideals of freedom and opportunity need a clear and unapologetic defense. i intend to make it because i have lived it. >> in 2012, clearly romney is running as a mr. fix it. your mandate is no different than barack obama's mandate.

>> i thought it was going to come from the president and the democrats from the left. but, instead, it's coming from speaker gingrich. that's just part of the process. >> by march, the republican field narrows. one man starnds between romney and the nomination. a long shot. former pennsylvania senator. >> he is the worst republican in the country to put up against barack obama. nbc news has declared mitt romney to be the winner in wisconsin. >> we will suspend our campaign effective today. >> by the end of april, the prize is now 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 fov 6 lt. >> with the republican party's choice clear, president obama's campaign goes back to the future, stealing a page from bob schrum's 1994 strategy for senator kennedy. the obama team goes after romney again on bain and calling on him to do what his own father did, release mult pl years of his personal tax returns. i think that narrative is all going to tie together by the end of this campaign. if romney does not find an effective answer, he will come across as the candidate of the the few, by the few and for the few.

he'll have to offer a positive, hopeful vision. >> through the disdance, the romney campaign fights to get out its message. hopefully, people get to know what's the core of the person that's running for office. i hope to be able to do that for this campaign. >> so what would a romney presidency look like? well, he's been short on specifics, but do mesically, he says he would cut federal regulation, reduce the size of government and trim the ever-expanding federal deficit. but he is also calling for tax cuts and increases in defense spending. >> he believes in the die nanlic poier of free enterprise. and he thinks the government has suppressed that and killed jobs.

>> i disagree with the supreme court's decision. >> also on day one, he seeks to repeal obama's health care law. this is a time of choice. this change of heart su prizes john gruege, r as president, i'll treat our friends and allies like friends and allies. >> romney would align himself more closely.

>> a president romney would take the u.s. israel alliance to a whole new level. and strerngten it. >> he should have imposed tougher sanctions on iran sooner. they are in part responsible because of iran. >> the one word i would use to describe his foreign policy would be tough-minded. >> and on august 11th, 2012, in norfolk, virginia, the final piece of the romney campaign falls into place. >> it's an honor to announce my running mate and the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan. oftening a conservative and free market approach from the federal deficit to medicare.

they pass the house but never once send an approval. what i've heard lately, that's what troubles me the most. >> romney has energized the bass. but what they know is a tough campaign lies ahead with many unknowns. there are wourds that are spoken that have a plit k58 context. you have to understand that when you get into it. >> this year, the political process has given american voters the clearest choice they've had in years between the governing philosophies of president obama. and willard mitt roam knee.