Romney’s knowledge of and experience with economic issues “convey an air of gravity and authority,” says Mr. Pitney. As founder of the private equity investment firm Bain Capital, he turned around troubled companies. Romney is also credited with rescuing the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games after a bribery scandal and with closing a $3 billion budget deficit in his first year as governor of Massachusetts in 2003.
In this economy, Romney has the edge, supporters say. “Economy and jobs are the top issues on the voters’ minds.... [Romney] knows more about finance and economics, about how jobs are created, and about what it takes to expand private-sector businesses than all of the 2012ers combined,” says a former economic policy adviser to the Romney ’08 campaign, who asked not to be named.
