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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Romney: At Harvard, a Master’s in Problem Solving

The NY Times talks about former MA Governor Mitt Romney's time as a graduate student at Harvard University where he attained both an MBA and a Law Degree:
When he arrived, he was the son of a Republican luminary — George W. Romney, who had run the American Motors Corporation before becoming governor of Michigan — who was still insecure about his own talents, according to family members, former classmates and professors. When he graduated, he was an academic star and a hot recruit, convinced he could play on a bigger field than he had previously dreamed. He had found two new homes: in Massachusetts, a state he would eventually govern, and in finance, a field he would eventually help shape.

Those years also help illuminate who Mr. Romney is now: a Republican candidate for president accused of having no core convictions, a once-moderate governor suspected of tailoring his views for political expediency. Nearly four decades ago at Harvard, Mr. Romney embraced an analytical, nonideological way of thinking, say former classmates and professors, one that both matched his own instincts and helped him succeed. On a campus rife with political and social ferment, he willfully distanced himself not only from politics, but also from larger ideological frameworks and heated debates.

Eager, driven and tremendously hardworking, he mastered the Harvard Business School method of literally looking at the world on a case-by-case basis, approaching each problem completely on its own terms and making recommendations based on data.

In the classrooms where Mr. Romney distinguished himself, there were no “right” answers — no right questions even, just a daily search for how to improve results. The Mitt Romney classmates knew then was a gifted fix-it man, attuned to the particulars of every situation he examined and eager to deliver what customers wanted.
I would think that "an analytical, nonideological way of thinking" is what we would want in a President. However, we're talking about politics and it's ok to be analytical once in office but in order to work that way you have to get elected. If you hope to have a long tenure you also have to be mindful of those who think politically or ideologically.

I somewhat know what this is about - "Romneycare". If it's not about that it's they're unsure what he represents and he may go the direction the nation will go.

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