The Political Scene | The New Yorker
Episode: Nicholas Lemann on Romney’s Beginnings
Date: October 2, 2012
Host: Dorothy Wickenden
Guest: Nicholas Lemann, staff writer, The New Yorker
Episode Overview
In this episode, executive editor Dorothy Wickenden sits down with Nicholas Lemann, staff writer at The New Yorker, to discuss Mitt Romney in the context of the 2012 presidential campaign. The conversation dives into Romney's character, his approach to leadership, the influence of his background, and the contrasting public perceptions shaped by his business and religious experience. Lemann, who recently profiled Romney for The New Yorker, draws connections between Romney’s worldview and broader shifts in American business and society. The episode provides incisive analysis ahead of the first presidential debate, examining both Romney's persona and the underlying themes that define his candidacy.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Romney’s “Compassionate” Rhetoric and Comparison to George W. Bush
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Timestamp: 02:53 – 05:00
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Romney’s recent commercial echoes Bush’s “compassionate conservatism,” but carries different connotations.
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Lemann notes that “compassion” for Bush’s evangelical base isn’t the same as for urban liberals, and that Bush’s rhetoric was more effective and better understood within that community.
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Lemann observes Romney’s inability to control the political narrative during crises, suggesting a key difference from Obama’s composure during controversies.
"You can't imagine Romney having the rhetorical ability to connect with the public, ability to pull himself out of something like that... He just digs deeper and deeper every time he gets."
— Nicholas Lemann (03:24)
2. Romney’s Business Approach to Government
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Timestamp: 05:01 – 05:45
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Lemann explains that Romney is deeply invested in the analogy that government should be run like a business—much more so than most Republicans.
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He speculates Romney genuinely believes this would result in economic improvement but argues this is a flawed analogy.
"...he just is completely entranced and really over-entranced with the government can run like business and business is better than government analogy, which even by Republican standards, he's unusually attached to that."
— Nicholas Lemann (05:01)
3. Romney’s Background and Struggles to Connect
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Timestamp: 05:45 – 06:57
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Lemann attributes Romney’s difficulty connecting with ordinary Americans to his upbringing in a “tightly interconnected world of Mormonism, business school, and private equity.”
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He compares the challenges of openly discussing Mormonism to those faced by Obama with race—suggesting Romney avoids topics he feels outsiders won’t understand or might be biased against.
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Romney is also doubly reluctant to discuss private equity, fearing negative public perceptions.
"I think Romney just thinks it’s very hard to open a Mormon conversation that goes anywhere good. And it's even harder to open a private equity conversation that goes anywhere good. So I'm just not doing it."
— Nicholas Lemann (06:46)
4. Romney’s Private Persona: Passion for Business
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Timestamp: 06:57 – 08:02
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In private interviews, Romney comes alive when speaking about business rather than politics.
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Lemann theorizes Romney’s infamous “47%” comment stemmed from a management consultant framework—viewing politics as a competitive market share.
"It was just the consultant in him speaking to some extent, or at least that's one theory. The competition has 47% of the market locked up... but he's applying this in this sort of wacky way to the political system."
— Nicholas Lemann (07:44)
5. Romney’s Ambivalence About Politics
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Timestamp: 08:02 – 09:50
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Lemann situates Romney’s professed ambivalence about election victory within a broader Republican tradition of claiming to serve out of duty rather than ambition—contrasting it with Democratic comfort in political identity.
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Despite a long track record of running for office, Romney presents himself as a reluctant servant, not a career politician.
"Republicans love the sort of Cincinnatus at the farm idea... it's considered unattractive in Republican circles to say, I'm a politician, I love being in government and that's why I've devoted my life to it."
— Nicholas Lemann (08:15)
6. Romney as Emblem of Shifts in American Business
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Timestamp: 09:50 – 11:58
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Lemann traces how changes in business—from employee stability to financialization—have altered American society, with Romney emblematic of that transition.
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The erosion of job security, healthcare, and pensions has made voters uneasy, and Romney’s association with private equity is a liability.
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Obama, Lemann notes, has kept Romney on the defensive over these issues, while skillfully avoiding a clear position on the future of this new economic landscape.
"They're run as financial entities, and that's a huge change in American society... all that stuff that Romney sort of boneheadedly is calling welfare, but that people really care about."
— Nicholas Lemann (10:57)
7. Debate Outlook and What Romney Needs
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Timestamp: 11:58 – 13:20
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With the first presidential debate approaching, Lemann argues Romney’s strengths—looking presidential, behaving with dignity—won’t help unless he can make a substantive case.
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The real challenge is countering Obama’s argument that economic woes began pre-Obama, not convincing Americans things would have been better under Romney.
"The case he would have to make is, if I were president today, the unemployment rate would be 5, 6%. And I think that's pretty easy for Obama to refute..."
— Nicholas Lemann (12:20)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On Romney’s inability to “pull himself out of something”:
"You can't imagine Romney having the rhetorical ability to connect with the public... He just digs deeper and deeper every time he gets."
— Nicholas Lemann (03:24) -
On why Romney avoids talking about Mormonism and private equity:
"I think Romney just thinks it’s very hard to open a Mormon conversation that goes anywhere good. And it's even harder to open a private equity conversation that goes anywhere good. So I'm just not doing it."
— Nicholas Lemann (06:46) -
On the business-to-politics mindset:
"He just is completely entranced and really over-entranced with the government can run like business... which, even by Republican standards, he's unusually attached to that."
— Nicholas Lemann (05:01) -
On the shift in American business structure and nostalgia:
"They're run as financial entities, and that's a huge change in American society... all that stuff that Romney sort of boneheadedly is calling welfare, but that people really care about."
— Nicholas Lemann (10:57)
Key Timestamps
- 02:53 – Romney’s new compassionate rhetoric and comparison to Bush
- 05:01 – Romney’s “government should be run like a business” worldview
- 06:04 – Lemann on Romney’s struggles to connect with average Americans
- 07:07 – Romney in private: passion for business
- 08:15 – The Republican “reluctant leader” trope in political culture
- 09:50 – Romney as emblem of financialized capitalism
- 11:58 – Debate strategy and Romney’s challenge against Obama
Summary
This episode offers a nuanced examination of Mitt Romney as the 2012 election approaches—exploring the interplay between his personal history, business worldview, and the limitations of his public persona. Lemann’s analysis situates Romney at the crossroads of larger shifts in American political and economic life, highlighting why Romney’s business credentials, once considered strengths, have become central to the anxieties of voters. The episode concludes with a look forward to the presidential debates, underlining the stakes for Romney as he attempts to challenge Obama on the national stage.