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Vintage Ann Romney: "Daughter Of Privilege" Who "Knows Little Of Real World"

Jen Chung

Published Apr 14, 2012

Modified Apr 14, 2012

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Jen Chung

Published Apr 14, 2012

Modified Apr 14, 2012

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As the country (okay, fine, Republican and Democratic pundits) debate whether Ann Romney has actually worked a day in her life (yes, she's worked at raising her children and maintaining the household; no, she's never earned a paycheck to feed or shelter her children), the Wall Street Journal brought our attention to a 1994 interview Ann Romney gave—here's how the WSJ described it: "When Mitt Romney, then a successful private-equity executive, ran for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Mrs. Romney gave a lengthy interview to the Boston Globe, which published a 4,000-word article that portrayed her as wealthy and spoiled. Boston's rival newspaper, the Herald, quoted excerpts in a column titled, 'Daughter of Privilege Knows Little of Real World.'"

So when Ann Romney describes living frugally (according to her they're still not out of the woods yet) did you realize that she was scraping by on Mitt's stock windfall? From money given to Mitt by his father? "We were living on the edge, not entertaining. No, I did not work. Mitt thought it was important for me to stay home with the children, and I was delighted," is what she said in 1994—check that again her statement a few days ago, "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work." A choice aided by the fact that her father-in-law invested money he gave to Mitt in American Motors, the company he (George Romney) was leading at the time. And it didn't hurt that her husband graduated from Harvard with an MBA and JD and was quickly hired by consulting firms.

Here are some highlights from the Boston Globe article, "Ann Romney's sweetheart deal: She decided her love of 30 years should be senator," by Jack Thomas:

"I wasn't interested in academics till college. I was more interested in riding my horses, and I was extremely athletic. I played field hockey, lacrosse, basketball. I swam, skied, played tennis and even now, I exercise three times a week, aerobics, muscle toning, and I play tennis at Belmont Hill Club."
Ann Romney was critical of her weight: "Don't ask about it. I won't answer. I'll tell my age, but not my weight. A woman's weight is always more than she wants it to be. I'll tell you what my ideal is. I'm 5 feet 8. In college, I weighed 117. That's what I should be. But I'm never near that. I'm always shocked at how much I weigh. I'm thin, but not 117 pounds, so I'm not as thin as I should be."
Ann Romney was stupid enough to try to academically compete with her husband: "I made a mistake in taking a class with him, then decided never again. He graduated first in his class, and he's so extraordinarily bright that he was always the brightest. If you were in his class, he'd bring down your grade, blow the curve."
When the couple was living in a basement apartment ($62/month) at Brigham Young, "We were happy, studying hard. Neither one of us had a job, because Mitt had enough of an investment from stock that we could sell off a little at a time. The stock came from Mitt's father. When he took over American Motors, the stock was worth nothing. But he invested Mitt's birthday money year to year -- it wasn't much, a few thousand, but he put it into American Motors because he believed in himself. Five years later, stock that had been $6 a share was $96 and Mitt cashed it so we could live and pay for education."
When Mitt was at Harvard (remember, he did go there for a joint MBA/JD), Ann said, "Another son came along 18 months later, although we waited four years to have the third, because Mitt was still in school and we had no income except the stock we were chipping away at. We were living on the edge, not entertaining. No, I did not work. Mitt thought it was important for me to stay home with the children, and I was delighted."
Their last argument was when she was 17: "We did have one argument, but it was before marriage, when I thought he was being too possessive, when I wasn't really understanding that he was just so in love with me and so committed. I was 17, and we had a real argument. But that was the last one. Isn't that strange? It's like people might think there's something wrong with our relationship."

Even the Boston Globe's rival paper, The Boston Herald, ran a column about the interview. Columnist Margery Egan wrote, "OK, I hate to steal quotes from the competition. Today I cannot help myself... I realized... that Ann Romney has not a clue about my life, nor the lives of anybody I know. 'Living on the edge,' she said. Selling off that stock. She has not an inkling. Not even a hint."

Of course, years between 1994 and today, Ann Romney has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, served as First Lady of Massachusetts, diagnosed with breast cancer, and accompanied her husband on his 2008 presidential run.

Tagged

ann romney

mitt romney

women

Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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