http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21049288/site/newsweek/By Jonathan Darman and Lisa Miller
Newsweek
Oct. 8, 2007 issue - High above California, between campaign stops last week, presidential candidate Mitt Romney submitted to what he jokingly called "35 minutes of torture." In a wide-ranging talk with NEWSWEEK's Jonathan Darman and Lisa Miller, Romney touched on his family, his religion, his management style—and, excerpted here, Iraq and the distinction he draws between his own leadership style and that of the current president:
NEWSWEEK: If Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee, and you're the Republican nominee, and she runs against you and says, "Mitt Romney would be more of George W. Bush," what's your quick response that says, "I am not George W. Bush"?
ROMNEY: I don't know that I have a great line, but people recognize that no two people are alike. About half the country is Republican, about half is Democrat, and all Republicans don't see every issue the same. Our life experiences are very different, our views on a number of issues are very different. We're our own people. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a Republican, I'm a Republican, Mike Huckabee is a Republican. We're different in a number of respects and people will choose among us. And you're right: Hillary Clinton will try to make any person who becomes our nominee into George Bush, but we're all quite different in our own way. And I'm different than President Bush in a number of dimensions despite the fact that I respect him as a fine man and a fine leader, but I'm a different person.
Different how?
Our life experience is quite different in terms of the kinds of enterprises we were involved in. I was 10 years in the consulting business. That means I tend to be highly analytical, data-driven, analysis-driven, so I follow a process for decision making.