Oprah Winfrey made her political rounds for the November issue of “O, The Oprah Magazine” sitting down with the Romney’s for the first time and interviewing the President and First lady. Both stories are featured in the upcoming issue which will hit newsstands October 9th.
The media mogul was invited into Mitt and Ann Romney’s roomy New Hampshire holiday home on Lake Winnipesaukee, to talk about everything from Mitt’s favorite meal, to kids, and Romney’s late blooming dream of becoming president. Romney told Winfrey that at no time during his youth did he have thoughts of becoming president.
“As a little boy I wanted to be a policeman. And then as I got older and I saw my dad in the car business, an automobile executive.” The 65-year-old Republican candidate said it wasn’t until his later years, and of course now more then ever, did he want to lead the nation.
“I do believe I’m going to win,” Romney says in the interview. “I think in the debates we’ll be able to get down to, what do you believe in, how can we help the country? And I think when we do that, we’ll end up winning.”
Aside from his thoughts on the presidential race, Romney and his wife shared a more personal, family-oriented side during the interview. Surprisingly, Romney’s favorite meal is a middle American classic–meatloaf and mashed potatoes– and his wife Ann doesn’t watch TV because “she just can’t deal with it, if I’m going to have the calmness and peace I need to have.”
Oprah, who was a key supporter during the ’08 campaign, visited the Obama’s at the White House the day before her sit down with the Romney’s. She discussed some of the same topics with the First couple that she did with the Romney’s, including what the President likes about his opponent.
“I really like the healthcare bill that he passed in Massachusetts. It was great,” President Obama said.
It was the wives, however, who provided the “real talk” in both interview. Ann Romney, who has five kids, 18 grandkids and has been battling multiple sclerosis for 14 years, talked about how she felt when Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen criticized her for being a stay-at-home mom.
“Frankly, it was rather humorous to me because it was like, maybe she should visit my house once and see what it’s like. Raising children is the hardest job that there is on the face of the Earth,” Mrs. Romney told Oprah during the interview.
And Michelle Obama shared her challenge of not always being able to talk to her husband about the small stuff. “I might want to talk to him about an issue I have with what he said the other day, but you know what, it’s not really that important. I’m stockpiling a list of issues I’d like to discuss with him in 2016 though.”
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