Mitt Romney seemed to shrug off the problem of likability in an interview with Politico on the eve of the Republican National Convention, telling the paper that President Obama has succeeded to an extent in making him less likable, but that likability will not determine the outcome of the election.
“I don’t think everybody likes me,” Romney said. “I don’t believe that, by any means. But I do believe that people of this country are looking for someone who can get the country growing again with more jobs and more take-home pay, and I think they realize this president had four years to do that. … He got every piece of legislation he wanted passed, and it didn’t work. I think they want someone who has a different record, and I do.”
Romney also argued that his voters would probably grow to like him more and blamed the Obama campaign for voters’ wary attitude toward him today:
“Certainly, their ads have some impact or they wouldn’t be running them,” he continued. “But there would be an opportunity for people to get to know me better during the debates and during the time in the campaign season when people are actually paying a lot of attention to the candidates.”
