The parallels between Mitt Romney and his famous dad, George Romney, are many. The most obvious is that both men were successful businessmen who went on to become governors (Mitt was the governor of Massachusetts a few years ago and George was the governor of Michigan in the 1960s) before running for the GOP presidential nomination.
But there may be another parallel — Mitt Romney may have inherited his father’s political glass jaw.
I grew up in suburban Detroit in the 1960s, and I remember the elder Romney as a popular, charismatic governor of Michigan. His face could regularly be seen on TV channels 2, 4, and 7 — the big stations connected to the networks. Then there was Channel 50, a UHF station that you needed a special, oddly shaped antenna to receive. It was a cool station for cartoons, old re-runs of sitcoms, and vintage movie shows hosted by minor local celebrities. You would never see a politician there — except on the weekends.
On Saturday and Sunday evenings, Channel 50 featured a guy named Lou Gordon. In retrospect, he was probably the first television host to do the kind of “gotcha” and in-your-face, hardball interviewing that is very much the norm these days. He was a pit bull and in 1967 was ready to be syndicated across the country. The inaugural show would feature an eclectic line-up, including a couple from an organization called “The Swingers” (advocates of wife swapping), as well as an in-depth interview with Governor George Romney. The Mormon moralist governor was probably unaware of the other guests when he dropped in to tape his segment. Romney was a fan of the show and had even once filled in as a guest host when Gordon was on vacation.
This interview became famous because it demonstrated George Romney’s weakness: He couldn’t take a punch.
In fairness to the late former governor of Michigan, it is important to tell a part of the story that few these days have heard, one about a tired and overstretched candidate who over-trusted his ability to think on his feet, even while being knocked off of them.
Thursday, August 31, 1967 was a typically frenetic day for Romney and included a visit with his grandchildren to the Michigan State Fair. The plan was to only stay a bit and have the photo op, giving him plenty of time to drive over to the Channel 50 studios. Then, one of his grandkids inexplicably wandered off, creating understandable panic. For a time, state troopers searching the fair grounds wondered if a kidnapping might be in play. But they found the child riding the Ferris wheel, oblivious to what was happening. Governor Romney — now rattled and very late — made his way to the studios. His shoes were covered in dirt and whatever else from the fair grounds. He really should have rescheduled.
Plunging headlong into the interview with his friend Lou Gordon, he was asked at one point a question about Vietnam. It was a predictable query for any candidate back then, but especially for Romney. He had been making fuzzy and even conflicted statements about the war in Southeast Asia for the prior few months. Romney had been to Vietnam in November of 1965, a trip that included thorough briefings from General William Westmoreland and U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge. Lately, however, Romney seemed to be abandoning his hawkish view of the war in favor of a dovish one.
What he had to say to his friendly interviewer that day would, in fact, become his political epitaph:
“Well, you know when I came back from Vietnam, I just had the greatest brainwashing that anybody can get when you go over to Vietnam…I have changed my mind…I no longer believe it was necessary for us to get involved in South Vietnam to stop Communist aggression.”
A few days later, even before the show aired, Lou Gordon read over the transcript of the interview and was struck by the word “brainwashing,” sensing that it might make good publicity for the show. He contacted a friend at the New York Times and furnished a transcript. On September 5th, a day after the show aired, the Times had a brief story about it all on page 28: “Romney Asserts He Underwent ‘Brainwashing’ on Vietnam Trip.” And over the next few days, the story went viral.
George Romney never recovered. He went on to serve as a cabinet officer under President Nixon and was by all accounts a man of decency and generosity, but the single word “brainwashing” is how most remember him these days.
Lou Gordon died in 1977, but his legacy — rapid-fire media questioning — lives on. Mitt Romney will no doubt face many in the media who play hardball. Will he be able to navigate their questions, or will he face his father’s fate?
David R. Stokes is a minister, author, columnist, and broadcaster. His new book, “THE SHOOTING SALVATIONIST: J. Frank Norris and the Murder Trial that Captivated America,” will be released by Random House on July 12th.