BOSTON — It's a slow day on the campaign trail for Mitt Romney.
After a morning meeting on health-care issues at his home in suburban Belmont, he's supposed to head over to the Romney-for-Governor headquarters.
But there's a change of plans.
It seems Romney is stuck at home, waiting for a plumber to unclog a toilet that stopped up during a party he threw the night before for several dozen of the Republican faithful. True to his thrifty nature, he'd already tried to fix it himself — without success.
No one else is home, so the man dubbed the "White Knight" when he swept into Utah three years ago to take over the troubled 2002 Winter Games has resigned himself to sitting where he'll be able to hear the doorbell ring.
Away from the nonstop action of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, Romney doesn't appear to be in any hurry to pick up the pace in his battle to become the Republican governor of Massachusetts, a largely Democratic state.
Told he seems remarkably relaxed for a candidate, Romney smiles from his spot on a cushy sofa in the home's comfortable family room, decorated with portraits of his and wife Ann's five sons.
"For people who are defined in their own mind by whether they win or lose an election — or who have to win the election to pay their mortgage — it can be a very intense and anxious time," Romney said.
"I know who I am. I am running because I think I can be helpful to average citizens in this state. If they disagree, I can live with that. I think they'd be making a big mistake if they didn't select me, but that's their choice."
'Time will tell'
Someone else was the choice of Massachusetts voters when Romney took his first stab at politics eight years ago. Of course, he was running against U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, the head of the nation's Democratic political dynasty.
Utahns no doubt remember the race because Romney was hit with questions about his faith. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a state where the Catholic Church dominates.
So far, there's been little talk of what it would mean to have a member of the LDS Church in the "Corner Office," as Massachusetts residents like to refer to the governor's office.
"Time will tell," Romney said.
Kennedy's attempt to make Romney's religion an issue in 1994 backfired, Romney said, because voters had already resolved questions raised about the influence of the Catholic Church on John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential race.
"There are long memories that go back to the (John F.) Kennedy days, where his Catholicism was raised as a possible issue and he put that to bed in this state in a way I think Catholics, who represent the majority religion here, respect," Romney said.
Even if his religious background doesn't become a campaign theme for the Democrats, Romney knows it may be on the minds of voters. "What people do privately and what kind of personal prejudices might exist (are) something I can't begin to surmise," he said.
His position on abortion is already an issue because Romney insists on not being labeled either pro-life or pro-choice. "People have to look at my views piece by piece, and they can decide what to call me," he said.
That's given his critics the chance to label him indecisive. The Boston Herald has dubbed him "Multiple Choice Mitt," when the paper's not referring to him as "the Mittster" or as a multimillionaire.
Romney refuses to budge.
"I do not favor the choice of abortion," he said. "I do, however, if I am elected governor, believe that is it my responsibility to protect the right of a woman to make that choice herself."
Boston's media
Before coming to Utah in early 1999, Romney was a Boston venture capitalist who did well enough that he was able to announce last August he would pursue public service rather than return to his firm after the Games.
Romney was criticized in political advertisements during the 1994 campaign for putting people out of work through his firm's business decisions. Already in this race, the Boston Globe has claimed in a front-page story that Romney overstated his role in the rescue of the Games.
Rocked by the vote-buying scandal surrounding Salt Lake City's successful Olympic bid, the organizing committee feared not being able to raise the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to balance the budget.
According to the Boston newspaper, though, the situation was already under control when Romney took over.
Not so, say organizers, who privately blame discredited former Olympic leaders for the story.
Among the Utahns who rushed to Romney's defense was Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson, a liberal-leaning Democrat.
In a letter to the editor of the Boston Globe, Anderson said that not only was the story wrong, but he would "enthusiastically" vote for Romney if he could.
Anderson also endorsed Romney to a roomful of Utah leaders, including the First Presidency of the LDS Church, last week at a Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce banquet honoring Romney as a "Giant In Our City."
"Anybody would be lucky to have Mitt Romney at the helm of any state," the mayor said. "If the folks of Massachusetts don't have the good sense to do the right thing, I'm sure the people of Utah will."
A 'blood sport'
Romney didn't declare what his political intentions were until last month, when the Paralympic Winter Games ended, causing some speculation that he would stay in Utah.
That turned out not to be the case.
"This is home," Romney said of Belmont, Mass., where the family has lived for 30 years, including a dozen in their current house. "I see coming back to Utah for skiing, for vacations — and who knows where I'll retire?"
His wife, Ann, who became an accomplished horsewoman during her time in Utah, is moving her beloved horses to Massachusetts. She, however, is spending time away from the state — and the campaign — for health reasons.
Less than a year after arriving in Utah, Ann Romney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She has said she is fully behind her husband's candidacy but is trying to steer clear of some of the stress that goes along with politics.
Romney himself describes politics in Massachusetts as "blood sport." He avoided what could have been a brutal battle when acting Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift, a Republican, announced she would not run.
But his pick for lieutenant governor, state GOP chairwoman Kerry Murphy Healey, lost at the party convention earlier this month to James Rappaport, seen as a renegade candidate. Swift's would-be running mate, Patrick Guerriero, dropped out for Healey.
Both Healey and Rappaport will be on the primary ballot in September, since under Massachusetts law voters choose a lieutenant governor separately. Romney said the convention vote was not a reflection on his candidacy, noting Healey had been in the race only a few days.
His campaign isn't the only one facing a primary.
Five Democrats are battling to be on the ballot in the gubernatorial race — state treasurer Shannon O'Brien, state Senate President Thomas Birmingham, former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich, former state Sen. Warren Tolman and former Democratic Committee Chairman Steve Grossman.
"It's hard for me to call their race," Romney said, joking that it would be "the kiss of death for their campaign" if he named the candidate he'd have the best chance of defeating in the general election.
But he said polls show he's likely to face O'Brien or Reich, even though Reich is lagging in fund-raising. Romney said there's some interest in seeing him square off against Reich, "the famous Democrat who's been in Washington . . . in the 'battle of the titans' sort of thing."
Utah connections
"Campaign central" for the Romney team is rented office space off a busy highway that's next door to Jasper White's Summer Shack, a cocktail lounge that advertises, "Every Night Is a Party at the Shack."
The mood is considerably more businesslike inside the Romney-for-Governor headquarters. A giant American flag is draped over the reception desk, and posters for Romney and his running mate read "Win Big in November."
In one office, a poster from his father's short-lived 1968 campaign for president of the United States sits against a wall. The late George Romney served as governor of Michigan, and Mitt's mother, Lenore, ran for a Michigan Senate seat in 1970.
The two dozen or so mostly young staffers gather for a meeting about gathering signatures for Healey. Massachusetts law requires candidates to submit 10,000 signatures from either independent or party voters before they can appear on the ballot.
Campaign manager Ben Coes, a venture capitalist who headed the GOP in Maine, promises tickets to a Boston Red Sox game to whoever gets the most signatures. He said the best spot is the Wellesley dump, where residents of that Boston suburb take their trash.
Other locations suggested by the staff, like Hyannis, near the Kennedy family compound, or Harvard Square, don't sound as likely to yield many Republican or unenrolled voters, as independents are referred to in Massachusetts.
Republicans make up only about 13 percent of the state's registered voters. That's a big change for the former Utahns on the campaign, who are used to being in the majority.
"In Utah, the Democrats are like Republicans here," said Elisabeth Smith.
Smith, who has lived in Massachusetts since arriving in 1996 to attend law school at Boston University, left her job to join her first campaign because Romney is "someone with a Utah connection I can believe in."
She said he's energized other Republicans, too. "Mitt is the superstar they're all rallying around."
Another former Utahn working for the campaign, Alex Dunn, said he doesn't believe Romney's faith matters to voters. "People know he's Mormon," Dunn said. "It's never gotten in the way of him being a good leader.
"He has those qualities independent of being a member of the church." Dunn said voters do care about Romney's experience as the head of the 2002 Winter Games.
"People are very impressed with the way he handled the Olympics."
Emotional highpoint
Romney's own polling shows that he's better known in Massachusetts for the job he did as SLOC's president than for his unsuccessful 1994 Senate bid. Romney stepped down from the organizing committee Wednesday after announcing the Games turned a $56 million profit.
He doesn't expect to return to Utah before the election, unless the snow is good enough to squeeze in a quick trip to the family's Deer Valley home. But his friends in Utah can expect to hear from him soon as he hits the phones to raise campaign funds.
The campaign won't overplay the Olympic connection, he said.
"I will surely make it clear to people that I was responsible for helping organize the Games, and it is an important part of my credentials," Romney said. "I don't intend to wrap myself literally in the Olympic flag."
For him, though, hosting what many believe were the best-ever Winter Games will be hard to top.
"The Olympics has to be the high point of my career," Romney said. "I can't imagine anything ever topping it emotionally."
E-mail: lisa@desnews.com