Above: Click to watch the interview
I caught up this week with San Diegan GOP delegate Patrick Ord, a long-time Mitt Romney supporter. & Ord has been behind John McCain since the senator's presidential momentum crescendoed, but he fundraised for Romney and still had his fingers crossed he'd be chosen as VP on the ticket. This of course before Sarah Palin was unveiled as the choice and confirmed last Friday, the day after Barack Obama's DNC speech.
One unique aspect of Ord's story is his intimate connection to a such a visible political figure: he was college roommates at BYU for three years in the mid 1990s with Mitt Romney's son, Matt, with whom he still regularly corresponds.
As a friend of the family, Ord has personal experience with a politician who ordinary citizens can only judge based on articles, videos, basic resume and legislative history. & This and Ord's shared Mormon faith with the Romney family contributed to somewhat of an upside-down path to political support: endorsement of character before policy.
We had a interesting chat about political messaging (what themes resonate), executive skills as they relate to governance, his thoughts on Palin, and faith's role in politics.
