Romney's disconnect
MAYBE MITT ROMNEY really does have a heart.
How else to explain his decision to give a second chance to the landscaping company that got him in political trouble a year ago for dispatching illegal immigrants to tend his property? It's so un-Romney-like, so opposite the image of the cold, PowerPoint-loving CEO who would be president.
Romney discards political positions, allies, and judicial appointees the moment they turn into liabilities. But he gave his landscaping company, Community Lawn Service With a Heart, another shot, to his political disadvantage. The morning after Romney blasted rival Rudy Giuliani for providing sanctuary to illegal immigrants in New York, the Globe again found two illegal immigrants cleaning the grounds of what Giuliani labeled Romney's "sanctuary mansion."
Romney said he gave the company "a second chance with very specific conditions." One, he said, was to make sure its employees were of legal status. However, Ricardo Saenz, the company owner, disputed Romney's account, saying Romney never insisted he check his workers' immigration status. Saenz won't get a third chance; this time, Romney fired him.
It adds up to a curious development for a candidate whose website tackles the subject of illegal immigration with this no-nonsense pledge: "We must secure the border, implement an enforceable employer verification system, punish sanctuary cities, and reject amnesty if we are to restore American's faith in the rule of law."
Clearly, it is easier said than done, as Romney's landscapers prove. But a Harvard MBA like Romney already knew that. He chose to ignore it, strictly for reasons of political expedience.
If Romney weren't so busy telling the Republican base exactly what pollsters tell him it wants to hear, he could acknowledge the complexities of the immigration dilemma. Instead of demonizing, he could offset his desire to be tough with compassion for human beings with dreams and families.
Doing that would not only be honest politics; in the long run for Romney, it would also be good politics.
His Mormon religion may trip him up with evangelicals, but his robotic persona undermines him across the board with voters. America isn't going to choose a bloodless corporate turnaround artist as its next president. When it comes time to take that final vote, humanity trumps ideology. That's why George W. Bush called himself a compassionate conservative.
So far, Romney has shown a willingness to slavishly follow the conservative road map he was handed by consultants. What he never shows is any real heart. He's the candidate with the perfect hair, family, and life. "Does perfection have its price for Romney?" the Los Angeles Times recently wondered, leading the Romney campaign to insist that the candidate is not perfect. "He's quick to temper, and he doesn't like it when things don't go as planned," communications director Eric Fehrnstrom told the newspaper.
Today, Romney is scheduled to tackle the intersection of Mormonism and American politics. This much-anticipated speech offers one opportunity for the candidate to show some passion. Presumably, he will stand up for his religion, and, for once, demonstrate personal conviction. If he can't show it for his faith, where can he show it?
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is gaining traction for his likeability - and for his appeal to the Christian right, some of which is anti-Mormon. But Romney's main foil is Giuliani. The former mayor cultivated a counterimage of passion and imperfection, which played well against Romney's robo-candidacy. Giuliani's all too human image isn't always helpful. His poll numbers dropped after recent disclosures about police escorts while he was mayor for the girlfriend who is now his third wife. He is also weathering tough criticism for his loyalty to Bernard Kerik, the former police commissioner who was recently indicted.
Furthermore, Giuliani isn't above changing his beliefs. Like Romney, he is taking a hard stand on illegal immigrants, one that runs counter to his record and past statements. Yet Giuliani also explicitly recognizes the tension between the law and lure of American dream.
Meanwhile, because the immigration debate is so hot, Romney's landscaping company is now his ex-landscaping company.
"I am disappointed that our relationship must end on this note," Romney wrote in a letter to the firm. "But we simply cannot tolerate your inability to ensure that your employees are legally permitted to work in the United States."
He didn't say that it may be difficult, but not impossible, for the country to strive for a delicate, moral balance as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. That would take too much heart.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com 