Romney human side was very moving

Byron York:

 ...

... the most affecting moments of the evening happened long before Eastwood, Rubio, and Romney took the stage. The Romney campaign put together an extended narrative of Romney’s life, featuring testimonials from people had been involved with him in the four major aspects of his life: faith, work, the governorship of Massachusetts, and the Olympics. The portion of the program devoted to Romney’s religious service was enough to leave many viewers in tears — and with a higher opinion of Romney than they had before.

In particular, the program featured Ted and Pat Oparowski, a couple who lived in Medford, Massachusetts in the 1970s. They knew Romney from church, and when their 14 year-old son David was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in 1979, Romney visited the boy regularly. “They developed a loving friendship,” Pat Oparowski said, recounting the many times Romney came to see her and her son.

David Oparowski’s cancer was terminal. During one visit, Mrs. Oparowski recalled, “David, knowing Mitt had gone to law school at Harvard, asked Mitt if he would help him write a will. He had some prize possessions that he wanted to make sure were given to his closest friends and family. The next time Mitt went to the hospital, he was equipped with his yellow legal pad and pen. Together, they made David’s will. That is a task that no child should ever have to do. But it gave David peace of mind. So after David’s death, we were able to give his skateboard, his model rockets, and his fishing gear to his best friends. He also made it clear that his brother Peter should get his Ruger .22 rifle. How many men do you know who would take the time out of their busy lives to visit a terminally ill 14 year old and help him settle his affairs?”

“David also helped us plan his funeral,” Pat Oparowski continued. “He wanted to be buried in his Boy Scout uniform. He wanted Mitt to pronounce his eulogy, and Mitt was there to honor that request. We will be ever grateful to Mitt for his love and concern.”

It was an extraordinary story, seldom mentioned in the press, and it left many in the hall in tears. “You cannot measure a man’s character based on the words he utters before adoring crowds during times that are happy,” said Ted Oparowski. “The true measure of a man is revealed in his actions during times of trouble — the quiet hospital room of a dying boy, with no cameras and no reporters.” 

Many critics say the Romney campaign needs to do more to “humanize” the candidate. What those critics might want to do is watch the Oparowski story and ask if they themselves could ever be as human, and humane, as Mitt Romney.

There were other touching stories of Romney's kindness to people less fortunate.  This good and descent man is a long way from the demonic characterization the Obama campaign has tried to paint.  At least now the media will have a more difficult time dodging that fact in dealing with unfair attacks.

There was also an interesting line in Romney speech that spoke to the value of profits for Bain investors.  He talked about considering whether to approach his church to see if they would be interested in investing pension funds in the business.  He decided against it because he felt losing investor money was bad enough but if he lost his church's money he worried about going to hell.  But he followed that by saying one of his partners did get an investment from an Episcopal pension fund and many retired ministers of the church are living comfortably on the profits from that investment.  That would be the same profits that Obama has been trying to demonize.