For Romney, a New Phase of the Campaign

“We’re going to call this ‘Hair Force One,’” Ann Romney said, eyeing her husband’s impeccably coiffed black hair and teasing: “In honor of you.”

Last week, the Romney campaign rolled out a campaign plane for the first time, to fly the candidate, his staff and the press from Sioux City, Iowa, to Greenville, S.C. And in those enforced close quarters, reporters got glimpses of a relaxed, thoughtful and self-deprecating version of the candidate — a side of Mr. Romney that his aides frequently talk about but that the press rarely sees.

Mr. Romney spent most of this year avoiding any kind of spontaneity, showing an almost-robotic discipline to his message about jobs and President Obama’s economic failures. He did few sit-down interviews, offered only limited opportunities for reporters question him on the campaign trail and generally kept the prying eyes of the press as far away as possible.

But his campaign has now entered into a new phase. On a logistical level, it now involves more chartered planes and bus trips, with a bigger pack of reporters in tow. And on a political level, he is no longer the remote front-runner, but instead, as his campaign would put it, a fighter seeking to prove he can “Earn It,” as his new slogan puts it – a status that demands more interviews and more interaction in general with the media types he once kept at a safe distance.

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source article: blogs.nytimes.com
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