BILL HEMMER, CO-HOST, "AMERICA'S NEWSROOM": I asked a lot of people what they would ask you. What would you say to the governor if you had a chance? And most said they did not know enough about you. Does that surprise you?

MITT ROMNEY, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, I don't think so at this early stage. We're just beginning a general election. We've gone through a primary, not a lot of people have focused time on the characteristics of a new candidate like myself.

And people will get to know me better. I'm -- my guess is they're going to get to know more about me than they'd like to by the time we're finished.

HEMMER: And a lot of people that have talked to me about that process think that you're a tough guy to crack.

(LAUGHTER)

HEMMER: Is there truth to that?

ANN ROMNEY, WIFE OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It depends on who's asking.

M. ROMNEY: You know, I don't know whether that's the case or not.

M.ROMNEY: As people get to know me a little better, they'll -- some will like me, some won't. It's probably the nature of most folks.

HEMMER: What do you think about that Mrs. Romney?

A. ROMNEY: I just think he's very private and the thing that is interesting for me is to see that there are misperceptions out there about how people think they know him. So this is why I love having the opportunity to say this is the narrative that I want, and this is the real narrative and the real person --

HEMMER: And that's part of the process, too, and all that. But you once ran a company. You ran a company in 2001, I think, at $12 billion in assets. What kind of a boss were you?

M. ROMNEY: Well, you have to ask the people that worked with me.

HEMMER: Well, what do you -- ?

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Were you the first one in the morning? Were you the last one to leave? Did you take three-hour lunches?

A. ROMNEY: First one in the morning, not long -- no lunches and the last one to leave. I mean, he is a -- he is the hardest working person I've ever met besides his father, George Romney, who was a crazy man. But he --

(CROSSTALK)

A. ROMNEY: -- crazy good, crazy unbelievable good and --

M. ROMNEY: They called my dad "The Brick." That was his nickname, The Brick, just solid. Just couldn't penetrate.

HEMMER: What about you as a boss? How would you describe yourself?

M. ROMNEY: Well, again, I'm not the right one to describe that. But I didn't see myself as a boss. I saw myself as someone that would help organize an extraordinary people. And the people that worked at the firm I worked in were exceptionally bright, highly motivated with extraordinary insights, a number of them better than I on a series of dimensions.

And I wasn't always the highest compensated. I was the guy that set the compensation, but I paid other people more than I paid myself because I thought they were doing a better job.

HEMMER: Here you are, traveling all over the country and you're meeting with middle class families that have been through some kind of trauma over the past four years, and they were fighting to stay alive just to get through it. They'll save themselves and their kids from drowning, financially speaking.

HEMMER: How do you make a connection to those people?

M. ROMNEY: You know, as I speak to people that are middle America, what I find is that the statistics understate the kind of pain and insecurity that exist in America's homes. I see people who may be employed, but are very concerned they could lose their job at any time.

HEMMER: And back to the connection aspect of this, there will be people -- and you know this already -- who will look at you as just a successful rich guy.

M. ROMNEY: Like FDR and (inaudible) John F. Kennedy (inaudible) there have been plenty of people. This is --

(CROSSTALK)

M. ROMNEY: There's not a nation that divides people based upon whether they've been successful or not. We don't say, oh, boy, this person won the lottery and therefore they can't understand me or -- we instead look at people and celebrate their success and their achievement and we look for people who have the skills we think will make our lives better. The real need in America is to help middle income families get good jobs with rising incomes and more security and help people who are poor come out of poverty and become middle income.

(PART 2)

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HEMMER: In 2008, then candidate Barack Obama held a series of events where he made big speeches centered around race in America, religion in America, and he was able to draw -- used those events to draw a lot of attention to his message. And have you given consideration to doing that about your own faith?

M. ROMNEY: Well, I give (inaudible) speeches on topics of significance and have about once a week or once every two weeks for the last couple of months, and will continue doing so as regards religion in America. I gave a speech on that topic in my last campaign at the George Herbert Walker Bush Library. I don't know that I would add to that or change it in some way.

HEMMER: Then I take it nothing is planned or nothing's scheduled. But despite that, where do Americans need to understand about how important your faith is to you?

M. ROMNEY: Well, I think people who are people of faith believe that there's a purpose greater than themselves. And for me, I -- there's no question I believe in a Heavenly Father. I believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. I believe in the Holy Ghost. These are features that I think are part of many people's faith in this country. Other folks have differing views.

That's my view (inaudible) that are holy in my view that shape my sense of commitment to my nation. I'm taught to be patriotic and to support the nation and to follow the law. I'm also taught to care and serve other people.

HEMMER: A lot is made of your relationship with your father