Mitt Romney supporters flocked to an Alpharetta barbecue restaurant Thursday to see the softer side of the Republican presidential candidate -- his wife, Ann.
With Mitt Romney campaigning in North Dakota and Idaho ahead of Super Tuesday, Ann Romney acknowledged to the overflow crowd at the SmokeJack Southern Grill that she knows her husband has an image problem.
Her job, she explained, is to show Americans what her husband, criticized as stoic and reserved, is really like -- a loving father of five children and 16 grandchildren, and a devoted husband of 42 years who stood by her through her battles with multiple sclerosis and breast cancer.
"How he measures his success is not how most people would see it," she said, acknowledging her family has had great "worldly success." "[But] our heart is with family and things that matter the most."
Ann Romney is making two appearances in Atlanta today. After her noon event at the SmokeJack, Romney will appear at the opening of Romney's campaign headquarters in Buckhead.
Mitt Romney is expected to campaign in Georgia this weekend, though official details have not yet been released.
She told the crowd at the noon event that this election is a "battle for the soul of America,"adding that she recently met with former First Lady Barbara Bush who told her it's the most important election of her lifetime.
And also one that Ann Romney was at first hesitant to fight, she said. She revealed that after her husband lost the Republican nomination to Sen. John McCain in the 2008 election, she wasn't keen on another run at the White House, telling her husband "never again."
"He laughed and said ‘Ann, you say that after every pregnancy,'" she recounted to roaring laughter.
Romney said her medical problems have given her the "courage and strength and resolve to know I can fight another battle."
While her husband is not expected to win Georgia on Super Tuesday, she said Team Romney hasn't given up the fight.
"We recognize this is Newt's home-base, but we're fighting for every delegate we can get," she said.
Jim Dunne, a retired computer salesman who came to Thursday's event, said he long ago decided to vote for Romney.
"I like to listen to Newt," said Dunne, of Alpharetta. "But I don't think he has a chance."
Ken Huffman said he plans to vote for Romney because of his business acumen.
"Small businesses need somebody leading the country who can produce the support staff and bring in the right people [for business]," said Huffman, an accountant who lives in Roswell. "Newt and Santorum have surrounded themselves with political types and not business types."
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