A day of meetings and errands for Mitt Romney
In case you were wondering, Mitt Romney still makes time to fit in his own grocery shopping.
The presumed Republican nominee has taken very little time off after his week-long foreign tour to England, Israel and Poland, resuming his normal campaign schedule after just one day to recover from jet lag in Boston. But he made a brief public appearance Monday near his summer retreat in Wolfeboro, N.H. — slipping into town to swing by his favorite hardware store and the grocery store.
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With his vice presidential decision coming up, Romney plans to spend the day at home meeting with senior advisors before beginning a week of campaigning Tuesday in Illinois. The campaign also is planning a bus tour, which could be perfect timing for Romney’s announcement of a vice presidential pick. “The Romney Plan for a Stronger Middle Class” bus ride will begin on Saturday in Virginia and continue for the next three days in North Carolina, Florida and Ohio.
The candidate has been tight-lipped about his vice presidential selection process and Monday was no exception. After leaving his lakefront home on Lake Winnipesaukee, the candidate stopped by Bradley’s Hardware,where he emerged with a beige bucket and told reporters he had picked up “hardware stuff.”
He then swung by Hunters Shop ’n Save, where he picked up two ears of native sweet corn (on sale at two for $1), 12-packs of Caffeine Free Diet Coke and Wild Cherry Diet Pepsi and a 24-pack of Poland Springs bottled water.
After meeting with advisors Monday, Romney said he planned to make his own dinner: “That’s not exactly cooking.” Romney just laughed when asked whether his guests Monday would include two men on his vice president short list: Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Beyond the vice president pick, Romney and his team have a great deal of planning to do, not only for the convention, but also for the fall campaign — in part, how he plans to spend his campaign’s money. His team announced Monday that they had raised $101.3 million in July in coordination with the Romney Victory effort and the Republican National Committee — topping Obama’s July total by more than $25 million.
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