Mitt Romney Superfans

ROYAL OAK, Mich. – A well-planned Mitt Romney event in Michigan draws a certain kind of voter. This would be the Voter Who Knows the Romneys Personally. I met many a voter like this outside Romney’s final pre-election rally, a concert in one of the more picturesque suburbs of Detroit, at a venue that will later host Cults, Noel Gallagher, and the Nerdist live podcast. (Not all on the same night.)
Cindy McCaffrey was one of the first 100 people in line, and came with friends. They all had Romney stories, but hers was the rawest: Romney had stood by her at her husband’s funeral.

“His name was Bill McCaffrey,” she said. “It’s in his book. Page 260.”

In a dozen conversations, I met six people who knew the Romneys, or liked the Romneys from a distance. This colored their view of the field a little, because the idea of supporting some non-Romney pretender was so alien.

“I heard what Santorum said about college yesterday,” said Scott Suppala, a computer lab tech. “It was so arrogant.”

“You don’t call the president a snob!” said McCaffrey. “I don’t care what you think of him, he’s still the president.”