Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, said Tuesday that she loved the opportunity to tell people about a side of her husband that broke with the media narrative that he was "stiff" or out of touch.
"I think in politics this is what always happens — there's a narrative and sometimes you like to put people in a box and keep him in that box, and for me, I love the opportunity of letting people see the side of Mitt that people have mischaracterized," Ann Romney told CBS.
Pressed about what some of those mischaracterizations were, Ann Romney said that there was a perception her husband was "stiff," but that "he's not — he's funny."
"There's a wild and crazy man inside there," she continued.
Ann Romney, who herself has turned into a powerful force on the campaign trail in recent weeks, said that one of the most gratifying parts of being on the road was seeing people at rallies surprised by Romney's ability to connect to voters.
But Mitt Romney, also appearing on the network's morning show, seemed to acknowledge tacitly that there was still some work to be done connecting with voters.
"I actually think the American people are going to vote for someone who they think is going to make their lives better, and right now you have a lot of people who are having a very hard time making ends meet," the presumptive Republican nominee said.
He went on to say that "the people of this country will vote on the issue they care about most" and that they were looking for a candidate "who can get America's economy right again."
But the former governor said that "one of the highlights" of the campaign were moments where he sat down, without cameras, and spoke to individual families about what they were going through. Romney said it was in those moments he felt he best connected with the issues and concerns of everyday Americans.
"I'm in this race because I'm very concerned about, if you will, the great bulk of America, the middle of America," Romney said.
