August 16, 2012 "ROCK CENTER WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS" TRANSCRIPT: ANN ROMNEY - THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012
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NEW YORK – August 16, 2012 … She could be the next First Lady of the United States. Natalie Morales sits down with Mitt Romney's REAL running mate, his wife Ann, as she steps off the campaign trail to trace her roots back to the Welsh village of Llangynwyd, where her grandfather was a coal miner. Ann Romney opens up about her initial doubts that her husband should run for President this year, her conviction now that "Mitt is going to save America," and her own reaction when she was diagnosed with MS.

Mandatory Credit: NBC News “Rock Center with Brian Williams”

THIS IS AN IMAGE OF ANN ROMNEY SEEN BY MILLIONS OF AMERICANS. WEALTHY AND PRIVILEGED, WATCHING HER DRESSAGE HORSE, RAFALCA, AT THE LONDON OLYMPICS.

TWO HUNDRED MILES AWAY, THOUGH, I SAW SOMETHING DIFFERENT

AS THE VOICES OF A WELSH CHOIR ECHOED FROM A CHURCH WHERE HER ANCESTORS ARE BURIED...WE VISITED THE HARDSCRABBLE COAL COUNTRY OF SOUTHERN WALES.

ANN ROMNEY:
It's very emotional for me to come back and to know what kind of life my grandfather lived and my father. And how tough their living really was.

HER GRANDFATHER WAS JUST SIX WHEN HE BEGAN WORKING AT A MINE SIMILAR TO THIS ONE.

HER FATHER, EDWARD DAVIES, GREW UP HERE, TOO, BEFORE EMIGRATING AS A TEENAGER TO AMERICA, WHERE HE MADE A FORTUNE AS AN ENGINEER AND BUSINESSMAN.

THOSE FAMILY TRAITS, BOTH TOUGHNESS AND AMBITION, WERE VERY EVIDENT WHEN I SAT DOWN WITH ANN ROMNEY AND WE TALKED ABOUT HER ROLE IN THE CAMPAIGN...

NATALIE MORALES:
It sounds like you counsel Mitt a lot in many ways.

ANN ROMNEY:
Um, I feel like we are partners, true partners in every sense of the way. I don't think he could do it without me. I don't believe he could. I couldn't obviously be here without him either.

FOR HER THAT PARTNERSHIP IS ABOUT MORE THAN JUST POLITICS.

ANN ROMNEY:
We have a reason why we're running and it's because I believe in my heart that Mitt is going to save America. That economically we are in such difficult times and that he is the person that's gonna pull us through this. And it's propelled me through the negative criticism. And I am stalwart and steadfast and positive and confident that still to this day Mitt is the person who's going to save America and he's gonna get us back on track.

15-YEAR-OLD ANN DAVIES MET 18-YEAR-OLD MITT ROMNEY AT A PARTY IN SUBURBAN DETROIT IN 1965.

ANN ROMNEY:
I was very careful. I never let him know how I felt. I was very coy about that. And I think it drove him crazy.

HER INITIAL CAUTION DIDN'T LAST LONG...

WHEN 21-YEAR-OLD MITT ROMNEY RETURNED FROM HIS TWO-YEAR-MORMON MISSION IN FRANCE, HE AND ANN DECIDED TO GET MARRIED. RIGHT AWAY.

ANN ROMNEY:
I was 19, nearly 20. And my parents and Mitt's parents did not think that was a very good idea. (LAUGH)

NATALIE MORALES:
Too young?

ANN ROMNEY:
Way too young. They didn't approve. I will amend that. Mitt's father got the biggest kick out of it but my parents and Mitt's mother thought we needed to wait. We needed to have time. We needed to do everything else. We would hear nothing of it.

SHE WAS JUST AS DETERMINED WHEN HER PARENTS OPPOSED HER TEENAGE DECISION TO JOIN THE MORMON FAITH. SHE TURNED TO MITT'S FATHER, THE GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN, GEORGE ROMNEY, FOR GUIDANCE....

ANN ROMNEY:
He was a positive influence, but it really was my own decision and my own initiative that that took me to joining the church.

NATALIE MORALES:
But your parents did not necessarily approve

ANN ROMNEY:
No. They were …

NATALIE MORALES:
of the religion.

ANN ROMNEY:
they were not happy about it.

NATALIE MORALES:
Why not?

ANN ROMNEY:
I think maybe their concern was there -- I was doing this for Mitt or -- for some other reason. And I think as soon as they understood that that wasn't the case, they were really okay with it.

FOR A CHILD OF THE SIXTIES...SHE WAS SOMETHING OF A REBEL-IN-REVERSE. SHE CHOSE TO BE A STAY-AT-HOME MOM AND RAISE HER FIVE SONS WHILE HER PEERS IN MASSACHUSETTS WERE PERSUING CAREERS....

NATALIE MORALES:
Did you ever feel disparaged for your choice?

ANN ROMNEY:
I did. I felt disparaged many times. I was in Cambridge and knowing that I was very capable and actually quite bright and quite able to do almost any job in the world, it was a little grating on me. You know, I can respect their choices. They needed to respect mine.

HER RESOLVE WOULD BE TESTED DURING HER FIRST TURN IN THE POLITICAL SPOTLIGHT, WHEN MITT ROMNEY RAN UNSUCCESSFULLY FOR THE U.S. SENATE AGAINST TED KENNEDY IN 1994....

NATALIE MORALES:
There was an article in The Boston Globe, a profile from that time. It painted you as something of a Stepford wife. As sort of having this very privileged life, being naive. How much did you resent that profile?

ANN ROMNEY:
Well, that was the first time I realized that the press doesn't necessarily represent who you really are and that they represent a point of view, or a way, to put a wedge or do something to someone that is not fair and it was not …

NATALIE MORALES:
Painful?

ANN ROMNEY:
Yeah. Very. Very painful. Not fair. Not nice. Not good.

MORE SERIOUS PAIN WAS STILL TO COME. IN 1998, AT AGE 49, SHE BEGAN TO FEEL NUMBNESS IN HER RIGHT LEG, AND EVENTUALLY WENT TO SEE A NEUROLOGIST:

ANN ROMNEY:
And in the waiting room there was a pamphlet. And in the pamphlet it had two things they talked about - ALS, which is, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and multiple sclerosis. And I looked at Mitt and I said, "Well, I got one or the other. I don't know which one. Let's go find out." And (we) walked into the doctor's office and he did the testing, which is, you know, "Don't look. Can you tell where I'm moving your toe?" And like "No, I don't know." "Can you feel this?" "No, can't feel that." "Stand up and then close your eyes and turn." And I would-- I couldn't-- I was too-- you know, lose my balance. And that's when I started to cry. And it's like, "Wait a minute. I'm failing every test he's giving me." And Mitt's sitting there and you can see his eyes cloud over. And it was-- at that point it was, like, this isn't good. You know? This isn't good.

THE DIAGNOSIS: MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. SHE WAS GIVEN AGRESSIVE TREATMENTS OF INTRAVENOUS STEROIDS FOR A YEAR, AND HER M.S. WENT INTO REMISSION. BUT THERE IS NO CURE.

TODAY, THE SYMPTOMS COME AND GO.

NATALIE MORALES:
Of course one of the triggers for M.S. and the flare ups is constant stress in your life, so nothing like a good old campaign to add to the stress. Have you had any flare ups?

ANN ROMNEY:
I have. Just a little bitty one, but enough to give me a real scare...

NATALIE MORALES:
Just in March, right?

ANN ROMNEY:
Right at the primary time. And it was such a crazy time and I didn't want to have anyone worrying about me -- especially Mitt. I didn't tell anyone. But I knew I had to quit.

NATALIE MORALES:
What were you feeling during that time?

ANN ROMNEY:
I started feeling a little bit of …

NATALIE MORALES:
The numbness?

ANN ROMNEY:
The tingling and a little bit of numbness coming back. And I was dizzy. I started to get dizzy. You know, the dizzy head, you call it the M.S. fog. The real foggy brain. And so that, it was a good reminder that I can't -- I can't keep that pace up.

IN FACT, CAMPAIGNS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HARD ON HER.

IN 2008, WHEN MITT ROMNEY RAN FOR PRESIDENT THE FIRST TIME, SHE WAS ANGERED BY THE ATTACKS ON HER HUSBAND:

ANN ROMNEY:
Oh, the negative -- It's so hard as a wife to sit there and listen to that and take that. So that's what I said. Never again.

NATALIE MORALES:
So why go through it again?

ANN ROMNEY:
Well, that's a good question. And I was the first one to say this time, "You have to do this again." Yes, we were gonna--it was gonna be painful. Yes, it was gonna be hard. Yes, we might fail. But we had to go forward.

THIS TIME, SHE'S STEPPED OUT AS HIS FIERCEST DEFENDER. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FAMILY'S ESTIMATED QUARTER-BILLION DOLLAR FORTUNE. AND THEIR TAX RETURNS.

NATALIE MORALES:
A lot of people still are asking why not be transparent and release more than the 2010 and the estimates for 2011.

ANN ROMNEY:
Have you seen how we're attacked? Have you seen what's happened?

NATALIE MORALES:
It's been in the press quite a bit. Now are you angry that it's been in the press? I mean should you not …

ANN ROMNEY:
It's …

NATALIE MORALES:
Be questioned about your finances?

ANN ROMNEY:
We have been very transparent to what's legally required of us. But the more we release, the more we get attacked. The more we get questioned. The more we get pushed. And so we have done what's legally -- required and there's going to be no more -- there's gonna be no more tax releases given. And there's a reason for that. And that's because of how -- what happens as soon as we release anything. Mitt's financial disclosures, when he was governor, are huge. If people wanna really look and see any question they have. The other thing they have to understand is that Mitt is as honest, his integrity is just golden. We pay our taxes. We are absolutely -- beyond paying our taxes, we also give 10% of our income to charity. So -- the-- you know, we have no issues that way. And the only reason we don't disclose any more is -- you know, we're just become a bigger target.

NATALIE MORALES:
So it's because you'll just continue to face more questions?

ANN ROMNEY:
That-- well, just-- it'll just give them more ammunition.

NATALIE MORALES:
To the American people, though, when they hear about, you know perhaps accounts with your name on it overseas in tax shelters, they feel like you may be hiding something?

ANN ROMNEY:
There's nothing we're hiding. You know, we've had a blind trust for how many years. We don't even know what's in there. It's been managed by a blind trust since before Mitt was governor, you know, about 2002 forward. And so, you know, I'll be curious to see what's in there too.

###

David Corvo is the senior executive producer, Rome Hartman is the executive producer and Brian Williams is the anchor and managing editor of “Rock Center with Brian Williams” (Thursdays at 10p/9c). Follow us at RockCenterNBC.com, facebook.com/RockCenterNBC and @RockCenterNBC.