(Leah Hogsten | Tribune file photo) In this archive photo, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney makes a public appearance with his wife, Ann, at the Hires Big H Drive-in in Salt Lake City.

Ann Romney: It feels like the end of a Mormon church calling

Post-election » Romneys talk about the election, aftermath.

By Thomas Burr

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Mar 01 2013 01:14 pm • Last Updated Mar 02 2013 09:10 am

Washington • In an interview with "Fox News Sunday," Ann Romney described post-campaign life as similar to serving in a Mormon calling and then being released.

In the first interview since Mitt Romney lost the presidential race, he and his wife talked about the dramatic shift that happens when a campaign ends, the Secret Service leaves, the crowds dissipate, and the attention wanes.

"In our church, we’re used to serving and, you know, you can be in a very high position, but you recognize you’re serving. And then now, all of a sudden, you’re released and you’re nobody," Ann Romney told "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace in an interview set to run this weekend.

The Romneys are devout Mormons.

Wallace said in an interview with a fellow Fox News host that the Romneys aren’t "bitter," but they are "terribly disappointed" about losing the White House bid.

Ann Romney called the abrupt change to post-campaign life an "adjustment, but it’s one that I think we did well."

"It’s like we came and stepped forward to serve," Ann Romney said in a video clip released by Fox News. "And, you know, the other part of it was an amazing thing, and it was really quite a lot of energy and a lot of passion and a lot of — a lot of people around us and all of a sudden it was nothing. But the good news is, fortunately, we like each other."

Mitt Romney, on the other hand, said the campaign — and subsequent loss — was more like a roller-coaster ride.

"Exciting and thrilling ups and downs, but the ride ends and you get off," the former Republican candidate said. "And it’s not like, ‘Oh, can’t we be on a roller coaster the rest of our life?’ No, the ride’s over."

The Romneys have stayed largely out of the spotlight since the campaign ended, though Mitt Romney is expected to make his first public appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in two weeks.

tburr@sltrib.com

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