The AP has more on Mitt Romney's well-documented CEO-style leadership during his Massachusetts days, explored by the authors of The Real Romney and elsewhere:

Former House Speaker Tom Finneran, a Democrat, recalled being "summoned" along with fellow legislative leaders by Romney for a meeting on the state's fiscal crisis early in Romney's term. Romney delivered a PowerPoint presentation brimming with numbers and charts on his plan for fixing the budget. Finneran said it quickly became apparent that Romney was issuing marching orders, not seeking their advice.

"Initially his sense was, `I have been elected governor, I am the CEO here and you guys are the board of directors and you monitor the implementation of what I say,'" Finneran said. "That ruffled the feathers of legislators who see themselves as an equal branch [of government]."

Finneran said that, while he grew to respect Romney, "you have to work to have a conversation with him."

Romney supporters say he ran for governor as an outsider vowing to "clean up the mess" on Beacon Hill, and governed accordingly. They say Democratic leaders ruled with such an iron hand that there was no need for Romney to cultivate rank-and-file lawmakers who rarely strayed from their party's line.

Democrats portrayed Romney as being out of touch.

"He made no effort to get acquainted with lawmakers," said Tom Birmingham, a former state Senate president who left just before Romney took office. "To call him disengaged would be charitable."

Romney's GOP predecessors enjoyed smoother relations with the Legislature.

Bill Weld ran as an outsider, but he quickly developed an inside game working with Democrats. Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift had served in the Legislature, so they had plenty of allies and knew how to work across the aisle.

Weld's goofy personal charm and fondness for after-hours drinks also made him especially popular with lawmakers.

"You could negotiate anything with Weld," Birmingham said. "It was a game to him."