"There were a lot of people in public safety who were extremely angry," said Peter Dawson, a lawyer today who served as an intern in a communications center at the time. "The general consensus was, 'I hope he doesn't need any help from us because we aren't going to respond very quickly."'

Romney, in an interview, denied using the f-word and said two other witnesses — a Secret Service agent and an Olympic aide, Spencer Zwick — corroborated his denial. "I have not used that word since college — all right? — or since high school," he said.

Romney's strengths and weaknesses were both on display in how he dealt with the impact of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He worked closely with federal officials to enhance security and give the Games a new patriotic gloss as one of the first national events after the devastation.

Romney helped to secure an additional $34 million in federal aid for security and convince wary nations, Japan among them, not to pull out of the Games.

Romney had witnessed the horror of the attacks, having ridden through the smoke billowing from the Pentagon after hijackers plunged American Airlines Flight 77 into the building.

When he returned to Utah, Romney gathered hundreds of staffers and volunteers in an outdoor plaza and delivered a speech that several described as the most presidential moment of his Olympic tenure. While he addressed the fears many harbored of terrorists striking again during the Games, Romney invoked the glory of patriotism, public service and facing down danger.

He delivered a similar message in an e-mail to the staff.

"If the annals of Olympism and the history of Utah, this may stand as one of the defining hours," he wrote, according to his book. "I am confident we will all perform with honor."

Zianibeth Shattuck-Owen, who served as a trustee and later as luge manager, said of the speech, "By the end, he had everybody singing 'God Bless America,' but not in a 'Kumbaya' kind of way. ... It was leadership."

Romney later successfully lobbied the IOC to drop its opposition to the U.S. team carrying into the opening ceremonies a tattered American flag found in the rubble of the World Trade Center.

But he angered safety officials when his office denied free or discounted tickets to widows and orphans of firefighters who died at the World Trade Center. Romney's executive assistant, Donna Tillery, twice rejected the requests, citing a policy barring ticket giveaways, according to e-mails she sent to former Salt Lake City firefighter A.J. Barto. Romney's staff says he was unaware of the request.

Six weeks later, the committee found itself with unsold seats and Romney approved distributing 100 tickets valued at $885 each to Utah legislators.