Romney Makes It Official
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney returned to his native state of Michigan on Tuesday to kick off his bid officially for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
Romney evoked memories of his father, former Michigan Gov. George Romney, as he spoke from the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. His presidential bid comes 40 years after his late father made an unsuccessful fun for the GOP nomination in 1968.
He said he chose the site of his announcement because of the memories and the examples of innovation that it contained.
“Innovation and transformation have been at the heart of America’s success,” Romney said. “If there ever was a time when innovation and transformation were needed in government, it is now.”
Romney was to follow his announcement with a four-day, six-state tour that was to include stops in three crucial early primary and caucus states — Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire — as well as Massachusetts and Florida.
The telegenic Romney, 59, who was a successful venture capitalist before entering politics, finished a single term as Massachusetts’ governor in January, after opting not to seek re-election. He was elected to the top post in the overwhelmingly Democratic Bay State in 2002 after leading a successful turnaround effort at the scandal-plagued Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
For the past two years, Romney — who was seen as a moderate when he was elected in 2002 — has been trying to buff up his credentials with conservatives, leading some critics to accuse him of changing his positions in anticipation of a White House bid.
No! You think?
People make much about Romney’s faith as an obstacle, but it may actually be working in his favor so far. Of the three big dogs, all previously seen as moderates, Romney has had the most luck burnishing his credibility with SoCons…and this is, I think, because he is perceived as a man of faith, never mind which faith…
Somebody (I can’t remember who) made a fairly similar point. Basically, Mormons may be viewed as a bit suspect by some evangelicals, but most know Mormons have a reputation of being very socially conservative. His association with such a socially conservative faith may arguably help him deflect the flip floppery, though only time will tell.
To me, as long as only 35% of Massachusettes voters in opinion polls have a favorable view of his tenure (roughly similar to the numbers for Kathleen Blanco of “let me think about whether to declare a state of emergency and get back to you in a couple of days” fame or convicted felon Robert Taft III) Romney is dead in the water. To be taken seriously by national voters, he NEEDS to rehabilitate his image in his home state.
I just saw John Gibson interviewing Romney’s brother on FNC. When Gibson asked him about their (his and his brother’s) Mormonism, Romney responded by saying that their faith taught them their values — such as one-man-one-woman and the separation of church and state! As someone who is familiar with the history of Mormonism, I could not stop myself from laughing.