Romney works Sun City crowd

By: Jim Faber
Hilton Head Island Packet
Friday, Mar 30, 2007
"Speaking to a crowd of more than 400 people at Sun City Hilton Head, former Massachusetts governor and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney pushed a conservative message that included governmental fiscal responsibility, securing the border with Mexico and the rights of states to enact pro-life legislation."

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"During his speech, Romney spoke of his successes in the fast-moving business world, including duties as CEO of investment firm Bain & Co. He contrasted that experience with the plodding pace of government change.

"'In the world of goods and services that we buy day-in and day-out, unless you get better every year, you're out of business,' Romney said.

"Romney received his first spontaneous applause during his hour-long talk when he said the country's immigration policy was in trouble and the border needed to be secured.

"'Illegal immigration can be a huge burden on our society, but legal immigration is a great boon,' Romney said.

"To control immigration, Romney said he would physically secure the border and create a national system of ID cards to track the work status of immigrants."

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"Romney also pushed himself as a uniting figure, pointing to health care and state budget reform when he was a governor in Massachusetts and faced an overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature."

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"'I think he was very impressive,' said Charles MacDonald, a Sun City resident who was shooting pictures for the Sun City Republican Club. 'He answered questions forthrightly. He didn't evade anything, as far as I'm concerned.'"

Tax Talk

Friday, Mar 30, 2007
"Republican voters are eyeing their presidential candidates up and down, wondering just what core conservative principles lurk beneath the expensive suits. They received their first inkling this week when the front-runners - namely Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani - started showing some leg on an issue that has the potential to galvanize the race: pro-growth economic policies.


"Tax cuts and pro-growth talk are staples of modern Republican primaries, but 2008 could elevate those issues to new heights. The base is in the dumps, disenchanted with a party that has lost sight of its economic moorings. This at a time when entitlements are ballooning, and the tax code threatening to devour millions more Americans. Add it up, and there's a wide-open opportunity for a bold GOP candidate to capture imaginations with a sweeping economic plan, rooted in tax reform, but extending to an overhaul of everything from entitlements to trade."

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"The guy with the momentum is former entrepreneur and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. He's signed an anti-tax pledge, bemoaned excessive regulation, called for cheaper energy with domestic drilling, and laid out (in detailed Power Point presentations) the coming fiscal disasters that are Social Security and Medicare. He took another plunge yesterday, unveiling a broad-strokes tax agenda.

"While short on details, he laid out a marker for the field, calling for lower marginal tax rates, a more competitive corporate tax and the end of the death tax. This isn't necessarily a surprise, given Mr. Romney's economic team is largely made up of the Bush tax-cut brain trust, including former Council of Economic Advisers chief Glenn Hubbard, his successor, Greg Mankiw, and Brian Reardon. Mr. Romney also scored a coup with economist John Cogan, who knows budgets inside-out, and is a tax-cutter to boot.

"What attracted many of these economists to the Romney team was the former governor's success, in a liberal state, of beating back big-tax proposals and instead choosing to erase deficits by hacking away at spending."

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"Like everything in this sped-up race, the economic talk is coming early (President Bush didn't unveil his own tax plan until December 1999). But if nothing else, it means Republican voters might get to watch their presidential aspirants engage in good, long debate about economic principles. Let's hope."

- Ms. Strassel is a member of The Wall Street Journal's editorial board, based in Washington. Her column appears Fridays.

Romney lists potential running mates

By Jim Davenport, Associated Press Writer | March 29, 2007

BLUFFTON, S.C. --Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Thursday dropped some names of potential running mates in the 2008 race, but added such speculation is a bit premature.

Among those Romney mentioned for the second slot on the Republican ticket were three Southerners: South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

"There's some wonderful people right here in this state, as you know, Governor Sanford being one of them," the former Massachusetts governor said to a round of applause after being asked about vice presidential picks by a member of a crowd of about 400 people gathered for his campaign stop in this early voting state.

"I have to be honest with you, I haven't given a lot of thought to that, so I don't want to put any names in that hat right now," Romney said, but also gave a nod to Bush, calling him "quite a guy."

"I love him. If his name weren't Bush, he'd be running for president, I'm convinced," said Romney, who added he also was "pretty partial" to South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint.

Talking with reporters later, Romney said the names he mentioned are part of a list of vice presidential contenders that anyone winning the GOP nomination would have to consider. "When I'm in South Carolina, I'm not going to fail to mention some of the ones that are closest," Romney said.

Romney has lagged behind former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain in the polls, often with support registering in the single digits. He also trails such better-known Republicans as Gingrich and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson -- who are weighing presidential bids -- when their names are added to the mix of candidates.

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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Edward Cox, a son-in-law of the late President Nixon, has been named chairman of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign effort in New York.

Polls show former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani far ahead of McCain in the state in the race for the 2008 GOP nomination.

"Senator McCain has an unwavering record of fiscal responsibility," Cox said in a statement issued by the McCain campaign. "He is the resolute leader who will ensure we spend taxpayer dollars wisely and I'm honored to serve as his chairman in New York."

Cox, a Manhattan lawyer with strong ties to the state Conservative Party, had been pursuing the Republican Senate nomination in 2006 to take on Hillary Rodham Clinton until then-Republican Gov. George Pataki endorsed GOP rival Jeanine Pirro. Cox immediately suspended his campaign.

Later, when Pirro's Senate candidacy collapsed, Cox refused to re-enter the race, leaving Clinton to win in a walk over former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer. She now leads national polls for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

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