Transforming Debate for Meaningful Mass Participation
Objective: Enable thousands, or even millions, to contribute meaningfully to debates through structured organization and comprehensive evaluation criteria.
1.Mitt Romney: The former Massachusetts governor holds onto his top spot on The Line for a second month thanks to two main factors -- his continued strong polling numbers in Iowa and New Hampshire and his demonstrated willingness to use his personal wealth to help fund his campaign. If Romney does give $40 million to $60 million (or even more) to his campaign , it gives him a major leg up over his opponents, who will have to continue to scrounge for $2,300 checks all the way through the Iowa caucuses. Hurdles remain for Romney, however. He is far weaker in South Carolina than in either New Hampshire or Iowa, a fact that could provide a nice opening for former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.). And then there's the Mormon question. Romney's campaign is contemplating whether he should give some sort of speech in which the governor would further explain his religion and how he sees it influencing a Romney administration. He will not, they insist, ever engage in a discussion of the specific tenets of the faith. But will that be enough for GOP voters? (Previous ranking: 1)
Today's schools are falling further and further behind world standards. It is time to raise the bar on education by making teaching a true profession, measuring progress, providing a focus on math and science, and involving parents from the beginning of a child's school career.
"We cannot continue to have an excellence gap with the rest of the world and intend to remain the economic superpower and military superpower of the planet. That's just not going to happen," Romney said. "We're in a position where unless we take action, we'll end up being the France of the 21st century: a lot of talk, but not a lot of strength behind it in terms of economic capability."
"It's going to take teachers, superintendents and parents talking to their legislators saying yes, we want more money of course ... but we also want changes in the way our schools are managed. We want our principals to have the ability to manage their schools."
"At some point, I think America -- and, importantly, the minority communities -- are going to say, 'it's time to split with our friends, the unions and the Democratic Party, and put our kids first here.' Unequal educational opportunity is the civil rights issue of our time."
And clearly it would be why you did well and, as you know, you finished well enough to give the valedictory address -- the question I want to ask you though is why do you think you did well? Other than having a lot of brainpower, did you have an approach to education?
One of Governor Romney's top priorities is reforming the education system so that young people can compete for good paying jobs in the global economy of the future. In 2004, Governor Romney established the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program to reward the top 25 percent of Massachusetts high school students with a four-year, tuition-free scholarship to any Massachusetts public university or college. He also championed a package of education reforms, including merit pay, an emphasis on math and science instruction, important new intervention programs for failing schools and English immersion for foreign-speaking students.
"At some point, I think America -- and, importantly, the minority communities -- are going to say, 'it's time to split with our friends, the unions and the Democratic Party, and put our kids first here.' Unequal educational opportunity is the civil rights issue of our time."
"The world is growing more competitive every day, and it's no secret that skills, education and knowledge will be crucial to success in the workforce of the 21st century," said Romney. "Unless our kids are fully prepared to meet the challenges that lie ahead, Massachusetts will fall behind in the competition for the best jobs."
"The men and women of the Massachusetts National Guard perform admirable service for our Commonwealth and for our nation," said Romney. "By making a public college education entirely free for Guard members, we recognize their tremendous dedication and sacrifice."
"We cannot continue to have an excellence gap with the rest of the world and intend to remain the economic superpower and military superpower of the planet. That's just not going to happen. We're in a position where unless we take action, we'll end up being the France of the 21st century: a lot of talk, but not a lot of strength behind it in terms of economic capability."
"It's going to take teachers, superintendents and parents talking to their legislators saying yes, we want more money of course ... but we also want changes in the way our schools are managed. We want our principals to have the ability to manage their schools."
"Massachusetts has a choice," Romney said. "We can provide our kids with a first-rate science education today or we can learn to live with a second-rate economy tomorrow."
"I am grateful to each of these individuals for volunteering their time and expertise to helping my Administration successfully integrate all of our early education services under one roof," Romney said. "Not only will this new agency ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent more wisely and efficiently, it will also improve the care we provide to our youngest citizens and their families."
"This is a great day for education reform. Massachusetts is nationally recognized for its leadership on education reform, and we need to continue down the same path if we're going to help our kids maximize their potential."
"This is a huge shot in the arm for our public colleges and universities. By targeting these resources to construct new facilities and upgrade existing ones, we can put our higher education system in a position to deliver the first class facilities that our students deserve."
"I applaud the students, teachers and staff of these excellent schools for the hard work and creativity they have demonstrated as we continue making progress toward higher achievement for all students in Massachusetts," Romney said.
"If we're serious about keeping our kids at the forefront of a highly challenging and competitive world economy, then we have to take the necessary steps to energize our education system," said Romney.
"We're making progress, there's no doubt about it, but we have more work to do. These test scores reflect the hard work and creativity of our students, teachers and schools, but they also reveal that some are still struggling. It is increasingly critical that we advance bold reforms to ensure greater accountability and performance in every classroom."
"teachers like Jasmine Lellock and Thabiti Brown are critical to the success of our education initiatives and are doing an outstanding job preparing our children for future success in the classroom and the world," Romney said. "Teaching professionals are the backbone of our educational system and the best should be recognized and rewarded."
"Our Presidential Award nominees set a great example, not only for educators in Massachusetts, but for the nation," Romney said. "Distinguished math and scienceteachers like these are the critical components of a public education system that will prepare us for the next century, and they deserve to be recognized for their hard work, creativity and dedication."
"Paying for college is one of the largest financial challenges facing Massachusetts families," said Romney. "For the second year in a row, I'm pleased to reward some of our most promising and hardworking students. When it comes to figuring out how much it will cost to send a son or daughter to college, the Adams scholarship will help ease some of that burden."
"Massachusetts has some of the best schools and teachers in the nation," Romney said, speaking tonight from the historic House Chamber at the State House. " Education reform, adopted a decade ago, raised standards and closed funding gaps. But it was the first step, not the last."
"We're horribly backlogged in renovating and rebuilding old and dilapidated schools," Romney said. "I will propose a series of construction reforms and a refinancing program that will jumpstart over 100 new and remodeled school projects."
"There are critical investments we can and should make in our children," Romney said. "But those investments will only be made possible if we continue down the road to reform. I hope you will join with me in working for change."
"Families all across the Commonwealth are struggling to pay to send their children to college," Romney said. "The new Adams scholarship will make the dream of obtaining a college education a reality for thousands of Bay State students and keep our most talented students right here in Massachusetts."
"We can praise the virtues of parental involvement all day, but until we actually get parents to follow through we are simply singing to an empty music hall. Voluntary programs will not get the job done. It is essential that mandatory training be put in place. This will not be a strain on parent who are already hard-pressed, as some have suggested. This is mandatory counseling they are already receiving. We are simply updating it with information they will need to make their child's education a success."
"I am committed to unlocking the potential of every child, no matter which school they attend," Romney said. "Our children cannot wait for slow, methodic changes. They need our help now and this report will serve as a blueprint for immediate reform."
"Let there be no doubt, I will veto any charter school moratorium that reaches my desk," said Romney, appearing at Roxbury Preparatory Charter School with parents of children affected by the proposed moratorium.
"Families all across the Commonwealth are struggling to afford to send their children to college," Romney said, during a rare appearance before a meeting of the Board of Higher Education. "The new Adams scholarship will make the dream of obtaining a college education a reality for thousands of Bay State students and keep our most talented students right here in Massachusetts."
"Massachusetts has often been at the forefront of educational reform. In the spirit of that reform, less than seven months ago, I stood in the House Chamber surrounded by members of the General Court and asked them in my State of the State address to work with me to 'take every step, to prepare every child, for an ever more competitive future,'" said Romney. He added, "The centerpiece of my Legacy of Learning initiative included an ambitious school building program. Today I am pleased to say that, working with the Legislature, we delivered on that promise."
Mitt Romney's education related press releases while governor of Massachusetts.
2003
"Seeing this groundswell of student support only boosts my belief that what we are trying to do in our higher education system is right," Romney said. "I am committed to our plan, which guarantees quality, affordability and accessibility to all of our campuses for all Massachusetts residents."
"education reform is working in Massachusetts," Romney said. "I am proud of the progress shown by our students," said Romney. "My Administration will continue to push for high standards that will restore the value of a high school diploma and better prepare our students for life after school."
"We need to get our underperforming school districts back on track. It is time for the interests of the entrenched educational bureaucracy to take a back seat to the interests of our children and teachers."
In 2004, Governor Mitt Romney established the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program to reward the top 25 percent of Massachusetts high school students with a four-year, tuition-free scholarship to Massachusetts' state university or colleges. He has also drafted other education reforms, including the recruitment of 1,000 skilled math and science instructors, bonuses of as much as $15,000 a year for top-performing teachers, and new intervention programs for failing schools.
Additionally, Romney began advocating for a nationwide focus on education through the recruitment of and better pay for math and science teachers, and allowing state governments to take control of underperforming schools after three instead of the six-year period that is now in place.
Speaking of the education provided to minority students, Romney said, "I really believe that the failure of our urban schools and, in some cases our suburban schools, to help minority students achieve the levels that are necessary for success in the workplace is the civil rights issue of our time."
In 1994 Romney, as a candidate for US Senate, pledged to vote to establish a means-tested school voucher program to allow students to attend the public or private school of their choice. He also supported abolishing the federal Department of education and favored keeping control of educational reform at the lowest level, closest to parents, teachers, and the community (Boston Globe review of 1994 campaign issues Mar 21, 2002)
In April of 2006, Romney outlined his 6-point plan for improving the country's education in an Op/Ed in the Washington Times.
Undergraduate at Stanford and Brigham Young University (Highest Honors and Valedictorian). J.D. and M.B.A. from Harvard University (Baker Scholar).
Romney graduated from the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills (now Cranbrook Kingswood School). He met his future wife, Ann Davies (born in 1949), when she was at the Kingswood School.
After attending Stanford University for two quarters, Romney served for two and one-half years as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France. Upon returning from his mission, he transferred universities and subsequently received his B.A. with Highest Honors and as valedictorian from Brigham Young University in 1971. In 1975, Romney was awarded an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and was named a Baker scholar. In 1975 he also received his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School.
Mitt Romney did better in school than any of the other candidates, Republican or Democrat.
Today's schools are falling further and further behind world standards. It is time to raise the bar on education by making teaching a true profession, measuring progress, providing a focus on math and science, and involving parents from the beginning of a child's school career.
"Massachusetts children cannot only lead the nation in test scores, they can be competitive with the best in the world. And the gap in achievement among races can virtually disappear."
Governor Mitt Romney
Today's schools are falling further and further behind world standards. It is time to raise the bar on education by making teaching a true profession, measuring progress, providing a focus on Math and Science, and involving Parents from the beginning of a child's school career.
Quotes from Mitt Romney on Education
"It's time to raise the bar on education by making teaching a true profession, measuring progress, providing a focus on math and science, and involving parents from the beginning of a child's school career."
And clearly it would be why you did well and, as you know, you finished well enough to give the valedictory address -- the question I want to ask you though is why do you think you did well? Other than having a lot of brainpower, did you have an approach to education?
A Real Tax-Free Savings Program For Middle-Income Americans:
Governor Romney: "[Y]ou ought to be able to save your money and you ought to have a special tax rate [on your savings]... the tax rate ought to be absolutely zero. ... [Edwards is] going to announce today that he's in favor of a plan that let's you save $250 tax free. That's not going to pay for college, or retirement, or a car – maybe a bike..." (Gov. Mitt Romney, Delivered Remarks, Des Moines, IA, 7/26/07)
- Watch Governor Romney Discuss The Edwards Tax Increase Plan.
- Read About Governor Romney's Vision For Lower Taxes And Tax-Free Savings.
America's Strength:
Unlike Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), Governor Romney Will Not Meet With Some Of The World's Worst Dictators. "Romney says Obama was wrong to say he'd meet with the leaders of Iran, Syria and North Korea. 'The president of the United States does not bestow our dignity and the power of our reputation around the world around those people,' Romney says. 'It's a remarkable difference if a Democratic president like Barack Obama were running this country.'" (O. Kay Henderson, "Romney Sides With Clinton In Foreign Policy Spat," Radio Iowa, 7/26/07)
- Read Governor Romney's Statement On The Democrat Debate And Senator Obama.
- Read The Romney Vision In Response To The Democrat Debate.
Protecting Our Children:
Governor Romney Proposed A "One-Strike, You're Ours" Law For Those Convicted Of Preying On Children Using The Internet. We need new, tougher federal penalties for first-time offenders who use the Internet to sexually assault children, including stiff mandatory jail time to be followed by lifetime tracking by Global Positioning Satellite (GPS).
- Read A Statement From Massachusetts Law Enforcement In Support Of "One Strike, You're Ours."
- Listen To Michigan Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard Endorse "One Strike, You're Ours."
Governor Romney Will Enforce Our Nation's Obscenity Laws. We need to require the Department of Justice to enforce our existing federal obscenity laws.
Governor Romney Will Punish And Fine Retailers For Selling Excessively Violent And Sexually Explicit Video Games To Minors. While the current system of voluntary self-regulation of video games has improved, we still need to do more to protect our children.
Governor Romney Will Work To Prevent Pornography From Reaching Children On Their Computers. Governor Romney will work with computer and software companies to ensure that every home computer has effective software to filter out unwanted pornography.
- Read Governor Romney's Full Plan To Protect Our Children.
- Read Governor Romney's Initiative To Guard Our Children On Their Computers.
- Watch Governor Romney Discuss The Need To Guard Our Children While They Use Their Computers.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited New Hampshire on Wednesday, where, in contrast to national polls, he holds a sizable lead. Scott Spradling reports.
Added: April 20, 2007 From: IowaPoliticsDotCom Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney... Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns in Council Bluffs.
Added: May 30, 2007 From: IowaPoliticsDotCom Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney... Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney talks to the media following the May 30 Greater Des Moines Partnership luncheon at the Des Moines Marriott.
Added: July 03, 2007 From: IowaPoliticsDotCom Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney... Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential candidate, talks with the media after a June 30 candidate forum sponsored by the Iowans for Tax Relief/Iowa Christian Alliance.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a GOP presidential candidate, discusses Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards' savings plan and other differences he has with Democrats at a July 27 gathering in Madison County.
I had the chance to talk live with Don and Roma last week on their WLS Radio program in Chicago last week. It's always a little nerve-wracking to do an interview live, especially for me as I don't have a lot of experience doing it. I can't help it: I think about the risk that I'll say something stupid, that I'll fumble badly over my words, that I'll forget to wear my pants, etc. But Don and Roma were nice to talk to so they put me at ease.
Here's a link where you can hear part of the interview:
And here are a couple of photos from the interview:
Posted at 2007-07-30 08:20:29 by Matt Romney
Comments
Sounds like you did a great job! I would've been so nervous. It seems that the more people are exposed your dad, around the country, the more they like him! I'm confident that national poll numbers will rise, the more states your dad is able to visit and get to meet people face-to-face.
Posted by Sara in AZ at 2007-07-30 10:14:57
I was born and raised in Chicago. I grew up listening to WLS, this post brought back fond memories for me. Your interview was great! They were friendly interviews and you stayed on target reinforcing your father's statements. You're a wonderful campaign asset! I'm looking forward to hearing more interviews from you.
Posted by tk at 2007-07-30 10:15:01
You did a great job in the interview. You've got great genes and come from good stock... And you become who you hang around. You absolutely have a great family and we appreciate all of your sacrifice in this season of primary elections. Hey, get your dad to comMITT to write a tad more often on your blog. :)
Last week I had the opportunity to go to Chicago and attend a "networking party" hosted by State Senator Dan Rutherford at Harry Caray's Restaurant in Chicago. Senator Rutherford was nice enough to introduce me and let me say a few words on behalf of my dad. There must have been over 300 of Senator Rutherford's closest friends there (they all said how much they admire him). It was a great chance to meet so many Republican activists in Chicago and get a chance to tell them about my dad's candidacy. On the way back to the hotel, I had a nice stroll down Michigan Avenue. Chicago is a beautiful city. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it.
Here's a picture of me and Senator Rutherford next to Harry Caray's bust:
Posted at 2007-07-30 10:10:05 by Matt Romney
Looks like fun! I could have gone, but I think it cost 50 or something...
We can all agree that we need change in America. America’s strength depends on change and innovation.
I’m convinced that America is going to change course.
The question is which way it is going to go? Are we going to take the sharp left turn Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards represent, or are we going to move forward with the American values that have always made us the strongest nation on earth?
Ask your friends to take a stand, too, by forwarding this message and ask them to join my team. Just one click and we’ll be on our way to bringing real conservative change, not Clinton-style big government to Washington.
Thank you for your support,
This email was sent by: Romney for President, Inc. PO Box 55899 Boston, MA 02205 USA
When Ann Coulter was at the CPAC convention earlier this year, she said that "if both major parties' nominees are pro-abortion, we can pretty much hang it up as a country." I think she was right. If we didn't have MR as the pro-life standard bearer, we would be in dire straights right about now.
The only (formerly) top tier candidate, John McCain, who is pro-life, fell on his sword for the Immigration bill. The remaining pro-life Republicans are mired at or below 2%.
One thing that I think is worth considering is that younger voters in the 18-30 age bracket are dramatically more supportive of politicians who propose policies that respect life in all it's stages. I really feel that those Americans who have labored long and hard to move this country away from the "culture of death" are starting to see the first fruits of their labors.
Mitt is right on this issue and as we get into the general election campaign mode, wait until you see the television ads that Team Romney will produce to drive home the stark choices before the electorate, when it becomes apparent that MR will be the ONLY viable pro-life candidate. I believe the pendulum is swinging back towards us and I see an exciting opportunity for us to begin the process of restoring the rights of the pre-born for the first time since Roe v. Wade.
I have news for you "<a href="http://youtube.com/user/EmergencyCheese ">EmergencyCheese</a>" people stopped doing the air quotes thing about 5 years ago. Also the people on a stick is kind of an example of the problem with you tube…
It's not that our presidential candidates are "too important" to talk to you, but everyone is too important to talk to you. I know you "YouTubers" have found a forum that makes you feel important, but you are not. You tube levels the playing field, so any narcissistic idiot with a camera (myself included) can think they are the center of the universe.
EmergencyCheese says that the snow man asking a question at the last debate is part of the reason that young people are connecting with politics…
That is the problem with YouTube. People just make crap up. Are "young people connecting with politics"? What evidence do we have that young people are connecting with politics? The real question is what has the YouTube done to improve the debates? Nothing. They are a freek show. Youtube, can improve politics, because it cost less to get your message out, but having CNN pick from YouTube videos, instead of the typical townhall where they have real people standing their in real life, within the townhall, does nothing but promote YouTube.
EmergencyCheese says the CNN YouTube debate was the highest rated presidential debate among 18 to 35 year olds. Yes. It was promoted as something new and different. But is the next YouTube debate going to be higher rated after the gimmicky way that CNN promoted it?
EmergencyCheese asks, "would you rather have the debates be boring, Governor Romney?" HELL YES! Politics are not here to entertain. If people don't care about issues enough to watch unless a snow man ask the questions, THAN WE DON"T WANT THESE TYPE OF PEOPLE PARTICPATING IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS!
He goes on to call the professional journalist "vanilla" and says that we have to choose between them (turning off young people) and engaging them with youtube.
EmergencyCheese says, "tell me republican candidates, are you also too important to answer questions from parents with children serving in Iraq."
Again, I restate my thesis. We are all too important to listen to what these idiots on YouTube have to say. Do not waste your time! Mitt Romney has been having these forums called, "Ask Mitt Anything". Let me give you the gist of them. You can "Ask Mitt Anything". So no, Mitt Romney is not afraid of taking questions from anyone. He has been doing it with actual people in the same room as him, not with a TV screen where someone is able to put together some artificial "production".
Perhaps Mitt Romney is strategic enough to not walk into a trap where CNN gets to ask republicans the questions they have always wanted to, while hiding behind the public.
So you think EmergencyCheese is pretty stupid, for asking the question about being afraid to take questions from real people, when Romney, McCain, and Rudy have been doing that for months in townhalls across the country. So you think he must be pretty embarrassed, right? There is not much more that he could do to embarrass himself right? Well…
EmergencyChees asks the stupid question, how can you take on terrorist, when you are too afraid to go to the YouTube debate? Lets think about this for ½ a second… Do you notice any problems with his logic? Maybe any hypocracy? No? Perhaps you see a problem that he didn't have a problem with the Democrats not wanting to go to a Fox debate? If EmergencyChees had any logic to use, he could see that the democrats didn't want to go on the fox debate for the same reason that the republicans didn't want to go on the YouTube debate… they didn't see it being in their best interest…
Now that we are talking about interest, EmergencyCheese spends all his life on YouTube, do you think he is an impartial witness? Perhaps he has a dog in the race? Perhaps he is insulted that Mitt Romney thinks is "is not important" that he is a "nut" that he "wastes his time" that he "should get a real job" or "get a degree" or "make something of himself" instead of "wasting all his time on the computer posting videos to his friends, when he should just go over to their house".
So EmergencyCheese and all his budies that spend 5 hours a day on YouTube and Myspace all want validation that they are not losers. Well, he isn't going to get it from me, and I hope Mitt Romney doesn't give it to him.
John Le Carre quotes said, "A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world." I computer doubly so.
EmergencyCheese says "the internet is making regular people more powerful every day". Lets just put aside weather or not EmergencyChees is "regular" or not, and go straight to the heart of the problem…
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance says the only thing in life that matters in art, and science is quality. EmergencyChees warns politicians if they don't embrace "the new" format (YouTube) they and their politics will become "irrelevant". I have a hard time imagining a world where someone who gave the valedictorian speech, with a degree in English, who graduated with honors (Cum Laud) from Harvard Law school, and as a Baker Scholar from Harvard Business school, who went on to run one of the most successful businesses of the 90s will ever become irrelevant in a world that has anyone that still values quality. Mitt Romney is not on trial, in my mind. The question for me is if our horse and pony show of a political process, can still pick a person like Mitt Romney, or if the people who Google "Paris Hilton" will pick our next president.
On Thursday Governor Mitt Romney joined his wife Ann, daughter-in-law Mary and grandson Parker in Spartanburg, South Carolina where they met with voters at The Beacon Drive-In and later traveled to West Columbia for a barbeque picnic with local residents.
ADEL, Iowa (AP) - Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Friday that the country is angry over the lack of progress in the Iraq war, a stinging assessment of the Bush administration's handling of the conflict from a Republican candidate.
Campaigning in Iowa, the former Massachusetts governor also argued that despite the nation's frustration over the war, voters aren't ready to replace President Bush with a Democrat.
"I know the Democrats are getting all ready, they are measuring the drapes and getting the carpet all ready for how they are going to take over the White House, and I think they are going to get a big surprise," Romney told a crowd gathered at a golf course. "America is not happy with how the war in Iraq is going, and is angry. But America is not about to take a sharp left turn and put somebody in the White House who would turn America into a European-type state."
While Romney supported the March 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and backs Bush's current troop increase, he has repeatedly said the post- invasion period was "mismanaged" with a lack of preparation for the insurgency and adequate planning for a government handover.
Before various New Hampshire audiences on Wednesday, Romney said he would wait until a mid-September report from U.S. generals in Iraq before deciding the next course of action that he would support. He said if the surge succeeds, he believes it will allow U.S. troop withdrawals. He had refused to detail alternate scenarios should insurgent violence continue unabated.
On immigration, Romney adopted a hardline stance.
"I ... don't think it makes sense to have an immigration policy that says that if an illegal couple—a couple that comes across the border illegally—has a child here, that child becomes a U.S. citizen, that then the whole family gets to come in, if you will, through 'chain migration,'" he said.
Gov. Romney Stresses The Importance Of Winning In Iraq And Defeating Radical Islam Globally. "The congressional debate in Washington has largely, and myopically, focused on whether troops should be redeployed from Iraq to Afghanistan, as if these were isolated issues. Yet the jihad is much broader than any one nation, or even several nations. ... The jihadist threat is the defining challenge of our generation and is symptomatic of a range of new global realities." (Gov. Mitt Romney, "Rising To A New Generation Of Global Challenges," Foreign Affairs, July/August 2007)
ABC'S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "National security, you're a management consultant again. You've come into the United States looking at the commander-in-chief. Do you keep him or let him go?"
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Well, you have to look at Iraq and Iraq was superbly executed in terms of taking down Saddam Hussein's government. But I think everybody recognizes, from the president to Tony Blair to Secretary Rumsfeld that post the period of major conflict, we had major problems in the way we've managed the war in Iraq, and that has contributed to much of the difficulty we have today. It was under-planned, under-prepared, under-staffed, too low a level of troops, under-managed."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "But how do you explain why all that planning wasn't done? President Bush is a Harvard MBA, too."
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Well, everybody has their own management style and their own approach and I respect enormously the approach other people. Mine is just different. And if you read "Cobra II" and "Assassins' Gate" and "Looming Tower" and some of the reports of the events leading up not only to 9/11, but to the conflict itself, there's a sense that we really weren't ready for the post major conflict period. And that has resulted in a blossoming of the sectarian violence, of insurgents within the country and from without, and a setting which is a very troubled, difficult position."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "Yet, you support the president's decision to send more troops right now."
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Yeah."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "How much time do you give it to work?"
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Well, it's not years. I think you're going to know within months."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "Mayor Giuliani said the other night he's not confident it's going to work. Are you?"
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "Well, you know, I think it's hard to predict whether this troop surge will work, but I'm absolutely confident it's the right thing to do."
"She can do what she likes – but I take exception to her conclusions. I don't think we should run our foreign policy based upon elections, election schedules or anything of that nature. We should look at the interests of America and our friends and our citizens and our solders and do what it's our collective best interests. This president has taken action which he believes is calculated to make America a safer land. We should not make decisions based on an election schedule...I would not move to those choices unless we were convinced there was no prospect of success with the current strategy...A number of mistakes have been made and those mistakes have contributed to some of the challenges we now face...I'm glad we're seeing a change in strategy. I'm glad we're adding to the mission of our military the protection of the safety of citizens in and around Baghdad., I don't know how you could rebuild a country and an economy if you have your capital city is literally all covered by what we call a red zone. You know you've failed if you have a red zone. The conduct of our policy in Iraq has been fraught with a number of mistakes."
Governor Mitt Romney, Adam Nagourney, The New York Times, January 29th, 2007
In Responce to Hillary Clinton, who said that President Bush needed to resolve the war he started before he left office and not hand it off to his successor
2006
"I wouldn't presume to present a plan different from that of the President. But I believe he was right to take on the war on terror on an aggressive front rather than a defensive front. We toppled the government ... walking away would mean a humanitarian disaster. We're there and we have a responsibility to finish the job." Response to Bill O'Reilly Sept, 27 2006
"I agree with the President: Our strategy in Iraq must change. Our military mission, for the first time, must include securing the civilian population from violence and terror. It is impossible to defeat the insurgency without first providing security for the Iraqi people. Civilian security is the precondition for any political and economic reconstruction.
"In consultation with Generals, military experts and troops who have served on the ground in Iraq, I believe securing Iraqi civilians requires additional troops. I support adding five brigades in Baghdad and two regiments in Al-Anbar province. Success will require rapid deployment.
"This effort should be combined with clear objectives and milestones for U.S. and Iraqi leaders.
"The road ahead will be difficult but success is still possible in Iraq. I believe it is in America's national security interest to achieve it."
I had the chance to talk live with Don and Roma last week on their WLS Radio program in Chicago last week. It's always a little nerve-wracking to do an interview live, especially for me as I don't have a lot of experience doing it. I can't help it: I think about the risk that I'll say something stupid, that I'll fumble badly over my words, that I'll forget to wear my pants, etc. But Don and Roma were nice to talk to so they put me at ease.
Here's a link where you can hear part of the interview: