Mitt in SC - a summary
By streetwise Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Just finished watching Mitt Romney live on C-Span. He appeared at a Republican function hosted by the Spartanburg County party organization.
I have never seen Mitt speak before, so I decided to take notes. Here are some observations:
He is a very polished speaker, succinct and no flubs. He speaks a tad too quickly for a political crowd. He uses a lot of anecdotes. All in all, he does well on the stage, but does not yet have the presence to set the crowd on fire. But I liked listening to him.
The speech was concentrated more on themes than specifics. Romney supports the surge and warns of the consequences of failure in Iraq. Americans are not focused enough on the ongoing threats of jihadism and Iran. He is encouraging state pension funds to put pressure on Iran through their holdings.
In domestic policy, he praised the efforts of Sen Jim DeMint (who introduced him) to get rid of earmarks. The government is too big and inefficient; it must be whipped back into shape. He is opposed to the Democrats' planned takeover of health care in the name of insuring the uninsured.
Ann Romney is going to be this campaign's secret weapon. She spoke for a few minutes, praising Mitt as a husband and father (they have five sons) and spouse, especially during her struggles with MS. She is very attractive and a good speaker in her own right.
He probably should emphasize his general business experience more; he concentrates a little too much on the Olympics. (I wouldn't have known he was co-CEO of Bain, a very blue chip consulting firm, if C-Span hadn't put his background on screen.
All in all, I was impressed, but not overwhelmed. Since I knew the least about Mitt, I'm more confident now that we have three VERY good leading candidates.
And now, back to watching the Clinton and Obama camps feed the press more raw meat!
Sometimes it really feels good to be REPUBLICAN!
Cross-posted at The Minority Report
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selection process. I'm leaning Giuliani, but I can easily vote for Romney or McCain. And I like Hunter - if he can't catch on, VP material, maybe? We need to be UNITED once we pick someone.
The Reaganesque 11th Commandment, though elegant, needs some subtantial tweaking for blogworld. My suggestion: no cat fights!
But I don't mind if the Dems have one. :>)
But the immigration thing is pushing me towards Romney, he is the only major candidate who has espoused some views worth having on the subject.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
If he's not talking enough about his work at Bain, then I agree, Romney needs to talk about his business career more. He was the best private equity investor in the country. Its his real world executive experience that separates him from the pack. His work on the Olympics was a remarkable achievement but its really just the tip of the iceberg.
but I have to think that this experience would make him very credible on domestic issues, especially the looming funding crises in Medicare and Social Security.
I do have a vague recollection that Kennedy went after his business dealings in 1994. But consider the source!
If Ted Kennedy can't find dirt on you, then nobody can. Romney's work ethic is clean and if anyone in this race can fix a financial crisis, its him.
Thanks for you comments. It's refreshing to get a relatively unbiased and non-negative perspective for our 2008 nominees. I'm about sick of the Mitt is a flip-flopper vs Mitt walks on water debate that has gone on for the last few months. It's so rare that I feel compelled to recognize you for it, so THANKS.
"I think the fence is least effective. But I'll build the god--d fence if they want it."--McCain
"I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected" --McCain