Rom. News In Brief

Yesterday Romney signed legislation intended to combat gangs.

Romney responds to Mass Supreme Court decision that out-of-staters cannot marry in Mass:

"Today¹s ruling is an important victory for traditional marriage. It would have been wrong for the Supreme Judicial Court to impose its mistaken view of marriage on the rest of the country. The continuing threat of the judicial redefinition of marriage, here and in several other states, is why I believe that the best and most reliable way to preserve the institution of marriage is to pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution."

Again, Globe mentions Romney would be happy if Andrew Card ran for office in the Bay State.

Romney Declines to Take Stance on Immigration Bill

The AP filed a report regarding Romney's take on the current immigration brouhaha. Romney stated that he does not know the specfics of the bill at hand (McCain-Kennedy), but that he believed in a few important points regarding the issue:
1) No amnesty
2) Don't boot out 11 million illegals
3) And:

Romney wants to smooth the way for more highly-skilled immigrants. “If you graduated at the top of your class at the India Institute of Technology, welcome to the fast track to become a citizen of the US of A. We need your brain power.” [MSNBC article]

Update (3/30): I noticed today my post heading is almost identical to the AP article title. I really thought the article had a more negative title, and I recall choosing my words for the title. So either the AP changed the heading, or I subconsciously penned the same title. Weird.
Update 2: Looking at the link address, the mistake was mine. I must have read the article, read a different one, and then thought I was making my own title when actually writing the APs. Not important, just wanted to clear the water

MSNBC: Is Romney for Real?

MSNBC.com has a two-pager on Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. The article reports briefly on Mitt's speech today at the American Enterprise Institute, as well as his views on education, marriage, and immigration.

My favorite two 'graphs:

It would be a gloomy picture were it not for the Reaganesque uplift at the end of his speech. And Romney evokes Reagan in the uniquely soothing quality of his voice.

His voice conveys a sense that the situation – the looming caliphate, the influx of non-English speakers, the relative decline in the number of Americans getting science degrees is quite serious, jeopardizing our future, yet not hopeless.

How Bush Supporters Feel about Romney

The Boston Phoenix's Talking Politics has an interesting post dissecting a recent poll of Bush supporters (from The Hotline). The poll questioned firm Bush supporters about their views of potential '08 nominees. In Adam Reilly's words:

The bad news is that, among the "Bush Base"--the 45 percent or so of Republicans who still thing W. is doing a bang-up job--Romney is something of a presidential afterthought.

Here's the good news: Romney's negatives are remarkably low. When the same voters are asked who they'd never vote for in a presidential primary, Romney finishes dead last among 11 candidates, with just two percent saying they absolutely, positively wouldn't give him the nod.

Pres Advisor Card Resigns... for Romney?

Presidential advisor Andrew Card resigned today from his post in the Bush administration. Ankle Biting Pundits is reporting an unnamed source suggests that Card retired so he could work on Mitt Romney's presidential campaign (HT: Malkin). This of course would be a huge score for Mr. Romney. For those unaware, Card is himself is originally from Mass.

I personally hope - dearly hope - that Card decides to run for Senate. There is not a single challenger as of yet to Sen. Ted Kennedy.

Southern Appeal Links to Romney Report

I'd like to take a quick moment to welcome any readers from Southern Appeal, as well as thank Feddie for the promotional link. Southern Appeal is a good site, with good commentary, so I'd encourage any readers to visit.

Mitt Miscellania

Courtesy the Rocky Mountain News:

LOSING HURTS
Gov. Bill Owens will host his Massachusetts counterpart,Mitt Romney, tonight at the Pepsi Center to collect on his wager on the January Broncos-Patriots playoff game at Invesco Field at Mile High.
Because of the Patriots' loss, Romney will don a Denver Broncos jersey during a short ceremony at center ice during an intermission in the Avalanche-Mighty Ducks game.

Romney Fundraises in McCain's Home State

The AP is reporting that Gov Romney was fundraising for his political committee (I assume The Commonwealthpath PAC) yesterday in Arizona. The article goes onto to speculate about a potential brewing rivalry between McCAin and Romney. It seems as though the rivalry at this point is only between the respective candidate's staffs.

Relevent graph:

It is McCain whom Romney singled out when the governor announced in December he would not seek a second term this year. Unlike the senator, who once joked he thought about being president "every day in the shower," Romney said
his interest was more like the movie "Star Wars:" "It's in a galaxy far, far away."

My note: If Romney develops an even mild rilvarly, intentionally or not, with Senator McCain, this could help him immensely. There is a lot of resentment, and feelings of betrayel by those in the party w.r.t. John McCain. And becoming his rival could very well garner Romney support.

Redstate Post on Communication Skills

Looks like not much in the news yet regarding Romney.

Redstate has a post grading potential '08 nominee communication skills.

ABCNews Comes out with "2008 Presidential Invisible Primary Ratings"

ABC News has a thoroughly encompassing first analysis of the 2008 presidential election [Hat Tip: Law Students for Mitt] which you could spend hours analyzing - which is I why I skimmed the article. ABC News provides several categories (e.g. Money, Perceived Electability, Biography), and ranks the candidates for both parties in these categories. I repeat, very interesting. Please read.

Per ABC News, here is how Romney ranks in each of the categories:

Overall: #3
Money Potential: #3
Issues: #3
Biography & Spouse: #4
Iowa: #2
NH: #2
Other States: #2
Perceived Electability: #4
Hang Test (personal interaction): #3
TV Campaign: #6
Wartime Credentials: #8
Media Coverage: #4
Media Buzz: #3
Netroots: #4
Name ID: #7
Fire in the Belly (Desiring Presidency): #2
Endorsements: #3
Party Constituencies: #8
Party Support: #3
Staff/Consultants: #3

All of these rankings seem on target, with the notable exception of "TV Campaign". Was ABC News not looking at the TV when they watched Romney speak? Romney's presidential visage is unmistakable. Many have commented if he were an actor, he'd be selected to play the part of president.

Unfortunately it looks like these ABC News Polls will be articles and not a dynamic page, so I cannot put a permanent link on the sidebar. I'll keep my eyes open.

Romney in Rome for Archbishop O'Malley's Elevation

Mitt Romney was in Rome yesterday to attend Archbishop O'Malley's promotion to cardinal. An interesting move for a non-Catholic. Note that Mass is probably one of the most, if not the most, Catholic states in America. My take: Romney is definitely reaching out to constituencies that will be important in the upcoming presidential race. [The Boston Globe does it again, with such a flattering photo of the Romney campaign. see link above.]

Wow, it's 6:27 am, and KJL has me beat today on the Romney news of interest.

Lowry: (Allen vs. Romney) vs. McCain

Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, had a piece yesterday speculating about the upcoming battle for the Republican presidential nomination. Lowry posits that Romney and Allen will be competing for the position as the non-McCain candidate. A good analysis, with some solid points.

While I don't believe we can pin down the Presidential race to McCain vs. X at this point, I do agree that Allen and Romney are essentially competing for the same voter demographic. I am in the interesting situation of having had both George Allen and Mitt Romney as my governor (I lived for a very long while in Northern Virginia).

Romney has some very strong selling points:
-He's smart (Harvard Law, Harvard B-school)
-He's successful (BCG consultant, Bain Capital co-founder [yep], Salt Lake City Olympics]
-He's articulate

While I will be watching Mitt to see if he's the real thing, I am excited about having a candidate who does not fit the media's mold of a good-old boy not-too-bright republican.

Romney Unhappy with Big Dig Money Recovery

Governor Romney was not happy with the paltry funds that will be returned to Massachusetts. Only $108 M will be returned, on ann almost $15 B dollar project that everyone realizes was terribly managed. Romney pointed to the Attorney General, who is running for Romney's seat next year. Apparently the AG took campaign contributions from the contractor in question. Boston Globe article here.

Romney Does Not Issue Birth Control proclamation

Tipping his hat to social conservatives, Mitt decided to forego honoring the 1972 ruling from the Supreme Court allowing unmarried people to use birth control. Globe article here. While the governor issued a proclamation last year, my guess is Mitt realizes it would be easy for a primary opponent to mention Mitt's observance of unmarried birth control access, which is not exactly a pro-family stand. [note: unmarried is the key word]

Hey, most things that tick off NARAL and the likes make me happy. Thanks gov.

Thanks Hugh...

Just wanted to write a short thank you to Hugh Hewitt for his post about Romney Report. I'm an avid Hewitt listener, and hope you other Hewitt blog readers will enjoy the Romney Report and bookmark it.

Interactive Romney Approval Tracking Poll

Courtesy of our opponents at Blue Mass, I came across this wonderful graph tracking Mitt Romney's approval ratings (SurveyUSA results). I could spend a couple hours playing with the variable demographics, and trying to analyze them. I may indeed do this at some point, but for now I'll leave it to your enjoyment. (I might make a permanent link on the sidebar to this poll)

Note: what does anyone know about reliability/skew of SurveyUSA?

Romney Lacking Leadership on Haleigh Poutre?

DocJ at The Hub of Politics (and Redstate member) unleashes a blistering criticism of Romney's response to Haleigh Poutre. [note: I need to add Hub of Politics to Links on sidebar]. The post is somewhat extensive and makes some good points. The Haleigh Poutre affair provides a great opportunity for Romney to be a stand-up guy and show leadership. Here's hoping he will...

Mitt Moves into Old State House: Brand Image Impact

The Boston Globe is reporting that Mitt Romney is moving much of his staff and Commonwealth PAC into Boston's Old City Hall (pic). Living in Boston, I can tell you the Old City Hall is an historic building in the heart of the city. Romney previously had rented space in the Hancock building.

My personal view from a marketing/brand viewpoint, is that the Old City Hall provides a more established, statesman, historic aura - all located in the heart of the city, literally 200 yards from the Boston Common and the site of the "Boston Massacre". The Hancock tower on the other hand, a building laden with financial and consulting firms in the ritzy Back Bay, lent more of a rich, country-club republican aura. Small things, but sometimes they make an impact.

Utah & Romney

I apologize for the recent inactivity, as I was skiing in beautiful Utah the past weekend. My brief hiatus in Utah did provide one political anecdote regarding the topic of this blog.

While riding up the ski lift, the skier next to me, a native Utah-an (Ute?), asked me how the people of Massachusetts felt about our governor. I replied that we liked him, although our newspapers sure don't. The man then proceeded to give me his political analysis that the only way the republicans win in '08 is if Hillary is the nominee. Do I agree? That's another post for another day.

Take-away: This Utah-person was thinking about Romney in terms of the presidential race.

The Salt Lake Tribune had very little with regards to Romney in the few times I glanced at it.

Romney Does C-Span Interview

Romney taped an interview w/ C-Span which will air this Sunday.

The Globe has more....

Romney proposes exemption for adoption

The Globe has an article on Romney's new bill [article], which can be summed up with the first paragraph of the story:

Governor Mitt Romney filed legislation yesterday that would allow religious groups to refuse to provide adoption services if doing so violates the tenets of their faith, including a belief that children should not be placed with gay couples.

Globe: "Romney shifts tone on gay adoption"

The morning following Gov. Romney's solid interview with Hugh Hewitt, I look at the Boston Globe, only to see the following above-the-fold headline: "Romney Shifts Tone on Gay Adoption". [article] I was concerned.

Turns out Romney still intended to push forward a bill for the Catholic charities. [full disclosure: I am not Catholic but am sympathetic to their values]

The article did bring something questionable in Romney's views to light however.

On Monday in Boston, Romney was quoted as saying:

''Except that there are many, many other agencies that can meet the needs of those gay couples, and I recognize that they have a legitimate interest in being able to receive adoptive services."

However,

In an appearance Friday at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Memphis, an important early event for presidential hopefuls, he reiterated his position that ''Every child in America has the right to a mother and a father."

If anyone can clear this apparent contradiction for me, I would appreciate it. If every child has the right to a mother and father, how is their a legitimate interest in putting a child into a situation without both a mother and father?

Mitt on Hugh Hewitt Monday 3/13

Mitt Romney was interview on the Hugh Hewitt show Monday evening. I was lucky enough to turn on Hugh's show when I was grabbing a bite to eat. Radioblogger has the entire transript here.

Issues discussed: SRLC Straw Poll results, Catholic adoption charities and gay parents.

Romney impressed me with his responses on the situation involving Catholic charities and gay parents. For those of you unaware, Catholic charities have been placing the hardest to place children in foster parent homes for years. Now that homosexual marriage has been legalized in Massachusetts, the state is requiring the Catholic charities to place children in homosexual couple households. This of course, is against the Catholic religion.

Governor Romney noted that children are the ones being hurt by telling the Catholic charities what they can and cannot believe. Mitt said he will be introducing a narrow resolution exempting the Catholic agencies from placing children in homosexual households. He said he can exempt them, b/c homosexual marriage is a statute, and not in the Consitution. Thus it is not unconstitutional to propose the bill he will later introduce.

Mitt seemed to recognize the importance of respecting religions and their beliefs.
Here are a couple key quotes from the interview. [courtesy Radioblogger]

MR: ...So you know, I'm of the belief that we have to do everything we
can to allow the Catholic Church to practice its religion as it wants to, and
not impose on them the direction that they have to place children into gay
couples.

MR: Well, we talked about this, this feature, and I expressed to him my concern that you know, as a society, we're very quick to jump when a Church or a religion in any way seems to be imposing in the public sector. If there's a Nativity scene, the ACLU is right there to keep that from happening. On the other hand, when the state intrudes on the right of a religion to practice its faith as they feel appropriate, somehow, no one comes to their aid.

HH: Now Mitt Romney, they will also argue that this will be an unlawful and unconstitutional establishment of religion, violative of the 1st Amendment. Your response?
MR: Well, this doesn't establish religion. It does just the opposite. It allows the free practice of religion. What we're looking to do is to say that a religion should be able to abide by its tenets, and its beliefs, and not have imposed upon it a statute that came before them by the legislature. This is not part of our Constitution.

Purpose of Romney Report

Purpose: to follow Mitt Romney presidential persuit through news article, blog posts, and local events.

I (Pete James) am a resident of Massachusetts, and like my governor. I have recently had the change to see him speak in person, and meet him briefly. That being said, I have not picked my horse yet for the Presidential primaries. I am very impressed with Mitt's speaking ability and resume, and am thinking of supporting him. As such, I thought it would be great to keep tabs on him for myself and others, as he runs for the presidency.

Is Mitt a genuine center-right conservative, or is he just playing politics for the primaries? I don't know, but hopefully we can find out as we follow him for the next 1-2 years.

Hello World

Hello World! Well today I am finally launching Romney Report. Hopefully it will be a success!