P
Patriot Games
Guest
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/romney_long_haul/2008/01/08/62799.html
Romney Says He's in It for the Long Haul
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Mitt Romney pledged a long fight for the Republican presidential nomination
on Tuesday, regardless of finishing second to John McCain in the New
Hampshire primary after posting another second-place finish to Mike Huckabee
in the Iowa caucuses.
In between was a weekend win for Romney in the Wyoming caucuses, which the
former Massachusetts governor said was testimony to his 50-state strategy.
"I'm going to stay in this race to win," Romney told reporters after
beginning his day at a polling station in Manchester. "I don't think the
Republican Party wants to have only one person in this contest until the
very end. I expect to be one of the two that's in it to the very end."
During the final 24 hours of the New Hampshire campaign, Romney and his
aides largely shed their recent inhibitions, openly predicting a
come-from-behind-victory against McCain. They claimed independents were
breaking their way based on Romney's performance in a pair of weekend
debates.
Nonetheless, Romney chided McCain and Huckabee for cherry-picking contests,
with Huckabee having focused on Iowa while McCain focused on New Hampshire.
Romney spent more than $7 million on advertising in each state, and held as
many, if not more, events in both places than any of his GOP rivals.
Romney, 60, is a former venture capitalist who made hundreds of millions
before taking over the scandal-ridden 2002 Winter Olympic Games and
returning them to profitability. He failed in his first bid for elective
office, a 1994 effort to oust Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. But in 2002 he
rode his wave of Olympic glory to a four-year term as the Bay State's
governor.
A Mormon, Romney aggressively courted Christian conservatives _ some of whom
consider Mormons members of a cult _ and in doing so brought the issue to
the fore in the 2008 campaign.
Romney traveled to the George Bush Presidential Library in Texas last month
to deliver a speech spelling out his views on faith in American politics.
Interviews Tuesday with voters exiting their polling places showed that
about a fifth of New Hampshire GOP voters said they were born again or
evangelical voters, compared to the six in 10 who said so in last week's
Iowa Republican caucuses and boosted Huckabee to victory there.
Most New Hampshire Republicans said the top quality they were seeking in a
candidate was someone who shared their values and is authentic. Romney was
the big leader among those naming values, McCain among those seeking a
candidate who says what he believes. About a quarter named experience, an
area where McCain had a slight edge.
McCain was viewed as the strongest leader and most qualified to be
commander-in-chief.
Romney, who aired ads critical of Huckabee and McCain in Iowa and New
Hampshire, was seen more than the others as having waged a negative
campaign, the exit survey found.
New Hampshire was a pivotal state for Romney, who predicated his campaign on
starting fast with wins here and in Iowa and using that momentum to
steamroll his opponents in later contests in Michigan _ his birth state _
and South Carolina, Florida and the two dozen states voting on Feb. 5.
Romney warned Republicans that with Barack Obama surging against veteran
senators on the Democratic side, Republicans would make a mistake to
nominate another Senate veteran in McCain.
"I don't have years and years of favors I have to repay, lobbyists who've
raised all sorts of money for me, deals I've worked out in the cloak room,"
he told New Hampshire voters. "I come in from the outside."
Romney Says He's in It for the Long Haul
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Mitt Romney pledged a long fight for the Republican presidential nomination
on Tuesday, regardless of finishing second to John McCain in the New
Hampshire primary after posting another second-place finish to Mike Huckabee
in the Iowa caucuses.
In between was a weekend win for Romney in the Wyoming caucuses, which the
former Massachusetts governor said was testimony to his 50-state strategy.
"I'm going to stay in this race to win," Romney told reporters after
beginning his day at a polling station in Manchester. "I don't think the
Republican Party wants to have only one person in this contest until the
very end. I expect to be one of the two that's in it to the very end."
During the final 24 hours of the New Hampshire campaign, Romney and his
aides largely shed their recent inhibitions, openly predicting a
come-from-behind-victory against McCain. They claimed independents were
breaking their way based on Romney's performance in a pair of weekend
debates.
Nonetheless, Romney chided McCain and Huckabee for cherry-picking contests,
with Huckabee having focused on Iowa while McCain focused on New Hampshire.
Romney spent more than $7 million on advertising in each state, and held as
many, if not more, events in both places than any of his GOP rivals.
Romney, 60, is a former venture capitalist who made hundreds of millions
before taking over the scandal-ridden 2002 Winter Olympic Games and
returning them to profitability. He failed in his first bid for elective
office, a 1994 effort to oust Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. But in 2002 he
rode his wave of Olympic glory to a four-year term as the Bay State's
governor.
A Mormon, Romney aggressively courted Christian conservatives _ some of whom
consider Mormons members of a cult _ and in doing so brought the issue to
the fore in the 2008 campaign.
Romney traveled to the George Bush Presidential Library in Texas last month
to deliver a speech spelling out his views on faith in American politics.
Interviews Tuesday with voters exiting their polling places showed that
about a fifth of New Hampshire GOP voters said they were born again or
evangelical voters, compared to the six in 10 who said so in last week's
Iowa Republican caucuses and boosted Huckabee to victory there.
Most New Hampshire Republicans said the top quality they were seeking in a
candidate was someone who shared their values and is authentic. Romney was
the big leader among those naming values, McCain among those seeking a
candidate who says what he believes. About a quarter named experience, an
area where McCain had a slight edge.
McCain was viewed as the strongest leader and most qualified to be
commander-in-chief.
Romney, who aired ads critical of Huckabee and McCain in Iowa and New
Hampshire, was seen more than the others as having waged a negative
campaign, the exit survey found.
New Hampshire was a pivotal state for Romney, who predicated his campaign on
starting fast with wins here and in Iowa and using that momentum to
steamroll his opponents in later contests in Michigan _ his birth state _
and South Carolina, Florida and the two dozen states voting on Feb. 5.
Romney warned Republicans that with Barack Obama surging against veteran
senators on the Democratic side, Republicans would make a mistake to
nominate another Senate veteran in McCain.
"I don't have years and years of favors I have to repay, lobbyists who've
raised all sorts of money for me, deals I've worked out in the cloak room,"
he told New Hampshire voters. "I come in from the outside."
