Romney Starts With a Call to Innovate

Romney Starts With a Call to Innovate
By John Whitesides, Reuters

DEARBORN, Michigan (Feb. 13) - Republican Mitt Romney, a former governor who would be the first Mormon in the White House, launched his campaign on Tuesday with a call for "innovation and transformation" to rejuvenate the economy and restore faith in government.

Standing in the Henry Ford museum in suburban Detroit, Romney said he could reclaim the American spirit of ingenuity and questioned if his 2008 presidential rivals in Washington were up to the job. "It is time for innovation and transformation in Washington," said Romney, flanked by a new Ford hybrid and a classic AMC Rambler from his father's old car company. "I do not believe Washington can be transformed from within by a lifetime politician," he said. "I do not believe Washington can be transformed by someone who has never tried doing such a thing before, in any setting, by someone who has never even managed a corner store." Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, enters a crowded Republican field as a viable top-tier contender, fueled by a formidable resume and fast fund-raising start.

He has positioned himself as a more conservative alternative to early favorites John McCain , a senator from Arizona, and Rudolph Giuliani, the former mayor of New York. But his pitch to conservatives who play a key role in Republican primaries has been complicated by his inconsistency on social issues like gay rights and abortion rights, which he once supported but now opposes. It also is unclear if Romney can win over evangelicals skeptical of his devout Mormon faith. The campaign launch in Michigan was a homecoming for Romney, son of a top auto executive at AMC and governor of the state. He said he grew up reading automotive news the way other kids read about sports. "This place is not just about automobiles, it is about innovation, innovation that transformed an industry," he said of the museum.

"Innovation and transformation have been at the heart of America's success." Romney nurtured an image of competence and can-do leadership in turning around the debt-ridden Salt Lake City Olympics and during his term in Massachusetts, one of the most liberal states, where he balanced the state budget and signed a state universal health insurance law. Americans have lost faith in government "clogged with petty politics" and become "weary of the bickering and bombast, fatigued by the posturing and self-promotion," he said. "Our government has become a weight on the American people, sapping their strength and slowing their climb." Romney, whose lack of foreign policy experience as a former governor has been questioned, said the United States should "link arms with all responsible nations to block Iran from realizing its nuclear ambitions." He also said a quick withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq could leave an all-out civil war that would destabilize the region and have "devastating" consequences. He backed President George W. Bush 's plan to send more troops.

"I believe that so long as there is a reasonable prospect of success our wisest course is to seek stability in Iraq, with additional troops to secure the civilian population," he said. To compete with Romney's announcement, McCain's campaign organized a news conference of Michigan officials who endorsed the Arizona senator. Michigan is a key early battleground in the Republican primary fight. After the speech, Romney flew to Iowa which holds the opening contest in the White House race. He also visits South Carolina and New Hampshire, two other key battlegrounds, before heading to Boston for a fund raiser and concluding the tour Friday in Florida.