Romney Took McCain's Words For A Spin

Washington Post: Mich. Winner Ran As Economic Optimist While Portraying Opponent As Gloomy

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Jonathan Weisman.

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Coming off of a campaign-saving victory in New Hampshire, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) went to Michigan last week to dispense a bit of what he called his "straight talk": Some of those manufacturing jobs that built the state into an economic power, then left it mired in recession, would not magically reappear.

There was more to McCain's point, of course -- an extended proposal to bolster job training, even a plan for the federal government to pick up the difference between workers' old, high-wage jobs and the new, lower-wage jobs they are falling into. But McCain had given former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney an opening, and Romney pounced.

In the days following McCain's comment, Romney portrayed himself as the champion of Michigan and its faltering economic engine, reminding voters that he was the only GOP candidate "that's got the automobile industry in my blood veins."

It is hard to overstate the economic malaise afflicting Michigan, and Romney, perhaps more than any other Republican, grasped that when he decried a "one-state recession." At 7.4 percent, Michigan's unemployment rate remains the nation's highest by far (second place goes to Alaska at 6.4 percent). In the last year, while most states were adding payroll positions, Michigan lost 76,500 jobs, according to the Labor Department.

To McCain aides, the senator's statement in last week's Republican debate was the obvious truth. "Let's have a little straight talk," McCain said. "There are some jobs that aren't coming back to Michigan." Even Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.), a strong Romney backer, acknowledged last night that some of Michigan's manufacturing jobs cannot be saved.

But to Romney campaign advisers, McCain's statement was akin to Michael Dukakis suggesting that Iowa farmers give up on corn and start growing Belgian endive or Gerald Ford telling New Yorkers, as the New York Daily News famously interpreted it, "Drop Dead."

Reveling in last night's victory, Romney advisers said a message the governor had been hammering for months finally broke through -- in part because people in Michigan were anxious to hear his can-do message on jobs and the economy, in part because McCain sent a rhetorical softball over the fat part of Romney's plate at a debate in South Carolina last week.

For days on end, Romney portrayed McCain as a dour pessimist who had given up on benighted Michigan while he, the successful business executive, was going to make Michigan's lost jobs a singular focus of his administration.

"Ours was a vision of optimism, of hope. His was gloom," said Tom Rath, a former New Hampshire attorney general and senior Romney strategist.

That fed into the image Romney has been trying to establish in voters' minds for months, a successful businessman and a proven governor ready to use his real-world experience as a turnaround artist to tackle the nation's toughest problems.

"We said that we were going to take innovation and change to Washington, recognizing that there's no way that an insider in Washington is going to turn Washington inside out," Romney told supporters last night. "American voters said that knowing how America works is more important than knowing how Washington works."

McCain aides shrugged off the loss last night, suggesting it would soon be forgotten after South Carolina Republicans go to the polls on Saturday. Mark Salter, a senior McCain adviser, said Romney's performance in Michigan could be turned against him.

"The great vulnerability of Romney that's taking hold across the nation is that he will say anything to get himself elected," Salter said. "This will be one more item to add to the list for Romney's strategic plan to tell voters whatever the polls tell him to say."

Democratic White House hopefuls have responded to job anxieties with specific and pricey pledges to secure immediate, one-time tax cuts, extend unemployment insurance, address the subprime housing crisis, and send billions of federal dollars to the states to stave off counterproductive state and local program cuts or tax increases. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee on Monday trotted out more general pledges to negotiate with subprime mortgage lenders and prime the economy with government spending on defense industries, infrastructure and energy technologies.

Romney responded not so much with a program but with an image: of Mr. Fix-It.

"The governor has been on a message for a while now that the key to this election is that Washington is broken, and it's got to be fixed," said Ron Kaufman, a senior adviser. "And the key to that message turned out to be in Michigan. Michigan became a very good place for the governor to say, 'This is what my presidency is all about. Look at the problems in Michigan. Washington is not only not fixing it. It's made it worse.' "

Romney supporters now hope the same economic anxieties that made Michigan Republicans responsive to that message will surface throughout a nation already feeling the leading edge of an economic slowdown.

McCain aides said their candidate would stick to his message on the economy and avoid short-term fixes, no matter how appealing they may be on the campaign trail.

"We have no cause to be discouraged or to second guess what we might have done differently," McCain told supporters last night. "We did what we always try to do: We went to Michigan and told people the truth. I am as committed now as I have ever been to making sure that no state, whether it's Michigan or South Carolina or anywhere in this blessed country, is left behind in the global economy. But that global economy is here to stay, and it is, by its nature, constantly changing. To compete more successfully in it, we must better prepare American workers and students to seize its opportunities."

[element51]

sorry....I mean NO disrespect. My bad.

[element51]

neoconnie..."we need to make sure we install the right religion into our government." Please enlighten me. What is the "right religion"? I must have missed something because I thought we were electing a president. It would be very helpful if you would elaborate on your views so we can better understand just what it is that you are looking for. I mean do disrespect here I''m just curious.

[neoconnie]

Mr. Romney has an incorrect religion and therefore cannot become president. Mr. Huckabee will get all the support from the rural south, most of Texas, and the smaller towns in the West.

We are electing a Christian leader for the first time in decades, and we need to make sure we are installing the right religion into our government.

[news4all]

Romney is the only candidate in a position to truly help our economy. Check him out on Wikipedia.
Rudy needs money, McCain married money, Huckabee preaches for money and Romney makes money and helps others do the same. He also donates millions each year and donated his entire pay from the Olympics and as governor. He has the education, experience, integrity and self-control necessary to fix Washington. He will be able to place the US in a positive light again world wide.

[b-easy63]

After voting for a woman whose husband was the embodiment of NAFTA whose outsourcing tactics cost Michigan thousands of jobs, and a man from the party who promises more of Bush like tactics--the Michigan people appear to be saying they want more of the same--they deserve everything that may happen to them in the next few years. As a famous publisher once said: "The American people know what they want--and they deserve to get it--good and hard".

That''s for not putting two and two together Michigan--you should have gone for: None of the above.

[b-easy63]

I. don''t like McCain. He is a war monger, a flip flopper, a liar and a sell out to insourcing (illegal aliens) and outsourcing. He lied about the state of Bagdhad and gave lip service to stopping torture. But he did tell an unpleasant truth to Michigan. They need a new source of revenue. Because the Motown and automotive days of Michigan are long gone. The only way they will come back to Michigan, is if they would start jobs at a lower wage than they do in India, Mexico and other places the jobs have left for. Barring that, MI should look for new technology and opportunities and everyone, Michiganites and elsewhere, should be able to see through any politician like Romney telling them what they want to hear, instead of just telling them the truth so they can move on.

[forthepeopl1]

A former congressman AND GOOD FREIND OF ROMNEY and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al Qaeda and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.

The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.

A 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying - money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

[mcvet]

Looney loser? Do some research. He''''s the most qualified of the lot. Vietnam Vet, 14 years in congress. Plus, all his "Ayes" have been directed in the right direction as have been his "Nays".


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Posted by Hwy71So at 01:08 PM : Jan 16, 2008
+ report abuse

LOL We KNOW!! We''ve been living the RESULTS of his AYES now for a long time. Can you imagine my embarrassment when I saw our congress put their tails between their legs and march back to Washington so a Looney member of OUR Religious Taliban could impose HIS will on a Florida Family! Yep that was a real bell ringer there!! ROFLMAO That freak hasn''t any chance for a reason... he''s votes have NOT all been even CLOSE to right!! Sieg Heil Bush!!

[gkc99]

What an appalling panderer Romney is! As if he, supposedly a "conservative", can wave his magic wand and make outsourced jobs come back to the US.

And what a hypocrit--here''s a guy who has spent much of his adult life helping billionaires screw the American working person by sheltering assets offshore, and now he''s all concerned about the rust belt?

But for a shape-shifter like Romney, anything is possible, just wave that magic wand!

[oladywho]

What led you to believe I''m a republican, toots? I''m a registered Independent. I listen to both sides.

Thanks for the useful information, UserVerified

[hwy71so]

I''ve been backing Hunter since the beginning. He''s got the best track record of ANY of the candidates.

Looney loser? Do some research. He''s the most qualified of the lot. Vietnam Vet, 14 years in congress. Plus, all his "Ayes" have been directed in the right direction as have been his "Nays".

[cassandragop]

Posters advancing Duncan Hunter''s cause?
Shows how pathetic the Republican primary field is when a last place loony loser like Hunter starts getting any consideration.

[hwy71so]

Duncan Hunter is who we need!!!

His big problem is money though. He can''t perform his job in congress and run the routes it takes to show face and share his value.

[oladywho]

Would someone please tell us how we "lost" 76,000 jobs in Michigan and explain to us who is doing that work? My experience with force adjustment is this: the work doesn''t go away, only the people doing the work "get lost". If it was work worth doing, somebody is still getting it done. But maybe they are only making seventy-five cents an hour, somewhere in China.

Is anyone listening to Duncan Hunter?

[hwy71so]

Don''t suppose Daddy Romney was part of the problem leading up to Michigan''s failing economy do you? Maybe, could-be, that Romney shares daddy''s attributes?

[prinzowhales]

Here is a story of how the ''crisis'' in the Straight of Hormuz was cooked up...

http://www.antiwar.com/porter/?articleid=12221

None of the frontrunners will call for an investigation of this lie...best to talk about race and se.x...best to see absolutely nothing done to the animals who lied us into war, tripled oil prices and destroyed the value of the dollar...best not to investigate the 9-11 cover-up...best to ignore the fact that WE are responsible for restoring Opium production in Afghanistan to record levels to sell to Euro-Trash and the Scum of America.

[prinzowhales]

The voters of Michigan have spoken...they voted for a woman who supports unfair Trade Agreements and takes payoffs from Tysons in the form of Cattle Futures profits and the scion of a family whose auto company ws bought up to keep it from going bust and will, like Clinton, continue the war for oil, Israel and opium.