Romney: Today's Vote Will Change GOP Race
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. -- On a day that could either revive or effectively crush his presidential ambitions, Mitt Romney was brimming with confidence as he spoke to a small crowd of about 150 people at a "get out the vote" rally here.
"This is the day that's gonna change, I believe, the politics in the nation, as we get ready to select our nominee," Romney said. "I think Michigan is gonna vote for a Romney again—I'm planning on it."
In campaign stops across Michigan over the past week, Romney has evoked the name of his father George, who served as a popular governor of the state from 1963 to 1969. As he stood beside his wife Ann this morning, his dad's memory was still heavy on the candidate's mind.
"Ann, as I said, I think she fell in love with dad even before she fell in love with me," Romney said. "She knew my dad and thought he was the greatest and we obviously miss him on a day like today. He would be here, I'll tell you, I don't know how we'd hold him down. He'd be going from place to place to place. He'd be arguing with people that had a sticker on for somebody else, telling them, 'You can't vote for that guy! You gotta vote for my son.'"
Though Romney has relentlessly touted his Michigan ties, this morning he reverted back to Massachusetts, channeling the legendary Boston Celtics broadcaster Johnny Most to hammer home his campaign's message.
"And Washington is just fiddling and diddling, as an old announcer used to say in Boston," Romney said. "Washington is not getting the job done."