Traction Where It Counts
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney got mired in traffic on his way to an interview with U.S. News. Was it a metaphor in the making? Not for Romney. When the former Massachusetts governor arrived late, he was a bit chagrined but still ebullient. Even though he has remained in third place—with the support of about 10 percent of GOP voters—Romney argued that his campaign is anything but stuck permanently in the rear. Partly that's because he has moved into the lead in Iowa and New Hampshire. And he has collected $14 million in the second quarter. So he was in an optimistic mood. Excerpts:
You have released a plan to fight "violent jihad" worldwide. Where does Iraq fit in?
Clearly the war in Iraq is an enormous front in the war against radical jihad, less than well managed over the past several years. We did a fine job in knocking down Saddam Hussein. We were underprepared and underplanned for what occurred afterward. I support the troop surge at this stage. I would just recommend that the administration publish the metrics they will use to determine if it is working, because if we wait until September, there will be a lot of skepticism as to whether we chose metrics that just happened to be the ones that were working.
Why do so many Americans believe the nation is on the wrong track?
It has gotten worse in part because of the immigration issue. I think Iraq is an enormous cloud over the American people. When every day, Americans are being shot and Iraqis are being blown up, it is just, using the Supreme Court term, a penumbra of angst.
What do voters want from their next president?
I think what Americans long for is the return of the principles that Ronald Reagan spoke about. The fundamental pillars of conservatism—a strong military, a strong economy, and strong families and values. I look at '08 as kind of a watershed where I think Hillary Clinton would take us toward big government and big taxes and Big Brother, and I think that would take us toward where Europe has gone: anemic job growth and relative economic stagnation.
How will you deal with criticisms of your Mormon faith?
I have said that time will give us the answer on whether we do a big speech; and then I read Hugh Hewitt's book, A Mormon in the White House? and his conclusion was, don't give a speech, you know it can never be as good as Jack Kennedy's [addressing critics of his Roman Catholicism]. And that's true, and it won't answer the critics. But more recently I am more inclined to [because] there have been comments about my faith that have been inaccurate, and it has become more of a visible issue.
George Bush portrays himself as the CEO president. Has that model failed?
Not every business leader has exactly the same experience and orientation. I came from a very analytically driven industry. I love conflict and debate. I can't make a decision without hearing both sides. [I] recognize that every problem is soluble.
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