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Tuesday, February 13, 2007
By Andrew Ryan and Scott Helman, Globe Staff
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney today formally announced his candidacy for president, stoking familiar Republican themes of less government and lower taxes while painting himself as an innovator.
Romney, who left office after one term in January, made his run official in a speech at the Henry Ford Museum outside Detroit, in the state where he grew up. He gave an address laced with references to his father, George Romney, who served as governor of Michigan and made an unsuccessful bid for the 1968 GOP nomination. While Romney talked about family and his connection to the Midwest, he held up his successes as a venture capitalist, his triumph over scandal in the 2002 winter Olympics, and his term as governor of Massachusetts as evidence he was ready to lead the nation.
"Throughout my life, I have pursued innovation and transformation," Romney said. "It's taught me the vital lessons that come only from experience, from failures and from successes, from the private, public and voluntary sectors, from small and large enterprise, from leading a state, from actually being in the arena, not just talking about it."
Romney, 59, had been widely seen as a likely presidential candidate during his final year as governor of Massachusetts. In 2006, he spent more than 212 out of the state in what many saw as a preparation for a run for the White House. Over last Christmas, Romney said today he and his wife Ann gathered their five sons and five daughters-in-law to ask them whether he should run for president. Their support was unanimous.
"And so, with them behind us, with the fine people of Michigan before us, and with my sweetheart beside me, I declare my intention to run for President of the United States," Romney said.
In addition to hitting the traditional GOP touchstones of lower taxes and less government, Romney's speech made allusions to his evolving view on abortion, saying he believed in "the sanctity of human life." When he ran for governor, Romney pledged not change abortion laws.
He also spoke about the traditional family being the "foundation of America," touching on his opposition to gay marriage, which was legalized by a Supreme Judicial Court ruling during his tenure as Massachusetts governor.
"I believe that people and their elected representatives should make the laws, not unelected judges," Romney said.
More than anything, Romney's speech focused on what he described as his values and successes in business and government, sounding an optimistic theme for his candidacy and ability to solve America's ills at home and abroad.
"Innovation and transformation have been at the heart of America's success," Romney said. "If there ever was a time when innovation and transformation were needed in government, it is now."
Posted by the Boston Globe City & Region Desk at 09:18 AM
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