Romney gets hero's welcome on return to Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. --Mitt Romney got a hero's welcome as he returned to his birth state of Michigan on Wednesday, and the Republican presidential contender predicted a win next Tuesday after a pair of opening losses in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
"I've watched with concern as I've watched Michigan go through a one-state recession," the former Massachusetts governor told a crowd of several hundred who greeted him in this city's Gaslight Village. "It's just not right, and we need to have somebody who cares very deeply about this state -- and I do."
He added: "This is a place I feel comfortable. It's a place I feel welcome. And it's a place I'm absolutely confident that's going to launch me on my bid to become president of the United States."
One prominent Romney backer, U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., was more cautious later while waiting for a Romney town hall meeting at Grand Valley State University.
"In 2000, (John) McCain won both New Hampshire and Michigan. He's still got a presence here, and we'll see how it plays out," Hoekstra said.
Noting that McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, won in New Hampshire on Tuesday, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses last week, Hoekstra said: "This is a very fluid year; I don't think any one state knocks anyone out."
In between his second-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, Romney won last weekend's Wyoming caucuses and has claimed more GOP votes than any of his rivals. He has vowed to remain in the race through Feb. 5, when 22 states from coast to coast will vote.
During the town hall meeting, Romney poured out his soul to state residents.
"How Michigan is doing, how the manufacturing sector, how the domestic auto manufacturing sector is doing, really is a pretty good bellwether of what the future holds for this nation," he said.
Accusing Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, of presiding over a "one-state recession," Romney added: "If anyone wants to know what the nation would be like under Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, they can just look at what Michigan is like under Jennifer Granholm."
Romney pledged research funds to help revitalize the state, as well as trade reforms and efforts to help the auto industry transition to more fuel-efficient vehicles.
"Measure me not by what I say, but what I do," he said, with unusual passion. "I will fight for Michigan. I will commit to you that if I'm president of the United States, I will not rest if Michigan is in a one-state recession. If I'm president, the one-state recession is over."
Earlier, addressing the crowd in the Gaslight District, Romney recalled being born in Detroit and how his father, the late George Romney, served as Michigan's governor for three terms in the 1960s. His mother, Lenore, also ran for U.S. Senate in Michigan.
Romney got choked up after shaking hands with one woman in the crowd who mentioned his father.
"He was a great man and I miss him dearly," Romney said.
In addressing both audiences, Romney spoke of his early jobs as a security guard and financial analyst at the Chrysler automobile company, as well as campaigning for his parents in Grand Rapids, the home of former President Gerald R. Ford and a GOP stronghold.
He went on the spend 25 years as a business consultant and venture capitalist, followed by stints resurrecting the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and serving as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007.
"I always thought someday I'd be in the car business," Romney said, standing on a chair on a street corner in the Gaslight District and yelling without aid of a microphone. "Well, now I think I could do more to help the car business and to help Michigan by becoming president than by going to a job in the car industry."
Joking about the local accent and preference for American-made cars, Romney said that while there are "a lot of good people" running for president, "but none of them care about Michigan like I care about Michigan, none of them has the deep roots here that I have here."
After his stops in Grand Rapids, Romney flew to South Carolina for a debate Thursday in Myrtle Beach. Romney aides said the former governor would return to Michigan, most likely Friday, and remain in the state through Tuesday's election. 