Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney spoke yesterday during a campaign stop at the Town Hall in Peterborough, N.H.
(jim cole/Associated Press)
PETERBOROUGH, N.H. - Mitt Romney, in an increasingly tight battle with John McCain in New Hampshire, yesterday kept up his criticism of the Arizona senator for not supporting President Bush's tax cuts and the elimination of the federal estate tax.
"Right now, Senator McCain and I are both battling for your support and your vote," Romney told voters at the Peterborough town hall. "He's a good man, but we have differing views on this. He voted against the Bush tax cuts. He voted against eliminating the death tax forever. . . . I believe in pushing taxes down."
The McCain campaign responded by noting that a Boston Globe poll published yesterday showed McCain surging into a virtual tie with Romney just two weeks before voting begins in the Granite State.
"Welcome to Mitt Romney's bizarro world, in which everyone is guilty of his sins," said McCain adviser Mark Salter. "He didn't support Ronald Reagan. He didn't support President Bush's tax cuts. He raised taxes in Massachusetts by $700 million. He knows John McCain is gaining on him so he does what any small-varmint gun totin', civil rights marching, NRA endorsed fantasy candidate would do: He questions someone else's credibility. New Hampshire is on to you, Mitt. Give it a rest. It's Christmas."
The poll showed McCain has the support of 25 percent of likely Republican voters in the Jan. 8 primary, compared with 28 percent for Romney. Former mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York has fallen into third place, with 14 percent. A Globe poll of New Hampshire voters last month had Romney at 32 percent, Giuliani at 20 percent, and McCain at 17 percent.
Romney's wife, Ann, warmed up the audience with a Christmas story. She told voters that the couple went to church yesterday morning and heard a 12-year-old boy deliver a minisermon, saying the best gift he could give Jesus would be the gift of gratitude.
Ann Romney said she was touched. "No matter what faith tradition we come from this is a time of year that we can contemplate and think about what it is we are grateful for," she said. "And for me, I think about my family . . . and beyond that I think about this country. I am so grateful for this country. I love it."
Perhaps the most emotional moment of yesterday's "Ask Mitt Anything" event came when a young woman told Romney that her husband was preparing to deploy for Iraq for the third time. She asked Romney what he would do differently in Iraq. But first the audience of about 200 stood and applauded the woman.
"Thank you for your sacrifice, this time of year," Romney told her. He then said he backs the plan by General David Petraeus, the top commander of US forces in Iraq, to begin withdrawing about a brigade a month starting next month.
"I believe that what's happening right now is the right course," Romney said.
Romney, who will take the next two days off for Christmas, delivered closing remarks yesterday that echoed his main themes. He said he wants to strengthen the military, lower taxes, and support families.
"I will fight to keep America strong, and if you go out and vote for me a few times, I can get that done," he said.
Behind the scenes, Romney's team shrugged off a stinging anti-endorsement published by the Concord Monitor. In its Sunday editions, the Monitor editorial board said the former Massachusetts governor "surely must be stopped" because he lacks core beliefs and shifts on issues.
"When New Hampshire partisans are asked to defend the state's first-in-the-nation primary, we talk about our ability to see the candidates up close, ask tough questions and see through the baloney. If a candidate is a phony, we assure ourselves and the rest of the world, we'll know it," the editorial said.
"Mitt Romney is such a candidate," it said. "New Hampshire Republicans and independents must vote no."
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