STRATHAM, N.H. - After stressing social issues such as his opposition to abortion and gay rights in Iowa, Mitt Romney said yesterday that he is finding his voice in New Hampshire as a champion of lower taxes and change in Washington.
But with the primary today, he said the worry is that it took him too long to find his message, and that not enough voters have heard his call.
"There's not a lot of time left and, given an extra couple of weeks, that message could be brought home," a somewhat rueful Romney told reporters after speaking to employees at Timberland headquarters.
"You know, it's an unusual experience running for president," he added. "Haven't done it before, and as time has gone on, the most salient messages that I'm trying to get through, I'm able to do a better job delivering."
Nonetheless, Romney said, "I think the message of my campaign is increasingly penetrating, particularly here among the voters of New Hampshire."
Romney has talked about change before. In February, he launched his campaign at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan to showcase his message of innovation. This fall, he used the slogan "change begins with us." But the theme was often lost as Romney emphasized his positions on social issues to court the conservative Republicans who dominate the Iowa caucuses.
After he lost to Mike Huckabee Thursday in Iowa, Romney dramatically overhauled his stump speech to emphasize his private-sector experience and his ability to "fix Washington." In a two-minute ad that aired on New Hampshire television stations last night, he told voters that he is the outsider who can finally solve problems with schools, healthcare, immigration, and energy policy.
Romney said yesterday that those themes feel like a more natural fit.
"I remember when I first got in the race, someone said to me, 'You will, as the process goes on, find your voice more and more,' and there's no question a year from now my stump speech will be better than it is today," he said. "And I've learned through the process. My earliest stump speeches were perhaps the least effective."
He said he was gaining on John McCain - who led Romney 31 percent to 26 percent in a CNN/WMUR tracking poll in New Hampshire released yesterday and 34 percent to 27 percent in a new Fox News poll - in part because of Sunday night's debate. During the debate, Romney repeatedly assailed McCain for his opposition to President Bush's tax cuts and his support for a bill that would have given the nation's approximately 12 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
"My wife told me I did real well last night, and if that's the case, we could be closing that gap and perhaps surging ahead," Romney said. "I certainly hope so, in the waning hours. "
He said a McCain loss in New Hampshire would doom the senator's bid for the White House.
"I think it would probably end Senator McCain's campaign if he was unsuccessful here," Romney said. "This is the state where he won in 2000 - handily won in 2000. He has an organization here. He has a network here."
Romney also tamped down expectations for his own campaign, saying he would soldier on even if he lost New Hampshire. His aides were already telling reporters that they would accept a first- or second-place finish.
"This is not a one- or two-state campaign," Romney said. "This is a 50-state campaign."
He also contended, as he has since Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses, that it would be disastrous if McCain were to face Obama in a general election.
