CHARLOTTE – Mitt Romney has a compelling story to tell. As it happens, his confident delivery and authoritative personality could probably make a DVD manual sound compelling. Put the message and the messenger together, and you likely have one of the Republican Party’s strongest contenders for the 2008 presidential nomination.
Not that the Massachusetts governor, in North Carolina Monday for appearances in Raleigh and Charlotte, was talking much about his future plans. Indeed, when asked at the Charlotte event, held at the historic Duke Mansion, whether he had thought about it, Romney denied interest in any subject other than “helping people” in his state. It was the only false note – let’s face reality, here – in a highly effective performance before a mixed crowd of Democratic and Republican business executives and civic leaders.
Sen. Robert Pittenger, the two-term Mecklenburg Republican with a penchant for telling uncomfortable truths to the political establishment in Raleigh, put together Romney’s Tar Heel Tour via his Foundation for North Carolina’s Future. At the Charlotte event, Pittenger was introduced by former Gov. Jim Martin, who seemed a little less spry than usual (afterwards, I checked the AP wire and figured out why). Pittenger warmed up the crowd with tales of North Carolina’s fiscal irresponsibility – a perfect prelude to Romney’s account of his own confrontation with budget deficits.
In North Carolina, Gov. Mike Easley and a modestly Democratic legislature chose to enact billions of dollars in higher taxes. In Massachusetts, Gov. Romney and a far-more-Democratic legislature chose a different course: transforming a $3 billion+ deficit into a surplus without enacting any significant tax increases. Could that possibly be true in notorious “Taxachusetts”? Sure. The term doesn’t really fit anymore, anyway, since North Carolina’s tax burden has been higher than Massachusetts for some years.
Romney talked about eliminating redundant departments and agencies. He talked about changing incentives to discourage people from applying for public assistance, rather than encouraging them to do so. He discussed the consolidation of state buildings and judicial administration. Mostly, he talked about leadership.
Mindful to stay as much as possible within the evening’s theme of fiscal matters, Romney spoke only briefly – but movingly – about the nation’s war on Islamofascist terrorism and the economic challenges posed by Asian business competitors. I liked the use of the term “challenges” rather than “problems” or “crises,” by the way, as Romney exuded a sunny, Reagan-esque optimism about the rise of Asia and the benefits it would confer on Asians and the rest of the world. There’s nothing wrong with the Chinese and Indians “raising the bar,” and there’s nothing stopping Americans from meeting the challenge through better education and higher productivity, he said.
It’s too early to tell what issues will shape the 2008 presidential race. Romney lacks significant foreign-policy or military experience, though his rhetoric was certainly effective on the subject. His religion and views on social issues may also prove significant. But here’s betting that if Republicans, tired of the Bush administration’s inability to control federal spending, are looking for a leader on tax and spending issues two years from now, Romney could well be by then a leading candidate for the top job.
Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation.