Romney Tracker

Romney: Economic Focus that Won in Michigan Can Play in the South

By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

Mitt Romney on Wednesday swapped talk of resurrecting the auto industry that helped him in Michigan with a pledge to pay attention to textile and other industrial job losses that have punished the South.

"You've seen it here, in furniture. You've seen the textile industry, where Washington watched, saw the jobs go and go," the Republican presidential contender told a group of senior citizens at the Sun City Hilton Head Retirement Center.

"I'm not willing to declare defeat on any industry where we can be competitive. I'm going to fight for every job," Romney said.

Later, during a news conference, the former Massachusetts governor acknowledged he may not always be successful, but he renewed his Rust Belt criticism of rival John McCain for suggesting some automotive jobs will not be replaced.

The Arizona senator has suggested Romney is pandering for votes and ignoring the realities of the global economy.

"Can I guarantee that we'll be able to protect every industry and every job and be successful keeping every job?" Romney said to reporters. "I don't think any person can make that guarantee. But I can guarantee that I'll fight and do my best."

South Carolina votes Saturday, and Romney's trip south inspired a reassessment of his victory a night earlier in Michigan. That was the state where he was born, Romney's father served as governor for three terms and where Romney himself pledged to do more than any other candidate to reduce the state's nation-leading 7.4 percent unemployment rate.

On Monday at the Detroit Economic Club, Romney told industry titans they should support their native son because, "I've got Michigan in my DNA, I've got it in my heart and I've got cars in my bloodstream."

On Wednesday in South Carolina, Romney made his victory sound like it had been a longshot.

"I hadn't lived in Michigan since 1965, and so it had been a long time, but there were deep thoughts and memories that came from that Great Lakes state," he said.

The South Carolina primary represents the first time that the Romney camp faces something other than first-place expectations. The former Massachusetts governor had predicated his campaign strategy on early wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, with a firewall of protection in Michigan, where he was born.

Second-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire triggered questions about Romney's electability, while a win in between in the Wyoming caucuses was largely greeted with a yawn. In Michigan on Tuesday, Romney was cast as a candidate on the rebound for finally winning a state where he was expected to do well.

Romney sought to drop his campaign's already-low expectations even further.

"This is a state, I suspect, Sen. McCain has pretty well wrapped up, and so I'm going to spend time here to try to strengthen my position, but I'm also going to spending time in Nevada and spending time in Florida," he said.

He noted that Nevada is offering more delegates than South Carolina, 31 to 24. Additionally, 1,038 delegates will be up for grabs on Feb. 5 when 24 states vote.

Romney Wins Michigan GOP Primary, Sets up Scramble of Winners in South Carolina

Mitt Romney scored his first major primary victory Tuesday, a desperately needed win in his native Michigan that gave his weakened presidential candidacy new life. It set the stage for a wide-open Republican showdown in South Carolina in just four days.

Three GOP candidates now have won in the first four states to vote in the 2008 primary season, roiling a nomination fight that lacks a clear favorite as the race moves south for the first time.

The former Massachusetts governor defeated John McCain, the Arizona senator who was hoping that independents and Democrats would join Republicans to help him repeat his 2000 triumph here. Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, trailed in third, and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson is making a last stand in South Carolina.

"It's a victory of optimism over Washington-style pessimism," Romney said in an Associated Press telephone interview from Southfield, Mich., echoing his campaign speeches and taking a poke at McCain, the four-term senator he beat. "Now on to South Carolina, Nevada, Florida."

Minimizing the significance of Tuesday's vote, McCain said he had called Romney to congratulate him "that Michigan welcomed their native son with their support."

"Starting tomorrow, we're going to win South Carolina, and we're going to go on and win the nomination," McCain declared, also in an AP interview from Charleston, S.C.

Huckabee, too, already campaigning in the next primary state, predicted in Lexington, S.C., he would "put a flag in the ground here Saturday." He also jabbed at Romney, who has poured at least $20 million of his personal fortune into his bid: "We need to prove that electing a president is not just about how much money a candidate has."

In Michigan, with most precincts reporting, Romney had 39 percent of the vote, McCain had 30 percent and Huckabee 16 percent. No other Republican fared better than single digits.

Previously, Huckabee had won leadoff Iowa, and McCain had taken New Hampshire. Romney won scarcely contested Wyoming.

Hillary Rodham Clinton was the only top contender on the Democratic ballot Tuesday. With most precincts counted, she had 56 percent of the vote to 39 percent for uncommitted delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Romney's ties to Michigan proved beneficial.

Four in 10 voters said his roots factored into their decisions, and 58 percent of that group backed him, according to preliminary results from surveys of voters as they left their polling places, taken for The AP and the networks. He also led among voters who said the economy (42 percent) and illegal immigration (39 percent) were their most important issues, and won the most Republicans (41 percent), conservatives (41 percent), evangelicals (34 percent) and voters looking for a candidate with experience (52 percent) or shared their values (37 percent).

McCain had an edge with those who wanted an authentic president (43 percent), and he won among moderates (40 percent), independents (35 percent) and Democrats. But fewer non-Republican voters participated in the GOP primary this year than in 2000 when those voters helped him beat George W. Bush. Independents and Democrats accounted for roughly one-third of the vote, compared with about one half eight years ago.

Romney had a slight edge over McCain as the candidate likeliest to bring needed change, 32 percent to 28 percent.

The economy proved the most important issue for Republicans in Michigan, the state with the highest unemployment rate in the nation and an ailing auto industry. Given four choices, 55 percent of Michigan Republican primary voters picked the economy as the most important issue, while 17 percent picked Iraq, 13 percent immigration and 11 percent terrorism.

A mere 20 percent or less of eligible voters were expected to show up at polling stations across frigid and snowy Michigan, the turnout depressed in part by the Democratic race of little to no consequence.

For Republicans, the stakes varied.

Of the three candidates competing hard here, Romney needed a Michigan victory the most to invigorate a campaign crippled by searing losses in Iowa and New Hampshire. He was the only one who watched the voting returns in Michigan; his top Michigan opponents, McCain and Huckabee, campaigned in the state earlier in the day but left by afternoon to plant themselves in next-up South Carolina.

Up for grabs in Michigan were 30 Republican delegates.

Romney campaigned in the state far more than his rivals and spent more than $2 million in TV ads in Michigan, nearly three times what McCain did, according to an analysis of presidential advertising by the nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network. McCain paid for more than $740,00 in ads and Huckabee spent more than $480,000.

A muddle from the start, the GOP race has grown ever more fluid as the first states voted over the past two weeks.

Romney was second to Huckabee in the Iowa caucuses and to McCain in New Hampshire's primary while Huckabee dropped to third. Thompson is camping out in South Carolina looking for his first win. Rudy Giuliani is doing the same in Florida, which votes Jan. 29.

The former New York mayor got only 3 percent of the Michigan vote, trailing Thompson and Texas Rep. Ron Paul as well as the top three, and he hasn't fared better than fourth in any of the states so far. Yet, the fractured GOP field plays into his strategy of lying in wait -- and making his move -- in Florida in the run-up to Feb. 5 when some two dozen states vote.

Romney was born and raised in Michigan, and his late father, George, was head of American Motors and a three-term governor in the 1960s. The younger Romney announced his presidential candidacy in the state a year ago.

McCain had a built-in advantage of his own. He won the state's primary eight years ago on the strength of independent and Democratic-crossover voters, and he still had a network of hard-core backers. Six months after his campaign nearly collapsed, he now leads national polls.

Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, had hoped to stage a surprise finish with the support of Christian evangelicals who live in the more conservative, western part of the state. With his populist pitch, Huckabee also wanted to do well in Reagan Republican country outside of Detroit.

The economy dominated the weeklong Michigan campaign. The state has been reeling from the U.S. auto industry's downturn and has the nation's highest unemployment rate at 7.4 percent.

Michigan doesn't typically hold its primary until February but state party officials scheduled it earlier to try to give the state more say in picking a president. The Republican National Committee objected and cut the number of Michigan delegates to the national convention by half as punishment while the Democratic National Committee stripped the state of all 156 delegates to its national convention, including 28 superdelegates who would not have been bound by the outcome of the primary.

Liz Sidoti reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jim Kuhnhenn and Alan Fram in Washington, Libby Quaid in Warren, Mich.; David Eggert in Traverse City, Mich., and Sara Kugler in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., contributed to this report.

AP Interview: Romney Proclaims win "Victory of Optimism"

By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

Republican Mitt Romney cast his win in the Michigan primary as "a victory of optimism over Washington-style pessimism," setting the stage for a nomination battle with John McCain and others now likely to extend through the Super Tuesday contests on Feb. 5.

"The people of Michigan said they believe in someone who is going to fight for them," the Michigan native told The Associated Press Tuesday in a telephone interview. "I'm obviously very, very pleased. Now, on to South Carolina, Nevada, Florida. This campaign is going to go to all 50 states."

Romney and his staff were most pleased with exit polls showing his big advantage among Republicans in Michigan, whose votes far outnumbered the independents and Democrats who could participate in either of Michigan's primaries. Those voters preferred McCain, but Romney argued that it is the GOP that will ultimately decide the party's nominee.

"Tonight marks the beginning of a comeback, a comeback for America," he said in a victory speech that stomped over McCain, who had begun addressing his supporters moments earlier. TV coverage quickly switched from South Carolina, where McCain was, to Michigan.

The win was a needed elixir for the former Massachusetts governor who, while performing well, had faced questions about its national viability.

Romney finished second to Mike Huckabee in the Iowa caucuses and McCain in the New Hampshire primary, despite heavy campaigning and $7 million of advertising in each state.

Doubts generated by those losses carried over to Friday, when anemic crowds greeted Romney upon his return to Michigan following a debate in South Carolina.

Yet over the weekend, an invigorated candidate stoked his home state's concerns, pledging to pay better attention to Michigan's ailing economy than any of his rivals, and chiding McCain after the Arizona senator said some of the auto industry's lost jobs would never be recovered.

"I come from a good line of Romneys who care about people," he said Saturday in Traverse City.

Romney also played a sentimental card, traveling to Lansing to pose beneath the portrait of his father, George Romney, who served as Michigan's governor from 1963 to 1969.

In addition, he dragged his first-grade teacher over to speak to reporters at a campaign stop, toured the Detroit auto show, as he did with his father 50 years ago, and told tales of summer vacations in the north country and meeting his wife, Ann, at a high school party.

Tactically, Romney relocated more than a dozen senior staffers to Michigan to assist the local campaign staff.

"This is the day that's going to change, I believe, the politics of our nation as we get ready to select our nominee," Romney said Tuesday as he kicked off primary day with a rally in Grand Rapids, a GOP stronghold.

After the results came in, he told the AP: "It's a victory of optimism over Washington-style pessimism. The people of Michigan said they believe in someone who is going to fight for them."

Romney's focus on Michigan was the first test of a strategic shift his campaign plans to follow for the remainder of the nominating contest.

While Romney initially envisioned a 50-state campaign launched by wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, the questions he got for second-place finishes in each contest, as well as the dearth of criticism McCain, Huckabee and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani received for picking and choosing between the contests, prompted him to scale back and concentrate on a state-by-state effort.

Romney pulled back his television ads in South Carolina and Florida, reallocated the money to Michigan, and instead of the negative, comparative spots he used to pound Huckabee in Iowa and McCain in New Hampshire, he relied on a commercial showing him with his late father. Another featured a former colleague paying tribute to Romney's help in the search for his lost daughter.

All told, the multi-millionaire spent more than $2 million on ads in the state, again the most of the Republican field.

Romney was headed to South Carolina on Wednesday for a day-and-a-half of campaigning, before decamping to Nevada. Both states vote Jan. 19, and while Romney has trailed in South Carolina polling, he has been the only GOP candidate to pay attention to Nevada. Those facts prompted his staff to focus where it had the greatest potential for victory.

Going forward, Romney is targeting Florida, which votes Jan. 29, as well as the numerous states voting on Feb. 5, when 1,038 delegates will be awarded in caucuses and primaries from coast to coast. Giuliani has essentially skipped all the early contests to focus on Florida and the Feb. 5 states.

Associated Press Writer Liz Sidoti contributed to this report from Washington.

Romney Grabs Lead in Mich. Delegates

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has won 23 delegates in Michigan's Republican primary, giving him the overall lead among Republican candidates, an Associated Press analysis of primary results shows. Sen. John McCain won six delegates and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won one.

All 30 of Michigan's Republican delegates have been allocated. The national party stripped Michigan of half its delegates to the national convention for violating party rules by holding its primary before Feb. 5.

Overall, Romney has 42 delegates from the first four contests, followed by Huckabee with 32 and McCain with 13. A total of 1,191 delegates are needed to secure the Republican nomination.

On the Democratic side, the national party stripped Michigan of all its delegates for holding the primary before Feb. 5.

In the overall race for the nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton leads with 187 delegates, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as superdelegates. She is followed by Sen. Barack Obama with 89 delegates and former Sen. John Edwards with 50.

A total of 2,025 delegates are needed to secure the Democratic nomination.

Romney Gets Hero's Welcome on Return to Michigan

By GLEN JOHNSON
AP Political Writer

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.

Romney Pledges Long Fight for GOP Nomination

By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

Mitt Romney pledged a long fight for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, despite finishing second to John McCain in the New Hampshire primary after posting another second-place finish to Mike Huckabee in the Iowa caucuses.

In between was a weekend win for Romney in the Wyoming caucuses, which the former Massachusetts governor said was testimony to his 50-state strategy.

"There have been three races so far. I've gotten two silvers and one gold -- thank-you Wyoming," Romney said in a spartan seven-minute address conceding the race.

"On to Michigan and South Carolina and Florida and Nevada," Romney added. "I'll fight to be back here in November in those states and others."

Earlier in the day, the former Massachusetts governor said he expected the nomination fight to continue through Feb. 5, when 22 states vote. "I don't think the Republican Party wants to have only one person in this contest until the very end. I expect to be one of the two that's in it to the very end," he said.

During the final 24 hours of the New Hampshire campaign, Romney and his aides largely shed their recent inhibitions, openly predicting a come-from-behind-victory against McCain. They claimed independents were breaking their way based on Romney's performance in a pair of weekend debates.

Nonetheless, Romney chided McCain and Huckabee for cherry-picking contests, with Huckabee having focused on Iowa while McCain focused on New Hampshire. Romney spent more than $7 million on advertising in each state, and held as many, if not more, events in both places than any of his GOP rivals.

He conceded the primary to McCain in a phone call placed less than 20 minutes after the polls closed, said Romney spokesman Kevin Madden.

Madden said "we were running essentially against an incumbent here," referring to McCain's 19-point victory in the 2000 GOP primary.

Romney, 60, is a former venture capitalist who made hundreds of millions before taking over the scandal-ridden 2002 Winter Olympic Games and returning them to profitability. He failed in his first bid for elective office, a 1994 effort to oust Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. But in 2002 he rode his wave of Olympic glory to a four-year term as the Bay State's governor.

A Mormon, Romney aggressively courted Christian conservatives -- some of whom consider Mormons members of a cult -- and in doing so brought the issue to the fore in the 2008 campaign.

Romney traveled to the George Bush Presidential Library in Texas last month to deliver a speech spelling out his views on faith in American politics.

Interviews Tuesday with voters exiting their polling places showed that about a fifth of New Hampshire GOP voters said they were born again or evangelical voters, compared to the six in 10 who said so in last week's Iowa Republican caucuses and boosted Huckabee to victory there.

Most New Hampshire Republicans said the top quality they were seeking in a candidate was someone who shared their values and is authentic. Romney was the big leader among those naming values, McCain among those seeking a candidate who says what he believes. About a quarter named experience, an area where McCain had a slight edge.

McCain was viewed as the strongest leader and most qualified to be commander-in-chief.

Romney, who aired ads critical of Huckabee and McCain in Iowa and New Hampshire, was seen more than the others as having waged a negative campaign, the exit survey found.

New Hampshire was a pivotal state for Romney, who predicated his campaign on starting fast with wins here and in Iowa and using that momentum to steamroll his opponents in later contests in Michigan -- his birth state -- and South Carolina, Florida and the two dozen states voting on Feb. 5.

Romney warned Republicans that with Barack Obama surging against veteran senators on the Democratic side, Republicans would make a mistake to nominate another Senate veteran in McCain.

"I don't have years and years of favors I have to repay, lobbyists who've raised all sorts of money for me, deals I've worked out in the cloak room," he told New Hampshire voters. "I come in from the outside."

McCain, Romney Battle in NH Stretch

By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

Mitt Romney and John McCain sparred Sunday over their tax and spending records and who was a better agent for change, in the second Republican debate of the final weekend before the New Hampshire primary.

"You have a choice," Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, said after ticking off his accomplishments in office. "You can select somebody who wants to fight for those things, or you can select somebody who's actually done those things."

McCain, a senator from Arizona, listed the pork-barrel spending he has exposed, as well as an Air Force tanker contract he squashed. "I think it was a reason why I wasn't elected Miss Congeniality in the Senate," McCain said. "I have a record of saving billions of dollars."

Wide open and intense, the race for the Republican nomination has gotten ever tighter ahead of Tuesday's voting. A new USA Today/Gallup poll showed the lead for Republican race within the margin of error in New Hampshire.

McCain had the support of 34 percent of likely voters, up from 27 percent in mid-December. Romney was at 30 percent, down from 34 percent, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee -- the Iowa caucus winner -- was third at 13 percent. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had 8 percent, while former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson was in the low single digits.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas -- who had 8 percent -- was excluded from the debate by the sponsor, Fox News Channel, and the New Hampshire Republican Party dropped out of the forum to protest the exclusion.

The stakes this week are especially high for both McCain and Romney.

Romney, who pinned his presidential bid on using momentum from big wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, needs a victory to prove his candidacy isn't crippled after an Iowa drubbing. McCain has put all his focus on a New Hampshire victory that would repeat his success here eight years ago.

Earlier Sunday, McCain declared, "I will win," while Romney hedged.

"I'm planning on winning in New Hampshire," the former governor said, but he added, "It may not happen."

Huckabee also downplayed his own prospects but said: "We're going to do better than expected."

Later, sitting elbow-to-elbow in a studio on the campus of St. Anselm College, Romney and McCain renewed a debate they have been conducting at long distance about who is better equipped to bring change to Washington.

Citing his record as a venture capitalist, Olympics CEO and governor, Romney said, "I've been in the economy. I've been in the real world."

McCain said: "I led the largest squadron in the U.S. Navy, not for profit but for patriotism."

Thompson jumped into the exchange, mocking Romney for saying the next president did not have to be a foreign policy expert so long as he was a good manager.

"My friend Mitt thinks expertise is important in all areas except national security," he said with a sly smile.

Thompson and Giuliani also scoffed at the notion that change should dominate the political debate -- as Thompson noted, just because Iowans said so in their caucuses last week.

Giuliani added, "Change is a slogan, and the examination has to be is it change for good or change for bad?"

Romney and Huckabee had several prickly exchanges.

At one point, Romney asked Huckabee a question as the former governor was responding to one posed by moderator Chris Wallace. Huckabee said he preferred to speak through the moderator.

Romney also prodded Huckabee about whether spending had increased during his decade as governor of Arkansas.

"You make up facts faster than you can talk sometimes," Romney said as Huckabee avoided giving a direct answer.

Huckabee said: "I had a court order that said we had to improve education."

Projecting confidence, McCain proclaimed in a TV interview: "I will win" the primary. Underscoring how much is at stake in New Hampshire, he added that victory is "vital" to his candidacy.

Later on his campaign bus, McCain qualified his prediction of a New Hampshire victory. "I believe I will win, but a lot of things can happen between now and Tuesday when the polls close," McCain said, adding that many New Hampshire Republicans still haven't decided whom to support.

Huckabee spoke of "a brotherhood" of sorts with McCain, fueled by Romney's criticism.

"We have both been brutally assaulted by Governor Romney with amazingly misleading ads that attacked and distorted and misrepresented our records, Romney attacking me in Iowa, attacking him in New Hampshire," the former governor said.

At the same time, Huckabee, who has styled himself as a straight-shooting candidate, confronted his own string of inconsistencies, including recent ones on the troop increase strategy in Iraq, the Writers Guild Strike and gambling.

"People are going to go through and nitpick. And that's fine," he said. "But I'll tell you why we won Iowa. We won Iowa because people believed that there was a need for somebody who had clarity in his positions. And I've stuck by those positions."

He said he hasn't changed his positions on gun rights, life issues, family values and President Bush's tax cuts. He said he had made some verbal slips but "I think most of us do, especially if we talk as much as politicians do."

Associated Press writers Liz Sidoti, Libby Quaid and Philip Elliott contributed to this report.

Romney Grabs 'Change' Theme in New Hampshire

By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

Republican Mitt Romney, trying to prevent a potentially crippling New Hampshire primary loss, cast himself as a change agent Saturday as he tried to repel rival John McCain and answer Iowa caucus voters who showed they have tired of the status quo in Washington.

Noting that freshman Sen. Barack Obama beat Hillary Rodham Clinton, a second-term senator and former first lady, Romney said Iowans "wanted to see someone who said they would do something new and change Washington."

He said Republicans had better take note "or the same thing that happened to Hillary Clinton will happen to our nominee. And we cannot afford Barack Obama as our next president. He's a very nice fellow. He's a well-spoken fellow. But he's never done it. It's one thing to say it; it's another thing to do it."

Around the room were other emblems of the newly embraced change theme.

"Washington is broken" read a banner freshly erected at Romney's first event of the day, a town hall meeting in a school theater. Campaign staff trained a spotlight on the banner to enhance its visibility.

Another none-too-subtle banner was an 11-item "To Do" list beginning with "Make American Safer" and ending with "Put people ahead of selfish interest." He said the "customers," or American people, can add more throughout the campaign.

While Romney has cast himself as a political outsider throughout his campaign, the theme has been overshadowed by his aggressive courting of social and fiscal conservatives.

That, in turn, has triggered questions about his authenticity amid a flip-flop on abortion rights and a change in emphasis on his views about gay rights, tax policy and other issues important to conservative voters pivotal in GOP primaries.

Following a second-place finish in Thursday's caucuses to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and confronted with a surging McCain here in the first primary state, Romney is trying to answer with an emphasis on perhaps his greatest strength: his personal resume.

GOP rivals McCain, Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani were also campaigning in New Hampshire Saturday.

Romney now is highlighting how he has spent much of his life as a change agent -- whether as a businessman, Olympics CEO or Massachusetts governor.

"If you want to see change in Washington, it's going to take somebody going there who knows how to change things," he said Friday night in Manchester, just hours after he and his staff decided to shift emphasis.

Romney recalled how he launched his campaign last February at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., in large part because it is a temple of innovation.

"I wanted the symbolism of change to be part of my campaign," he said.

He went on to highlight how, as a venture capitalist, he helped finance the start of Staples, which shifted how consumers buy their office supplies.

"I was part of that, I saw that firsthand, experienced it. I see how change can change an industry," Romney said.

Similarly, Romney went to Salt Lake City to resurrect the 2002 Winter Olympic Games following a bid-rigging scandal.

"You know how much I knew about sporting events? Not much. You know, I'd gone to some. What did I know about running an Olympics? But what I did know was how to take on tough problems and create change," he said.

Romney also recalled how, as a Republican governor in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, he nonetheless worked with the Legislature to pass a universal health care law.

"After all the years, all the governors, all the politicians talking about health care -- Hillary Clinton talking about her health care plan years ago -- they talk and talk, it doesn't happen," Romney said. "If you get me, you may not get something perfect, but I will get the job done. We'll get Washington off the dime. We'll take on the big problems that America faces."

The McCain campaign sloughed off the statements, noting that in 2002, when McCain campaigned for Romney, he declared that McCain "has always stood for reform and change."

McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said: "It is laughable that Mitt Romney would think anyone buys his latest act as an agent of change -- the only thing he's ever changed are his positions on nearly every important issue. John McCain's record as a reformer and an agent for change in Washington stands second to none."

Romney Seeks Rebound in New Hampshire

By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney reached into the sports metaphor closet Friday as he sought to give perspective to an Iowa caucus loss that put added pressure on him to win next week's New Hampshire primary.

"This is still a nice, long process here," he told about 150 campaign workers who defied frigid temperatures and the 3 a.m. hour to greet his plane as it returned from the Midwest. "We've had, if you will, the first inning of a game that has, let's say, 50 innings in it."

The businessman-turned-politician promised to rebound by selling voters on his outsider image and pledge to replace partisan bickering in Washington with government productivity.

He made several veiled jabs at Sen. John McCain, a congressional veteran who is challenging Romney's longstanding lead in New Hampshire.

"I want to go to Washington to bring the kind of can-do, change experience that I've had everywhere I've been," he said. "I changed a business. I helped change the Olympics. I helped change a state, and I'm going to change Washington. We're going to take it apart, put it back together again, this time smarter, smaller and simpler."

The former Massachusetts governor, who spent more time and money in Iowa than his rivals, was upset by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a late-blooming challenger who ultimately became a target of Romney's negative advertising.

During the past two months, Romney surrendered a double-digit lead in the polls, in part on the strength of Christian conservative support for Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist minister. Romney, trying to become the first Mormon president, has faced questions from some evangelicals who consider his faith a cult.

Romney has spent the past year hoping to follow an Iowa caucus win with a knockout blow in the New Hampshire primary, but even Huckabee -- the Iowa winner -- said winning both would be a challenge.

"I think it's be a little bold to say, `Oh, we're going to win New Hampshire,'" Huckabee told reporters as he also flew from Iowa to New Hampshire. "We're probably not, although crazier things could happen. In the short period of time, the likelihood is that McCain will win. He's got a longstanding organization there, and it makes sense."

Romney's concession speech was preceded by an introduction by Dan Jansen, the speed skater who competed in four Olympic Games before winning a gold medal.

Again, seeking a parallel in sports, Romney said, "Well, we won the silver and congratulations to Gov. Huckabee for winning the gold. Nice job."

He added: "You win the silver in one event, it doesn't mean you're not going to come back and win the gold in the final event, and that we're going to do."

Romney's ads, criticizing Huckabee's pardons for prisoners and his position on illegal immigration, backfired with some Iowa caucus-goers.

"I was a Romney supporter, and then when the whole issue of pardons came up, I first was against Huckabee but then went back to him when I did more research and learned the full reasons why he released some people," said Colleen Vangore, 45, of Clive, Iowa. "I felt that if Romney didn't tell me the whole story on that, there might be other things he wouldn't tell me the whole story on."

Romney addressed hundreds at Vangore's caucus site and insisted he was in the race for the long haul.

"I hope Iowans makes a really powerful choice, and if you select me, I think I'll go on to become the nominee," he quipped. "If you don't, well, I'll still go on to become the nominee."

More than half of GOP voters said they were born again or evangelical Christians, and nearly half of them supported Huckabee, according to entrance interviews by The Associated Press and the television networks. Romney led among non-evangelical voters by 2-to-1 or more.

The voting in Iowa came exactly one year after Romney ended his only term in elective office, four years as governor of Massachusetts.

A multimillionaire who made his fortune as a venture capitalist, Romney spent about $7 million on ads in Iowa, compared to $1.4 million for Huckabee. He also raised and spent the most of any GOP contender, including at least $17 million of the fortune he built during a 20-plus year career as a businessman.

Romney Presents Contrasting Styles

By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer

In a grudge match before next week's presidential caucuses, Republican Mitt Romney played it safe Saturday with a series of quick coffee-shop stops where he delivered a final pitch that was long on Iowa platitudes but short on substance.

The former Massachusetts governor's brief remarks -- filled with storytelling, chitchat and bullet points of his agenda -- belied the cutthroat nature of the GOP race and contrasted sharply with his hard-hitting television ads against rivals Mike Huckabee and John McCain.

"My vision for America is an optimistic one. I've brought change to what I've touched before. I'll bring change to Washington. I will also strengthen the American family," Romney said at every appearance, presenting his closing argument five days before voting.

Romney's strategy calls for winning early contests. But he's fighting to move past Huckabee, the come-from-behind former Arkansas governor leading in Iowa polls, and he's running a commercial questioning whether Huckabee is "ready to make tough decision" and calling him soft on spending, immigration, crime and foreign policy.

In next-up New Hampshire, Romney's campaign announced Saturday that it was airing a second ad in as many days taking McCain to task on immigration. The Arizona senator is gaining on Romney, who has an edge in state polls.

Nevertheless, the blistering criticism Romney has doled out to his rivals in recent weeks gave way Saturday to happy talk and voter contact in Iowa. He ignored his GOP opponents.

But Huckabee wasn't in a forgetting or forgiving frame of mind. Speaking in Osceloa, he denounced political attack ads, saying voters want a president who will tell them what he would do if elected. He criticized attack ads aimed at him, saying, "If I believed half of that stuff, I wouldn't vote for myself." He singled out Romney, saying "Mitt doesn't have anything to stand on except to stand against."

Jay Sekulow, a lawyer at the American Center for Law and Justice and a Romney backer who was traveling with the candidate Saturday, argued: "What some are calling a negative campaign, is really contrast."

Seeking for him to reach as many people as possible, Romney's campaign packed his schedule with six public events from the Midtown Cafe in Newton to the Smokey Row Coffee House in Oskaloosa.

"No one votes for yesterday. We vote for tomorrow. Elections are about the future. Our future, our family's future, our nation's future," Romney proclaimed at each stop. He said the coming years will be determined by how the country tackles challenges before it -- radical violent Jihadists, energy, health care, education, immigration, globalization.

He shook dozens of hands but didn't take questions from his audiences at his first three events. Aides also weren't eager to make the candidate available to a throng of reporters traveling with him. Instead, aides offered up two surrogates for interviews. The campaign sought to keep Romney on message and was mindful that an overworked candidate could be prone to campaign-damaging gaffes in the homestretch.

Thus, the day largely amounted to mini made-for-TV pep rallies.

Romney, going casual in a blue shirt without a tie, recalled how his son Josh traveled to all the state's counties in a Winnebago after a promise that Romney's wife, Ann, made to Iowans. "She didn't know there were 99 counties in Iowa," Romney cracked.

"I have been all over Iowa," Romney told the crowd. "I've had over 200 events with Iowa voters like this. Two hundred. So people are bored to tears when they see me."

It was a joke, and the crowd obliged with laughter.

At another point, Romney mistakenly said: "I won't remember my friends here in Iowa, you've been an inspiration to me and to Ann ..."

Standing next to him, his wife interrupted: "You said you won't remember Iowans?"

"I said I won't forget. I'm often corrected," Romney said good-naturedly. "This is good! This is like spell check right here!"

"I won't forget to remember. I'll remember all my friends here in Iowa," he said, telling Ann "thanks, Sweetie."

The Sonny and Cher schtick played well with the crowd, but it and Romney's 11th-hour pitch didn't go over well with some.

"I thought I would hear what he's going to do for the country," grumbled Geoff Lindsay of Des Moines, a former Marine who served in Iraq. "Instead, I got a radio ad." His wife, Heidi, agreed: "I didn't hear much but one-liners."

The 25-year-olds are registered Republicans but haven't decided who to back in the caucuses.