Mitt Romney has
staked his political comeback in New Hampshire's primary
Tuesday on the strength of his resume -- success in
business, fixing a troubled Olympics, turning a budget
deficit into a surplus in neighboring Massachusetts.
It is a late
gamble that may prove a better bet than the policy positions
that exposed him time and again to charges of flip-flopping,
opportunism, and a distinct lack of authenticity.
Romney, who had
adopted the preferred Republican position on abortion
rights, gay rights, and embryonic stem cell research
regardless of his past views on those hot-button
issues, decided all that paled in comparison to
something he did not have to finesse: his record.
On Friday night
in Manchester and then on Saturday in Derry and Sunday in
Nashua, he vigorously declared he was the change agent that
voters say they want.
''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.
The argument is
no stretch for Romney.
As a venture
capitalist, he made millions for himself and investors by
financing promising young companies or retooling others that
had fallen on hard times. Among them was Staples, the
now-widely known office supply giant.
The night before
the company opened its first store in Boston, Romney was
there, bringing pizza for the workers and helping to stock
the shelves. Today, Staples has 80,000 workers in
nearly 30 countries with $18 billion in revenues.
All those facts
came from Tom Stemberg, the Staples founder, who traveled
to Derry on Saturday to provide a testimonial for his former
financier.
''When we started
Staples, most venture capitalists couldn't buy into the
idea, they couldn't conceive of trying to save money on
paper clips and pencils. Mitt Romney, who always tried
to save money for his state, for his family, and for
his country, quickly embraced the idea,'' Stemberg
told the crowd.
His millions in
the bank, Romney had the financial independence in 1999
to accept the challenge of resurrecting the Salt Lake City
Winter Olympic Games, which had become mired in a
bid-rigging scandal and financial troubles.
The titans in
Utah sought out Romney because his family stature, business
acumen, and personal ethics were unquestioned.
''You know how
much I knew about sporting events?'' Romney said. ''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.''
The Games ended
with a surplus, as well as rave reviews for such
innovations as musical concerts at the medal ceremonies.
The Olympics
behind him, Romney returned to Massachusetts and ran for
governor. Despite being a Republican forced to deal with an
overwhelmingly Democratic legislature, he turned a budget
deficit into a surplus. The governor, who took no
salary, shamed lawmakers into passing on a proposed
$250 million retroactive tax hike.
Romney also
signed into law legislation creating universal health care
coverage in the state.
The importance of
that accomplishment is clear from one fact: No other
state -- nor the federal government, for that matter -- has
been able to achieve the same thing.
During his four
years in office, though, Romney also began to pad his
political resume.
The avowed
abortion rights supporter -- whose own relative died from an
illegal abortion -- declared himself an abortion opponent.
The guy who once
boasted of having few fans at the National Rifle
Association started touting his gun rights views.
And the man who,
in 1994, bragged he would be a better champion of gay
rights than Sen. Edward M. Kennedy cast himself as a
guardian at the gate when the supreme judicial court
mandated in 2003 that Massachusetts become the first
state to allow same-sex marriage.
Upon leaving
office last January, Romney also signed a no-new-taxes
pledge -- the same one an aide had dismissed four years
earlier by saying the governor did not want to engage
in ''government by gimmickry.''
It is no surprise
the long knives came out for Romney during weekend
debates with his Republican rivals. Rivals Mike Huckabee and
John McCain felt little love for a candidate who ran
the campaign's first negative ads -- and then pleaded
for a focus on the issues when they struck back with
criticism of his policy shifts.
Unfortunately for
Romney, the blowback overshadowed the substantive shift
taking place at his events. He was arguing that if voters
want change in Washington, he is the best equipped to
bring it. Considering the scope of his
accomplishments, it makes for a cogent argument. (Glen
Johnson, AP)
