The more than 30,000 assembled in Liberty University's stadium to hear his commencement address not only applauded him when he proclaimed that marriage was a relationship between one man and one woman but also when he appealed to a "common purpose" in pursuit of shared goals, regardless of theological differences.
While President Obama is all about coolness, Romney is the sober grown-up. Republicans support Romney not because of his personality, but because he credibly addresses our shared critical challenges.
Mark DeMoss, president of the DeMoss Group, an Atlanta-based public relations firm, and also a member of Liberty's board of trustees and a Romney adviser, introduced Romney. DeMoss' late father, Arthur S. DeMoss, was a generous donor to the university in its early days. DeMoss said of Romney, "I suspect I won't agree with Mitt Romney on everything -- but I will tell you this -- I trust him. I trust him to do the right thing, to do the moral thing, to do what's best for our country. I trust his character, his integrity, his moral compass, his judgment and his perfect decency. And finally, I trust his values -- for I am convinced they mirror my own."
That's a better endorsement than some evangelicals give each other.
In an interview following the commencement, I talked with Romney about his campaign and about the recent Washington Post story that claimed he took part in a bullying incident in 1965. I wanted to know why he didn't hit back harder at the charges and why he hasn't challenged the Post for not delving deeper into the president's past. Romney said simply, "That's probably not my nature.
"We'll see how the campaign develops over time. We may take on some of those issues, but probably our best course will be that the president wanted to turn around the economy and he hasn't and that it is bumping along the bottom. A lot of people like him. You can't forget the fact that a lot of people who voted for him last time I need to have vote for me this time."
When I asked him about the unfulfilled promises from previous Republican presidents to reduce the size and cost of government, it produced his longest answer: "I'm in this to get America right. I'm absolutely convinced that the future of liberty, not just for us, but for many in the world, depends on America changing its ways. And we are going to have to dramatically cut back on the scale and influence of government, or else we're going to become a second-tier nation, unable to defend ourselves and defend our liberties and the liberties of friends around the world.
"I've learned it's not just about slowing down the growth of programs, because what will happen four or eight years later is someone will just raise the growth of these programs and we'll be right back to where we started. If you're going to change things you must eliminate programs."
Romney says many programs that "are still good" can be sent to the states "and then grow the funding at the rate of inflation," or in the case of Medicaid or Food Stamps, or workforce training programs, "maybe inflation plus one percent." He predicts if structural changes are made, federal spending will be reduced to "20 percent of GDP, rather than the 25 percent it is today."
Good ideas, but not new for Republicans. The challenge will be getting them through Congress, which even when it is run by Republicans has been difficult.
While evangelical voters blew hot and cold on other GOP candidates during the early primaries, Romney's reception at Liberty University is a sign they are slowly warming to the idea of him as president.
Email nationally syndicated columnist Cal Thomas at tmseditors@tribune.com. For archived columns, go to www.gwinnettdailypost.com/calthomas.
TRANSCRIPT INTERVIEW OF MITT ROMNEY WITH CAL THOMAS
TRANSCRIPT INTERVIEW OF MITT ROMNEY WITH CAL THOMAS, LIBERTY UNIVERSITY, MAY 12, 2012:
on May 14, 2012 2:07:33 | 113 times read
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY, MAY 12, 2012:
CAL THOMAS: Your response to what some conservatives say was a Washington Post “hit piece” on a high school prank you played on a classmate who some say later declared himself a homosexual was awfully mild. Did you consider pulling a “Newt” and attacking the media for going back 47 years in your life to find something negative?
Mitt Romney: That’s probably not my nature. They have their job to do and I understand they will write and say what they want to say. I thought the best response from me was an honest and straightforward one which was that some of the things you do in high school are stupid and if anyone was offended I apologized for that. I think the American people want someone who can focus on the present, not high school nearly fifty years ago.
Q: Now what do you REALLY think?
A. (laughs)
Q: What about President Obama? There have been no investigations of his admitted drug use, no demands for his college transcripts or Harvard Law review articles. Wouldn’t asking the Post why they haven’t gone out and done more investigations of him have been a legitimate response?
A: We’ll see how the campaign develops over time. We may take on some of those issues, but probably our best course will be that the president wanted to turn around the economy and he hasn’t and that it is bumping along the bottom. A lot of people like him. You can’t forget the fact that a lot of people who voted for him last time I need to have vote for me this time. And by the way, I don’t find him an unlikable person. I disagree with him vehemently on the course he’s taking the country. I think his policies have failed us dramatically, internationally and domestically. It will be a successful campaign for us if the voters can focus on who can get this country going, not just short term but long term in a way that produces jobs and a better future.
Q. Previous Republicans running for Congress or president have said the would cut the size of government and cut spending and then after they are elected it seems that nothing really changes. They mostly manage the growth of big government. Why should people believe that this time it’s really going to happen and how do you do it when you know the media will paint you as uncaring about the poor?
A. I didn’t get into this as the next step in my political career. I’ve had a very private life. I served in government four years. I joked that I didn’t inhale. I entered this race at the insistence of my wife. I resisted for a long time. She was persuasive. I’m in this to get America right. I’m absolutely convinced that the future of liberty, not just for us, but for many in the world, depends on America changing its ways. And we are going to have to dramatically cutback on the scale and influence of government, or else we’re going to become a second tier nation, unable to defend ourselves and defend our liberties and the liberties of friends around the world. How do you make big government smaller? I’ve learned it’s not just by slowing down the growth of programs, because what will happen four or eight years later is someone will just raise the growth of those programs and we’ll be right back to where we started. If you’re going to change things you must eliminate programs. So I must eliminate some programs. Number two, a lot of programs that are still good we have to send back to states. And then grow the funding at the rate of inflation. And say the state has housing vouchers, or Medicaid, or Food Stamps or workforce training programs, you have these programs that will grow with inflation or in the case of Medicaid, maybe inflation plus one percent, but that’s it. You have to live within those parameters. You make those kinds of structural changes and America will go back to where federal spending is 20 percent of GDP rather than the 25 percent it is today.
Q. People need a reason to fire a president after one term. With Jimmy Carter it was double-digit interest rates, unemployment and inflation. For George H.W. Bush it was breaking his promise not to raise taxes. What are the primary reasons voters should fire Barack Obama?
A. Number one, he did not turn around the economy as he said he would. He told the Today show ‘If I don’t turn around the economy in three years, I’ll be looking at a one-term proposition.’ He established his own benchmark and he failed it. He also said if we let him borrow almost a trillion dollars against our children, he would hold unemployment below eight percent. It has not been below eight percent since. Thirty-nine straight months. Those are some of the reasons to say ‘let’s get someone in there who has a different vision to get America going again.’ But number three, the policies he has put in place are not going to help America down the road, either. Obamacare makes thinks worse for our economy and for our deficit. His regulatory policies are so massive and so intrusive that in some cases they are crushing community banks that small businesses depend on to grow. He’ also made it harder for us to take advantage of our energy resources, long term. The fact that oil and gas production are up right now is because of the policies of his predecessors. His policy has been to hold off on the production of those resources. The decisions he has made over the last three and one-half years are a throwback to old school liberal policies. They did not work in the past, they’re not working now and they won’t work in the future.
Q. You addressed theology and theological differences in your commencement address. One of the theological challenges is Islam. We’ve had this president and previous presidents say Islam is a religion of peace, yet what you hear coming from the mouths of many of their leaders is ‘kill the Jews, the cross worshippers, take over America and replace the Constitution with Sharia law.’ What is your view of Islam and the threat level to the United States and internationally?
A. My view is the great majority of Muslims and the great majority of the leaders of the Muslim faith seek to have a peaceful existence with families and prosperity. I also recognize there are radical, violent jihadists , Islamists, Salafists who have as their objective the violent over throw not only of governments in the Islamic world, but governments of peoples throughout the world. And their intent is to cause as much suffering to achieve their goals as possible. So I look at someone like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and believe he has an intent to eliminate and destroy people, like the people of Israel and that he will attack America if given the opportunity and that we have to recognize that among a great nation there are some people who have used it (Islam) to foster a purpose of radical, violent jihad and that is not over, it does not begin to be over. This will be a long effort, which will be waged by us, but also by Muslims in the Arab world and throughout the world. There are major Muslim nations like Indonesia and others that are dealing with issues of this nature and they are trying to fight back against the radicals in their midst and we will be part of that struggle as well.
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