NEWSPAPERS FROM ACROSS THE NATION ENDORSE GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Romney Rises As Republican Choice" (1/27/08)
"'To win the White House, Republicans need a nominee who can be competitive in states drifting Democratic – Ohio or Colorado, among others. Romney can,' the AJC editorial board notes in its endorsement in the Republican race."
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"The qualities needed now in the Oval Office are business knowledge and experience, an understanding of economies and the imperatives of those who manage them around the world, an ability to problem-solve and to assess talent and to assemble the right team to accomplish a mission. What's needed, too, is a strong grounding in principle and steadfastness in the face of pressure and panic, but with the adaptability and flexibility to adjust to changing circumstances."
… "But McCain does not have management experience nor wide-ranging expertise in business and economics. The Republican who best exemplifies all the qualities needed in a president is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a successful CEO and the target of Huckabee's populist broadlines."
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"For Republicans, it's time to be realistic.
"And the reality is that the next president could be handed a Congress controlled by Democrats, as George W. Bush was in 2006. That demands a leader with experience in working with the opposition party."
… "In addition to a pragmatism toward the opposition, another practical concern for Republicans is electability. To win the White House, Republicans need a nominee who can be competitive in states drifting Democratic – Ohio or Colorado, among others.
"Romney can. On policy matters, the great differences are between the two parties – not, frankly, the serious contenders in either field.
"It is for that reason that purists should recognize that the crucial test is which of these candidates can win in November. In all respects, Romney looks, sounds and acts presidential, projecting competence and the intelligence to deal comfortably with policy nuance and complexity. In a perilous world, whether the peril is terrorism, global competition or a tanking economy, Mitt Romney is the Republican who inspires confidence in his ability to lead.
"'I will not need briefings on how the economy works; I know how it works,' Romney said last week in Florida. 'I've been there. I think it's time to have a president who understands the economy, understands jobs, understands why jobs come and go.'
"That should be an appealing argument to Republicans."
To read the full endorsement, please see: http://www.ajc.com
Hartford Courant: "Mr. Romney For The GOP" (1/27/08)
"Mitt Romney's record while governor of Massachusetts was much better than he's given credit for. It's the record of an achiever.
"The Republican governor led the fight to control sprawl and bring more affordable housing to the Bay State with groundbreaking laws and a dramatic reorganization of state agencies. In 2003, he combined transportation, housing, environmental and energy agencies into a super-agency, charged it with stopping runaway suburban growth, then appointed a Democrat environmentalist to run it. By comparison, Connecticut is still nibbling around the edges of smart growth.
"The former venture-capital company CEO and rescuer of the 2002 Winter Olympics also worked with the Democratic legislature to stop job losses and reduce a projected $3 billion budget shortfall. He managed to balance his state's budget without sales or income tax or gas increases. And he streamlined other government agencies — all while maintaining the state's huge accomplishments from a decade of education reforms that put Massachusetts ahead of Connecticut on many academic achievement scores.
"Though some in his party abhorred it as 'socialized medicine,' Mr. Romney backed a bold state plan to cover the uninsured that required every Massachusetts citizen to have health insurance but provided aid for those who couldn't afford it. His business school case-method approach to health care – let states experiment; see who comes up with the best ideas – is the most likely to yield ingenious and flexible solutions to an increasingly worrisome national issue."
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"With the economy gaining on the war in Iraq as the leading worry for Americans, however, Mr. Romney's real-world grasp of economic principles, his real-world successes on both sides of the public/private-sector aisle, are increasingly valuable assets."
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"He's believable when he promises to bring 'innovation and transformation' to Washington. He has done it.
"He is The Courant's choice for the Feb. 5 Republican presidential primary."
To read the full endorsement, please see: http://www.courant.com
Salt Lake Tribune: "Executive Material: Mitt Romney Should Be The Republican Nominee" (1/27/08)
"When Americans go to the polls in November, they will be electing a chief executive of the United States. As we survey the Republican field of presidential aspirants in Utah's Feb. 5 primary, one candidate stands above the others as a talented chief executive: Mitt Romney.
"Utahns learned about Romney up close when the state's governor at the time, Mike Leavitt, tapped him in 1999 to rescue the scandal-plagued committee that was organizing the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. In the subsequent months, we watched him quickly assemble a top-drawer management team, impose financial discipline and turn a foundering ship around. He brought the Games in on budget, and brought the world a winter Olympiad of unrivaled brilliance.
"That's one reason Utahns admire Romney."
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"No other Republican candidate, not even Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who guided his city through the 9/11 crisis, can match Romney's executive resume in both government and the private sector. That's a big reason why we believe he is presidential timber and deserves the support of Utah's Republican voters on Feb. 5." …
To read the full endorsement, please see: http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_8087587