PORTSMOUTH HERALD: “ECONOMIC SMARTS MAKE ROMNEY BEST OF GOP FIELD”
“Economic Smarts Make Romney Best Of GOP Field”
Portsmouth Herald
Editorial
December 18, 2011
http://www.seacoastonline.com
We believe the president's top priority for the next four years will be restoring health and vigor to the American economy, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the Republican candidate best suited to the task.
Romney, who launched his presidential bid at the Scammans' Bittersweet Farm in Stratham, has proven his financial acumen at every step of his career. He mastered the art of the business turnaround at Bain & Co. in Boston and his success led to his founding of Bain Capital, a private equity fund now overseeing $65 billion in assets. Bain became a world leader by managing and investing in such well-known companies as Hospital Corp. of America, parent company of Portsmouth Regional Hospital; Burger King; Staples; Toys "R" Us; and Sports Authority, to name just a few.
When the Salt Lake City Olympics was in trouble, Utah's governor hired Romney to make the rescue. He took over an Olympic organization that was losing so much money so fast, it was considering scaling back events. Romney's leadership transformed the quadrennial games into a winner that turned a $100 million profit.
As George W. Bush famously stated, the president is "the decider." Having capable advisers is important, but once all the conflicting cases have been presented, the president needs to choose a course of action. We feel confident that, when faced with choices about the direction of our nation's economy and governance, Romney will make sound decisions. And there's no question Romney in the White House will instill confidence in our nation's businesses and financial markets.
As the Republican governor in Democrat-dominated Massachusetts, Romney eliminated a $3 billion budget deficit and passed a health care law that brought the number of uninsured in the state to less than 2 percent, a remarkable accomplishment.
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One thing Romney has in common with President Barack Obama is that he's a good family man. He married Ann, his high school sweetheart, and the two have raised a close-knit family that now includes 16 grandchildren.
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Obama will tell the American people his administration's policies and actions staved off a second Great Depression and got us back on track. Romney, if nominated, will debate that point with Obama and point to where he thinks the president could have done better.
We certainly disagree with some of Romney's positions: His opposition to equal rights for same-sex couples, his touting of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas as model Supreme Court justices, and his ambivalence about the degree to which human activity is contributing to global warming are a few key areas of disagreement. But our endorsement reflects our belief that, of all the candidates seeking the Republican nomination, Romney would make the best president.
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