A conservative gathering of Obama-bashers at CPac
Pawlenty, Romney bash Obama at CPAC
But Rep. Ron Paul of Texas gets the loudest response on the second day
of the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Reporting from Washington — On a seeming collision course toward the
2012 Republican presidential nomination, Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney
spoke to cheering crowds Friday at the second day of a gathering of
the nation's conservatives, blasting President Obama for what they
said was his failure to lead on national security and the economy.
While Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, and Romney, the
former Massachusetts governor, have not formally declared their
intentions, their White House ambitions appear more evident every day.
Romney's wife, Ann, introducing him to the packed house at the
Conservative Political Action Conference, came close to an admission,
saying that she "hoped" to see her husband elected. And when Romney,
who has been on a nationwide tour, said at one point "if I decide to
run for president," some in the room chortled.
But neither Pawlenty nor Romney, nor any of the other featured
speakers here Friday, which included possible 2012 contenders Sen.
John Thune (R-S.D.) and Republican Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, could
compete with the rowdy reception given Rep. Ron Paul, the Texas
libertarian.
Paul, an isolationist Republican who advocates eliminating the Federal
Reserve, was cheered by a raucous, whistling crowd. His supporters
have flooded CPAC in recent years, and last year Paul won the
presidential straw poll there.
"There is truly a revolution going on in this country," Paul said. "We
don't need to just change political parties; we need to change our
philosophy of what this country is all about."
The speeches came on the same day Fox News released a poll showing
that Obama would defeat any of the well-known potential GOP candidates
in the field, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who aren't attending the conference.
Obama would defeat Palin in a head-to-head matchup by more than 20
points, the poll results indicated. Only Romney and Huckabee came
within 8 points of the president.
Romney, who famously ended his 2008 bid here three years ago, told a
packed hotel ballroom that "an uncertain world has been made more
dangerous by the lack of clear direction from a weak president."
Obama's "proposed policy of engagement with Iran and North Korea won
him the Nobel Peace Prize," Romney said. "How's that worked out? Iran
armed Hezbollah and Hamas and is rushing toward nuclear weapons. North
Korea fired missiles, tested nukes, sunk a South Korean ship and
shelled a South Korean island."
Strikingly, even as protesters in Cairo celebrated the departure of
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Romney did not mention the crisis.
He had been the first potential 2012 candidate to call for Mubarak's
exit.
Pawlenty also suggested Obama had been weak on foreign affairs and had
not stood up to "Iran, Russia, and our adversaries in the Middle East,
including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood," the Islamic political
movement in Egypt.
"Bullies respect strength, not weakness," Pawlenty said. "So when the
United States of America projects its national security interests here
and around the world, we need to do it with strength."
On the economy, Romney accused Obama of a lack of focus. "The
president who took office on Jan. 20, 2009, should have had one
central mission — put Americans back to work; fight for every job," he
said.
Romney was met by a supportive, if not wildly enthusiastic, crowd.
Tellingly, he scarcely mentioned the healthcare overhaul legislation,
a popular target at the conference; he was an architect of a similar
bill when he was governor of Massachusetts.
Instead, Romney stayed with what is likely to be the core message of
his presidential campaign: that he has unmatched experience in
economic matters given his work as a businessman, venture capitalist
and organizer of the 2002 Olympics.
Pawlenty, unlike some other potential 2012 candidates, has a
compelling personal story. He detailed how as a teenager in a
blue-collar family in St. Paul, Minn., his mother died and his father
lost his job at a trucking company.
"At a young age, I saw up close the face of loss, the face of
hardship, the face of losing a job, and I saw in the mirror something
else: the face of a very uncertain future," he said. "I know Americans
are feeling that way today. I know that feeling — I've lived it."
More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cpac-20110212,0,4345001.story
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
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