Union Leader Explains Why Vote McCain and Not Romney

The Romney backlash: Conservatives are coming home

THERE IS A reason Mitt Romney has not received a single newspaper endorsement in New Hampshire. It's the same reason his poll numbers are dropping. He has not been able to convince the people of this state that he's the conservative he says he is.

Like a lot of people in New Hampshire, we wanted to believe Romney. We gave him the benefit of the doubt. We listened very carefully to his expertly rehearsed sales pitch. But in the end he didn't close the deal for us. Now, two weeks before the primary, the same is happening with voters.

Republicans and right-leaning independents in New Hampshire gave Romney a chance. His events have not been sparsely attended. Nor have they been scarce. He's made more campaign stops here this year than any other Republican, even John McCain.

And after a year of comparing Romney to McCain, of sizing up the two in person and in the media, Granite Staters are turning back to McCain. The former Navy pilot, once written off by the national media establishment, is now in a statistical dead heat with Romney here.

How could that be? Romney has all the advantages: money, organization, geographic proximity, statesman-like hair, etc.

But he lacks something John McCain has in spades: conviction.

Granite Staters want a candidate who will look them in the eye and tell them the truth. John McCain has done that day in and day out, never wavering, never faltering, never pandering.

Mitt Romney has not. He has spoken his lines well, but the people can sense that the words are memorized, not heartfelt.

Last week Romney was reduced to debating what the meaning of "saw" is. It was only the latest in a string of demonstrably false claims -- he'd been a hunter "pretty much" all his life, he'd had the NRA's endorsement, he saw his father march with Martin Luther King Jr. -- that call into question the veracity of his justifications for switching sides on immigration, abortion, taxes and his affection for Ronald Reagan.

In this primary, the more Mitt Romney speaks, the less believable he becomes. That is why Granite Staters who have listened attentively are now returning to John McCain. They might not agree with McCain on everything, as we don't, but like us, they judge him to be a man of integrity and conviction, a man who won't sell them out, who won't break his promises, and who won't lie to get elected.

Voters can see that John McCain is trustworthy. Mitt Romney has spent a year trying to convince Granite Staters that he is as well. It looks like they aren't buying it. And for good reason.

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=The+Romney+backlash%3a+Conservatives+are+coming+home&articleId=bc5bd60b-68a2-4427-93aa-d0fc2548ba3d

Statement by McCain Campaign on Push Polling in New Hampshire

For Immediate Release Contact: Press Office
Friday, November 16, 2007 703-650-5550

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's New Hampshire Vice Chair, former Congressman Chuck Douglas (R-NH), along with the campaign's New Hampshire Leadership Committee, today issued the following statement on reports of push polling in New Hampshire:

"Today, the McCain New Hampshire Leadership Committee intends to file a complaint with the New Hampshire Attorney General's office seeking a full investigation to determine who was behind the push poll. The Leadership Committee calls on all the other Republican campaigns to join us as parties to this complaint. These tactics are repugnant and despicable and there is no place in New Hampshire politics for push polling or any other negative tactics that engage in personal attacks. It is especially shameful that those responsible would hide behind a push poll to impugn a candidate's faith."

Senator John McCain issued the following statement today:
"I applaud my Leadership Team for taking action against these cowardly acts. I call on all other candidates and their supporters to repudiate these attacks and join me in pledging not to engage in such despicable tactics throughout the balance of this campaign. I am outraged by the cowardly telephone calls that hide behind my name in an effort to disparage one candidate and advance the candidacy of another. I was a target of these same tactics in South Carolina in 2000 and believe the American people deserve better from those who seek the high office of the presidency."

McCain Campaign Calls Romney An Armchair Quarterback

New Hampshire Presidential Watch: McCain Campaign Calls Romney An 'Armchair Quarterback" - Reprint from http://nh2008.blogspot.com

U.S. Senator John McCain's New Hampshire Vice Chair, former Congressman Chuck Douglas (R-NH), today issued the following statement:

"In today's Union Leader, Governor Romney suggested that he is the most qualified candidate to be President and that the Iraq war will not be 'the big, dividing issue in '08.' He also said that 'Come the fall of '08, for all of Hillary's rhetoric, she's not going to be demanding a dramatically different course in Iraq than the Republican nominee will.' For Gov. Romney to suggest that he is uniquely qualified to be commander in chief is like saying that he should replace Tom Brady because he has watched Patriot football games. Governor Romney is naive if he believes that Senator Clinton or the Democrats' position on the Iraq war will not be 'dramatically different' from Republicans next year. The Democrats and Senator Clinton have consistently advocated for a deadline for defeat in Iraq. Governor Romney fails to realize the importance of the new strategy in Iraq or that winning in Iraq is critical to the entire region and the war against Islamic extremists and that failure in Iraq strengthens Iran. Governor Romney should realize that 'armchair quarterbacking' doesn't work on Sunday and it won't work in the Oval Office.

"John McCain is uniquely qualified to be the next commander in chief from day one. He was the only candidate for President who recognized that the strategy being employed in Iraq in 2003 was flawed and called for the present strategy that is showing real, not apparent, progress on the ground against our enemies. John McCain wants our troops to come home in victory and with honor. He understands the importance of victory in Iraq and the consequences of failure to the region, to the war against Islamic extremism, and to the security of our nation."

***UPDATE: Romney spokesman Kevin Madden responded:

"The McCain campaign wins the weakest analogy of the week award for that one. Same old talking points, no new ideas."