Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, presumed to be astrong contender in the race for the 2012 Republican presidentialnomination, took an initial step on Monday, with the announcementthat he is forming an exploratory committee.
Although it was hardly a surprise - Romney has been laying thegroundwork for another bid almost from the moment he abandoned hisfirst quest for the GOP nomination in 2008 - the move came with whatpasses for little fanfare in the Internet age. It consisted of atweet, a Facebook posting and a video on his Web site.
But the 21/2-minute video offered a glimpse of how Romney plansto position himself in a race that the economy and fiscal issues areexpected to dominate. He stressed his experience as a successfulbusinessman who created jobs and as a governor with a record ofbalancing budgets.
Lamenting that 20 million Americans are out of work, Romney said,"How has this happened in the nation that leads the world ininnovation and productivity? The answer is that President Obama'spolicies have failed."
His own experience, he added, has convinced him that "America hasbeen put on a dangerous course by Washington politicians, and it hasbecome even worse in the last two years."
The video showed the former governor in front of a football fieldat the University of New Hampshire, a neighboring state that hasbeen a virtual second home to Romney. His loss there in 2008 was ablow from which his campaign never recovered. A victory in NewHampshire is just as crucial to his hopes in 2012.
Obama officially announced last week that he plans to seek asecond term. Romney is the second Republican to form an exploratorycommittee, which is a vehicle to allow him to begin collectingcontributions.
Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty announced his exploratorycommittee last month. And former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.)has entered a phase known under election law as "testing thewaters," which allows more limited fundraising.
Romney advisers said the timing of his move was dictated byObama's announcement, and by the imperative to show his strength asa fundraiser in the second quarter.
But it also came at an awkward moment: Tuesday marks the fifthanniversary of the landmark Massachusetts health-care law that wasRomney's signature achievement as governor.
The basic outlines of that system are strikingly similar to thenew national health-care legislation that Republicans deride as"Obamacare." Romney has attempted to distance himself from thatcomparison, saying he would not advocate a similar system for thenation, and that he would change some parts of the Massachusettssystem.
Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said the former governor was notbothered by the juxtaposition of his announcement and theanniversary of the health-care law. "Our view is that any day is agood day to talk about jobs and the economy," he said.
The former governor would be well situated for the race under thenormal order of things in the Republican Party, in which theestablishment determines the front-runner early, and often turns tothe person who is standing next in line from the previous race.
But Romney's record on health-care reform, and his history ofshifting from liberal to conservative positions on social issues,could be a liability with some of the GOP base. His Mormon faithalso could be a tough sell with some on the religious right.
And this time around, with the insurgent tea party movementproviding much of the political energy within the GOP, manyRepublican strategists say it could be a far more open and prolongedcontest. That's one reason the race has gotten off to a relativelyslow start, especially in comparison with four years ago, when atthis point nearly 20 candidates in the two parties had declaredthat they were running.
Romney announced his first exploratory committee in January 2007,on his last day as governor.
"His view was that last time, it got started too soon,"Fehrnstrom said. "Obviously, this is a different year, a differenttime, and we have a different issue set in front of us."
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