I’d still take Perry over Romney any day of the week. Being from Mass I’ve been watching Mitt campaign since he ran against Ted Kennedy in 1994 and, shockingly, he sounded nothing like the guy we see these days so obviously I’m a bit biased against him.
MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. — Mitt Romney brushed aside criticism from his chief rival for the Republican presidential nomination Saturday night and accused President Obama of being too ignorant and naïve about the U.S. economy to lead it out of recession. “I just don’t think he’s equipped for what’s happening,” the former Massachusetts governor said.
Romney addressed a gathering of GOP activists at this island resort several hours after Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has assumed Romney’s former role as a fragile front-runner for the GOP nomination, suggested in a speech to the same crowd that Romney was a slick campaigner who “blurs lines” between Romney’s position’s and Obama’s.
A Michigan native, Romney used his keynote address to look beyond the nomination fight and focus his venom on Obama. Emboldened by Perry’s poor debate performances and a weak third-place finish in a Florida straw poll Saturday, Romney advisers privately expressed renewed confidence in their strategy to keep the focus on the economy and the president. One Romney aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, overstated Romney’s strength but underscored the team’s cockiness when he said, “It’s over. Perry is toast.”
On stage, Romney looked beyond his chief Republican rival.
“You have people in Washington who don’t understand America,” Romney said.
Here’s Romney waaaaaay back in 2002 during a debate for governor talking about his staunch (well it was staunch back then) pro-abortion position.