POLITICO MAFIOSO: Romney's Hometown Paper Endorses JOHN McCAIN!!!!

The Detroit News

The new year begins with the nation on the doorstep of political transition. We look with keen anticipation toward a pragmatic presidency that will set a course of national purpose and prosperity, a presidency that will restore the government’s financial discipline and revive America’s effectiveness on the global stage.

The successor to George W. Bush will face challenges domestic and foreign that will demand thoughtful and inspired leadership. Michigan’s economic disorder looms largest among our concerns, complicated by international trends that have diminished the vitality of our industrial base. It matters much to this state who occupies the White House.

Iowa kicks off the presidential nomination process this evening, but Michigan’s place on the primary calendar is just around the corner, Jan. 15. We would like to have made endorsements in both party contests, but many of the Democratic candidates have chosen to skip Michigan, leaving us to focus on the Republican race.

The presidential candidates must be judged by the task at hand. America needs a president who can answer the terrorist threat without destroying civil liberties; who can press the war on terror without alienating vital allies; who understands that cutting taxes to stimulate the economy works only when spending is brought under control as well, and who recognizes that the moment is at hand to subjugate partisan ideologies to solve the nation’s most nettlesome problems — immigration issues, health finances, entitlement pressures and environmental concerns among them.

On the Republican side, we believe Arizona Sen. John McCain is the
candidate who is best qualified to lead the nation.

Other GOP contenders, most notably former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, are capable figures with impressive resumes and a solid grasp of the issues. But McCain’s longtime presidential ambitions are at last aligned with the needs of the nation.

On the Iraq War, McCain was proven right in his warnings that America was deploying too few troops to keep order after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. He was against the Rumsfeld strategy before it was cool, pressing repeatedly for more troops. The president finally agreed, and the early results are encouraging.

McCain would strengthen and restructure the military to meet the unique needs of the war on terrorism. He would stand strong against tyrants who threaten U.S. interests, while using all possible diplomacy to avoid conflict.

He has broad appeal to the middle of the electorate, offering hope that the bitter partisan divisions that dominate Washington would diminish under a McCain presidency. He is a conservative who has worked across the aisle throughout his career to push for common-sense solutions — most recently with pragmatic approaches to immigration and global warming.
Many Iowa Republicans have embraced former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who carries the most conservative credentials on social policy. But compared with McCain, his resume is practically silent on national security and economic affairs where a president must be most active. We doubt he would have broad appeal among the general electorate.

For McCain to prevail, his candidacy will need to find footing in New Hampshire and Michigan, where he won in 2000. We think he is best positioned among the Republicans to prevail in a general election that will be decided by middle-of-the-road independents. And for good reason. He won’t hesitate to forge the alliances necessary to overcome congressional paralysis.

No matter whose ox is being gored, John McCain puts the country first. He is the leading critic of congressional earmarks to fund pork-barrel projects. He has co-sponsored campaign reforms to slow the influence of money in politics. He will use the veto pen if necessary to curb the growth of the federal government (nearly 50 percent during the past seven years).

The latest federal budget included more than 11,000 earmark projects worth roughly $20 billion — or 12 times the number of earmarks in the 1996 budget. It will take a strong advocate for fiscal discipline in the White House to get spending under control. McCain has the experience to know when the economy needs a helping hand from the government, and when it would be better off without tinkering. Unlike Huckabee, he would not be tempted to respond to an economic bump with populist solutions that do more harm than good.

McCain is already a respected national leader with a strong grasp of foreign and military affairs. He would be well received on the international stage where his experience and judgment would fortify American leadership.

As mentioned, we see Romney as an appealing candidate with considerable depth on key issues. He has Michigan roots and the best understanding of the automotive industry of any candidate. He brings an analytical bent and a business executive’s tools to politics, admirable traits that would bring advantage to governing.

Unfortunately, Romney hasn’t campaigned hard enough on those strengths. Instead, he has panted after the GOP’s most conservative values voters, taking hard-line stands on gay marriage and abortion in conflict to his earlier positions as governor of Massachusetts. The result is that many voters will wonder if they’re seeing the real Romney.

McCain doesn’t have an identity problem. In Iowa, while other candidates pay homage to the ethanol economy, McCain has stuck to his opposition to massive ethanol subsidies. He has also stood firmly for expanding troop levels in Iraq, even though it has cost him the support of some of the independent voters who backed his run in 2000.

McCain is hoping for a surprise showing in Iowa, though the pre-caucus polls showed him far behind Romney or Huckabee there. As we said, we had anticipated endorsing a candidate in the Democratic primary as well. But the Democratic boycott of Michigan in laughable deference to Iowa and New Hampshire makes that primary a meaningless cakewalk for Sen. Hillary Clinton (who at least had the spunk to put her name on the ballot).