Romney: U.S. will survive the tough times

    The United States faces a critical period in its history said Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, but expressed optimism for the country’s future.

    “This country always rises to the occasion and responds to challenges. Challenges make us stronger,” he said yesterday.

    Crisscrossing the state like the possible Presidential candidate he is, Romney traveled from Keene in the morning to Derry in the evening with stops in Hampton and the state capital in between.

    Speaking to the Central New Hampshire Republican Women’s Club in the Presidential Primary reading room in the State Library, he praised Republican candidates for office and Republican principles which he says work, citing the elimination of the $3 billion deficit Massachusetts faced when he took office.

    Romney said he refused to raise taxes, consolidated some agencies and eliminated others, and did away with several programs to reduce spending.

    The Wolfeboro second-home owner also said the country faces four serious challenges in the coming years.

    The Jihadists are not a tiny group of extremists alone in the hills of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Romney said, but a movement seeking to collapse the United States’ economy and end the country’s super power status.

    “Fortunately we have a President who recognizes how dangerous a situation this is,” he said. “It is our responsibility to always be the super power.”

    The second challenge is regaining fiscal responsibility, he said. “In Washington, Congress is spending too much money,” Romney said.

    It is not just the pork barrel projects and the ear marks, he said, entitlements like Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security should be reformed.

    The third challenge is the rise of Asian economic might as China and India seek a larger role in the world market.

    Romney said he asked a Massachusetts high-tech manufacturer where he saw manufacturing in 10 years. The person said he expects 90 percent of his manufacturing to be in Asia, not because of cheap labor, but because of Asia’s knowledgeable workers, Romney said.

    Student interest in math and science has to be expanded, the country has to invest more in technology both in the public and private sectors and the regulatory burden should be reduced, he said.

    Romney said the fourth challenge is for the United States to decide “What is the culture of this country, what are our underpinnings?”

    “We respect hard work . . . We are self reliant, we respect human life, we are a religious people . . . We are a purpose-driven people founded on the family unit,” Romney said. “I think every child deserves to have a mother and a father.”

    “Some feel daunted by the seriousness of the challenges we face, but I am optimistic about the future,” Romney said. But he warned, “If we assume we will always lead the world, we could find ourselves as the France of the 21st. Century.”