Psssst...Mitt Romney is running for President.

[WilliamPitt]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/12/15/its_1_term_for_romney_he_says_future_is_open/

It's 1 term for Romney; he says 'future is open'

Decision sets stage for run at presidency

By Frank Phillips and Scott Helman, Globe Staff
December 15, 2005

Saying that he had ''accomplished a great deal," Governor Mitt Romney announced yesterday that he will not seek a second term, setting the stage for an expected campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

Romney, ending months of speculation about his political future, said he will serve out his four-year term, which ends in January 2007. Although he has spent a year positioning himself as a presidential candidate and acknowledged he was testing the presidential waters, the governor yesterday insisted his decision had nothing to do with his national ambitions.

''I'm not going to close any options at this point . . . other things may develop in the future," Romney, 58, told a packed State House press conference broadcast live by Boston television stations. ''I don't know what will happen. The future is open."

''With regards to what happens down the road, we'll let the future take care of itself," Romney said. Seeking to distinguish himself from the US senator who looms as a major Republican rival in 2008, Romney added: ''John McCain the other day said he thinks about being president every day in the shower. I guess I'd turn instead to the words of 'Star Wars,' which is, it's in a galaxy, far, far away . . . It's a lifetime away in the world of politics."

...more...

Get used to seeing this on national TV:



===

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2005/12/15/now_the_big_question_of_his_viability_arises/

Now the big question of his viability arises
By Scott Helman, Globe Staff | December 15, 2005

If Governor Mitt Romney's announcement yesterday answers the biggest question in Massachusetts politics, it raises an even bigger one: Is he a viable presidential candidate?

The short answer is yes, according to political analysts, observers, and Republican activists across the country. But the longer answer, they say, is that Romney faces tough challenges: convincing Southern conservatives that he's not a Northeast liberal, becoming conversant in foreign policy, and overcoming prejudices against his religion.

''Yes, he is a viable candidate: He's got a spectacular reputation in Republican circles, the camera loves him, and he's got a very focused message," said former Republican National Committee chairman Rich Bond.

But, Bond added, ''He's got a lot of work to do."

With the first primaries more than two years away, other possible candidates -- including US Senator John McCain, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and a half dozen others -- have significantly more name recognition and political experience than the one-term Republican governor of Massachusetts. His highest-profile legislative goal, passing a healthcare bill, remains unfinished, with Democrats in the Legislature still negotiating a compromise.

Yet, by all accounts, Romney has turned himself into a top prospect for 2008 with a busy out-of-state schedule in 2005 and by taking increasingly conservative positions on gay marriage, abortion, and the environment in recent months. He will get more chances to grow his political network as chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2006.

...more...