While Mitt Romney continues to impress Americans during the first week of his whirlwind book signing tour for No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, a date in April is worth noting. On April 9, 2010, Romney will address the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota and sign copies of his new book. Present on the same stage will be a Republican notable who some say could be a potential 2012 presidential rival and who has recently been critical of Romney’s Massachusetts health care plan. Neither men have declared intentions to run for the highest office in the land, but both are giving indications of that possibility. Will Gov Tim Pawlenty have a copy of Romney’s new book tucked under his arm? If so, I’m sure Gov Romney will be happy to cordially sign it for him.

Freedom Foundation:

Former Massachusetts Governor and 2008 presidential candidate Mitt Romney will visit the Twin Cities on April 9, 2010 to speak at a dinner sponsored by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) and sign copies of his newly released book. Joining Governor Romney for the event will be Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. The title of Governor Romney’s book is also the topic of his remarks: No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.

“The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota is both honored and excited to host two of our country’s most influential and important conservative leaders,” said Annette Meeks, CEO of the Freedom Foundation. “Governor Romney has been and continues to be one of the most powerful voices advancing free market policy alternatives. We’re planning an exciting evening where Minnesotans will hear Romney’s public policy ideas first hand.

“We are equally excited that Governor Tim Pawlenty will be joining us on April 9th. While Pawlenty’s public policy leadership is no secret to Minnesota conservatives, this will be the first major event where these two American leaders will appear on the same stage – a spectacular opportunity for the Freedom Foundation to highlight two dynamic American leaders.”

The event will be held at the Hotel Sofitel in Bloomington, beginning with a private reception and dinner. A dessert reception will precede remarks by the two governors with a book signing by Governor Romney to occur at the end of the evening. Registration details can be found at www.freedomfoundationofminnesota.com and tickets must be purchased in advance for all events.

Mitt Romney for President 2012

Governor Romney is at the top of his game in this interview that is well worth the time to listen. Romney interviews with the hosts of the show and takes several questions from callers. The interview is part of his No Apology Tour, more info at NoApology.com, and http://bit.ly/RomneyBook. A full transcript of his portion of the interview is available below the fold.

PART1:

PART2:

Full Transcript: From NPR.org
Read more…

Romney continues the rounds with a number of media appearances today to promote his new book. Stops will include the Laura Ingraham radio show, Morning Joe on MSNBC, The Joe Scarborough Radio Show, and Your World with Neil Cavuto on FOX News. I was not aware of any of these yesterday so there may be more. If you know of any please let us know and we’ll post what we can.

Later today Governor Romney is doing a speech and book signing in Huntington, NY. Information here. Full schedule listed here.

Below is video from the segment on Morning Joe. (H/T Jacob at NYforMitt)

IN CASE you missed it: yesterday’s post has YouTube videos of Romney’s appearances at The Today Show, The View, Hannity, and the Late Show with David Letterman. Watch them all by clicking here.

~Nate Gunderson

Addendum: K-Lo of NRO’s The Corner opines on Romney, his book, and his appearance on Letterman:

If you had any doubts about who he is, you’re seeing the real thing now. Watching Mitt Romney on the No Apology tour thus far, he’s talking about what he wants to talk about, what moves him: being a Mr. Fix-It businessman — on the economy, on diplomacy, on health care. He wants to do this because he believes America is great and should and can continue to be. He appreciates — in a firsthand and in a practical, sociological way — that families are the building block of a great country, and he sees how good policies help them. And that’s what he wants to talk about.
…
And so, on Letterman last night, you didn’t see pizazz or stand-up. You heard dorky jokes — the rapper on the plane broke my hair — and a serious guy. That’s who he is. His CPAC speech this year and his book reflect that. He’s uncomfortable changing his emphases to fit Iowa or anywhere else, and he doesn’t pull it off convincingly when he tries it. If he runs again, don’t expect him to.

That, I believe, is the No Apology big picture: This is Mitt Romney.

Read the whole thing here. (H/T Evangelicals for Mitt)

Addendum 2: WSJ book report An interesting read. It’s mostly a review rather than analysis, but has some good summations.

Addendum 3 – by Ross: Mitt on NPR’s Face the Nation Mitt was on 2:20 today, but if you missed it, listen to the podcast

Listen to Mitt Romney on Laura Ingraham’s radio show by clicking here.

Watch part 1 and 2 of Mitt on Your World with Neil Cavuto here and Ann Romney on ‘Your World’ in the video below:

Fresh Video from Mitt’s Stop in Huntington, NY:

Chat has been moved back to the side bar, or the full which can be found in the chat room.

Update 14: Video of Mitt Romney on David Letterman

Update 13: NO APOLOGY makes it to the #1 Political book on Amazon.com today(11:00 PM) According to Mitt Romney’s official Facebook account.

Update 12: Romney’s Appearance on FOX News with Hannity (10:20 PM): HT to Kris Lorelli at RightOSphere.com for both of the these last two videos.

Update 11: Preview Video of Mitt on Letterman’s show (10:15 PM):
SNIP: see the full video above

Update 10: Preview/overview of Mitt on Letterman’s show (8:00 PM): The show is recorded in late afternoon. CBS gives the spoilers here. Quick highlight quote: Romney warns Letterman that “Palin has a rifle, you know.”

Update 9: Video: The Today Show with Matt Lauer (6:30 PM)

Update 8: We’ve finally got video! The View (5:40 PM)

Update 7: Allahpundit weighs in (5:10 PM) HotAir.com’s summation: “This ain’t your daddy’s Mitt Romney. (Or, rather, your slightly older brother’s.) Still not convinced? Well, when he was asked today on “The View” who he thought might be a formidable candidate in 2012, he singled out Bob McDonnell, who won the governor’s seat in Virginia last year by running a sort of proto-Romney campaign — socially conservative, yes, but verrry quiet about it compared to his meat-and-potatoes rhetoric about jobs. That’ll be the upshot of Mitt ‘12 too, the “non-ideological conservative” versus whoever emerges as the ideological darling. It’s Palin’s slot if she wants it…” HotAir.com is a great site, but I somewhat tire of how the whole world revolves around Palin when what I mostly want is conservative news. Still I check it daily.

Update 6: More ‘No Apology’ news and reviews (2:50 PM)

• NYforMitt: tracking ‘No Apology’s ranking on Amazon – looking better than I thought
• Human Events: a thorough and thoughtful review of No Apology by Ms. Jedediah Bila – “Romney’s No Apology: The Case for American Greatness is a sound expression of his approach to some of our nation’s greatest present challenges.”
• Newsmax.com: text of the entire first chapter of the book. READ IT if you are considering buying the book!
• ABC News: Lengthy analysis and review of ‘No Apology’
• Hannity: promo for Romney’s appearance later today states “Romney will be in studio tonight to discuss his explosive new book ‘No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.’”

Update 5: ‘No Apology’ in the news (2:00 PM) -

• Boston.com In book, Romney styles himself wonk, not warrior: “[Romney is] a politician who is speaking out against the ‘temptations of populism.’”
• MSNBC: More Romney vs. Populism “The populism I’m referring to is, if you will, demonizing certain members of society: going after businesspeople, going after Wall Street, going after people who are highly educated, people who are CEOs. That kind of ‘All of our problems are due to that group’ is something that is unproductive.”
• Not related to the book: Did Leno steal Romney’s joke?
• Boston.com ‘No Apology’ – and no mincing words: Three excepts from Romney’s new book re: regulation, healthcare and Obama
• Zidane makes no apology: French legend will never be sorry for headbutt

Update 4: Liberal Reaction to No Apology (11:44 AM) – Will be posting the video from the Today show soon. In the mean time check out the comments to see some of the liberal love from our mail bag. I clearly state on the contact page that this is not an official site and that emails are not forwarded to Romney, but some get through all the same.

Update 3: Video: Mitt Romney on the Today Show (by Ross 10:34 AM) – Video of Mitt’s appearance on the Today Show can be watched at http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/35659123#35659123

Update 2: Mitt Romney on the Today Show (8:55 AM) – Stay tuned for videos of Mitt Romney’s video appearances. He has already done the Today show and the report is that he was excellent on the show. Here is a picture of Romney with the Partridge family after the doing the today show: http://twitpic.com/166zd1 Click here for list of his media appearances today.

Update 1: Launch of No Apology (by Nate 8:40 AM) – New website launched: NOAPOLOGY.COM. Follow Mitt over the next few months as he progresses through his book tour. Watch videos, see photos, etc. Is this going to be the new Mitt Romney logo if he runs in 2012?

In honor of the release of Mitt Romney’s new book, and his upcoming birthday, we here at MittRomneyCentral.com are doing a special drive to get more folks on board (and informed) with promoting Romney for President in 2012! And since bombs are all the rage….

BOOM!!

GOAL: (You may notice a pattern here) Starting today we will do a 12-day push to get 2012 new fans of our Facebook page by Mitt Romney’s Birthday!! (That would be March 12th) We started March off with 12321 fans. Add 2012 to that and our target by the end of March 12th is 14333 fans!

How to help with the fan bomb:

• Join Facebook.com if you haven’t already
• Become a Fan of our page at Facebook.com/MittRomneyCentral
• Recommend to all your friends (most of them at least) by clicking the little button on the top left of our page that says ‘Suggest to Friends’
• Post on your wall a link to this post or to the Facebook page and ask people to become a fan
• Suggest to your friends, that they suggest to their friends
• Repeat

I think you get the idea If only a handful of you commit to get a few people (say 12?) to join we will more than surpass our goal! Of course some of you will bring in many more than that. How many can you get?

Thanks for helping everyone. Together we will help get the word out that Mitt Romney is the man for the job in 2012 and that we need him to help turn this country around!

In an unusual foray into politics since leaving office, former 66th Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice endorsed Republican CA gubernatorial hopeful, Meg Whitman, today:

In a statement emailed by the Whitman campaign, Rice said:

“California is my home and there is only one person running for Governor who can lead the way toward rebuilding our state.

“In my experiences in and out of government, I find the most effective leaders to be those who maintain a clear vision, mobilize diverse groups, and inspire them to work together in confronting the most pressing challenges. That is why I am supporting Meg Whitman.

“Meg will do what is needed to get California back on track.”

Rice has resisted efforts by voters to persuade her to run for offices ranging from governor to U.S. senator to president of the United States.

The primary election is June 8. The winner in the GOP primary will probably face Democrat Jerry Brown in November.

Brown, 71, previously served as governor of California, 1975-83, and waged three unsuccessful campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Meg Whitman: A Different Kind of Leader

“I will tell you there is a profound hunger for change, for leadership, and for authenticity.”
~ Meg Whitman

Mitt Romney is also supporting Meg Whitman. If we help elect Whitman, we can change California. A new California is vital for America! For information on how to help, go here.

Tomorrow is the big day! The much awaited public release of Romney’s new book is here and Mitt will be in the Big Apple doing interviews and media appearances to promote his book. The one day media blitz will include appearances on ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX News. A 3-month book tour will initiate the following day. Check this list (click here) to see if he’s coming to a city near you.

SHOW TIMES:

The Today Show on NBC: Begins at 7AM ET and runs for 4 hours. I don’t what segment Romney is on. I’ll update this if anyone can verify what time his appearance is.

The View on ABC: Times vary. Typically late morning. Click here for show times in your area.

Hannity on FOX News: 9PM ET

The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS: Typically at 11:35 PM in all time zones.

For a little added drama, Sarah Palin will be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on the same evening. Ted Jones of Variety.com has some interesting remarks on the “matchup”.

Not reading too much into this, Palin probably wouldn’t be caught dead doing Letterman at this point, and Romney is embarking on a book tour, meaning he’d probably be just as happy doing Leno.

What’s gratifying is the extent to which late night is seeking out politicians not just as novel guests, but as actual draws. We’re long past the point of lamenting the fusion of politics and entertainment in the talk show arena to a recognition that these appearances, whether on Leno or Letterman or Colbert or Stewart, often make news, sometime even of substance. It sure beats another star tubthumping their latest project, even if these politicos have their own tomes and agendas to promote.

It’s probably just a matter of time and Romney will be on Leno’s show as well. I remember he was on Jay’s show right before a primary debate in 2008. Has he done it more recently than that?

~Nate Gunderson