“Romney comes closer to Ronald Reagan in his speeches than any other candidate”

Roger Simon of Politico is the first writer I have seen to compare Governor Romney’s rhetoric to that of President Reagan, though I have always thought Romney’s optimistic, visionary style of speaking was Reaganesque. Simon describes Romney’s warm reception yesterday at an Iowa gathering to hear him speak, leading up to his comparison to President Reagan:

“I love this country,” Romney goes on. “If president, I will do everything to keep America strong and be the hope of the earth.”

He takes questions, and the first one comes from a man who says he has voted for Republicans for 40 years, but once they get to the White House, they always give in on conservative principles. He wants to know if Romney, too, will give in.

“This is not the next step on my political career,” Romney replies. “I don’t have a political career. The reason I am in this race is because of the lessons I have learned: I’ll use all my energy and passion to get America right again.”

Which does not exactly answer the question, but the crowd likes it anyway. Although some conservatives feel Romney is not conservative enough, Romney comes closer to Ronald Reagan in his speeches than any other candidate.

As Reagan did when running his 1980 campaign, Romney talks about American goodness and decency and exceptionalism and how it can all disappear if Republicans choose the wrong nominee or the country chooses the wrong president.
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“Being president is about judgment, sobriety of character and the wisdom to make decisions we can’t even contemplate today,” Romney says.

[emphasis added]

Quotes by Ronald Reagan:

“Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.”

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”