North Charleston crowd keeps questions friendly

Grace Beahm
The Post and Courier

Republican presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is greeted by Owen Merrill and Bob McAdam both of Mt. Pleasant,SC, after Romney spoke to supporters at the Sheraton in North Charleston,SC, Thursday.

Grace Beahm
The Post and Courier

Republican presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney speaks to supporters at the Sheraton in North Charleston,SC Thursday.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney brought his "Ask Mitt Anything" tour to the North Charleston Sheraton on Thursday, and a friendly crowd of about 150 people asked him about energy policy, health care and what makes him qualified to lead.

For Romney, it was a return to the hospitable scene where he won a straw poll among county Republicans earlier this year, a victory he hopes to repeat when state Republicans go to the polls Jan. 19.

In an earlier interview, Romney said he wants to reduce the cost of health insurance so more Americans can afford it, and he wants to get all Americans in the system. He also would like to give states the flexibility to craft their own solutions.

Romney said he expected an upcoming report from Iraq to show good military progress but negative political progress. He said he supports the current surge in troops, "but I'm looking forward to when we can pull back and take on a support capacity."

He said he has held about 75 "Ask Mitt Anything" events and said the most asked ques-tion has been how the United States should deal with immigration.

Romney said he would secure the border first and create an employment verification system to prevent undocumented workers from getting jobs. Those kinds of workers already in the country would get in line with others who want to immigrate here. "I would give them no special deal," he said.

Romney stopped short of calling for Republican Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho to resign after he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Police arrested Craig in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport men's room in June during a sting targeting lewd behavior. Romney said Craig's conduct was "disappointing and disgraceful. ... He has a decision of his own to make about his future."

Former Berkeley County Coroner Wade Arnette asked Romney what he would do about America's oil crisis. Romney said he would strive for energy independence by developing new forms of energy, such as nuclear, ethanol and liquefied coal, as well as by increasing conservation and efficiency.

Romney, a businessman who also helped run the Winter Olympics in Utah, drew a contrast with his opponents, noting that he has served in elective office for only four years. "I've not spent my life in politics," he said. "To me, politics is a duty. I've been infected for four years."

While Romney's support is growing in South Carolina, he still lags in the polls behind former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and is about even with U.S. Sen. John McCain. Romney said these early polls show others have higher name recognition than he does, "and then I go to work. I expect to work hard here."

Romney said South Carolina's primary won't lose any luster even if Michigan leapfrogs the Palmetto State's Jan. 19 date.

"South Carolina will be the first primary in the South and as such is an important test," he said.

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or rbehre@post andcourier.com.