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Romney gives slideshow on trade policy(Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (IA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Nov. 3--WATERLOO -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney took a page out of the business world on Friday when presenting trade policy ideas. At a noon visit to the Supervisors' Club, Romney unveiled a PowerPoint presentation to explain that presidents should have the power to open foreign trade markets. He noted that Iowa exports several billion dollars in agriculture products every year, and that the leading Democratic candidates all favor restricting markets. He argued restrictions would reduce the number of customers Iowa products are available to. "I'd like to open markets to America," he said. "You ought to care about that, because you're in the home of John Deere and the home of corn and soybeans." It's the type of slide show Al Gore made famous on another dense topic -- climate change. And the former Massachusetts governor felt compelled to apologize before embarking on his own slideshow. "This is known as medicine, the cure for insomnia," he said. Romney said he also would ensure countries meet acceptable safety standards. A "Reagan Zone of Economic Freedom" in the World Trade Organization would protect individual intellectual property rights -- products like American software, movie or patents that other countries could copy without compensation. While trade was the centerpiece of the day, the audience responded with only polite applause. The crowd of more than 200 mustered more enthusiasm when he spoke on illegal immigration and gay marriage. Jason Leonard of Waverly said he doesn't know much about trade, but applauded Romney's aggressive foreign policy views. In his speech, Romney vowed to attack "radical jihadists" and "fundamental Islamists." The Republican is polling well in Iowa, and like Hillary Clinton -- the perceived Democratic presidential leader -- he reserved most of his criticism for the opposition party, not the candidates within his own party. When it came to fighting terrorism, Romney again attacked the leading Democratic candidates -- as he did on trade policy. "The Democrats are calling for defeat, if you will, against the jihadists," he said. "You hear someone like John Edwards say there's no war on terror, that it's just a Bush bumper sticker." Many in the audience were just as impressed -- if not more -- by Romney's success as a businessman. He's best known for turning around the scandal-plagued 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Bob Wellner of Waverly said Romney's record as an executive sets him apart from the field and noted Hillary Clinton lacks such experience. "He has a good record of accomplishing things," he said. Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or [email protected]. To see more of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wcfcourier.com/. Copyright (c) 2007, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |