By Byron York
YOUNGSTOWN Ohio - There are other folks in this campaign talking about a lot of other things and thats fine Mitt Romney told a crowd of several hundred
people in this job-starved Rust Belt town on the eve of Super Tuesday. But for me its more jobs less debt and smaller government.
While GOP rivals Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have gotten sidetracked by contraception Sandra Fluke and other media obsessions of the moment Romney has stuck close to his message on the economy and government spending. It shows a discipline in the campaign -- and in the candidate himself -- that other contenders just dont have.
Just go back to the last Republican debate on Feb. 22 in Mesa Ariz. Moderator John King asked all the candidates an innocuous question concerning misconceptions about themselves. Romney ignored it completely and started into his campaign pitch. When King reminded him of the question Romney said You know you get to ask the questions you want and I get to give the answers I want.
Its not a strategy designed to make any friends in the press but that approach has allowed Romney to steer clear of damaging controversies like the current brouhaha over contraception. On the Sunday morning programs just 48 hours before Super Tuesday voting both Santorum and Gingrich got tangled up in questions about the issue. Romney meanwhile kept pushing jobs jobs jobs.
Here inOhios MahoningValley-- where median household income inYoungstownis $24318 a year compared with $47358 statewide and $51914 nationwide -- thats what people want to hear about.
Ive always liked Santorum but hes pushing the issues of birth control and the church and all that says Allen Ryan a retired auto-parts maintenance supervisor from Champion Ohio whose pension suffered deep cuts as a result of the Obama administrations bailout deals. Thats just not my priority right now.
I just wish they would get away from that says Bruce Dilullo a pharmacist fromPolandOhio of the contraception issue. For some people that kind of stuff is important but theres just too much going on in this country right now that we really dont need to be talking about that right now.
Its not that Santorum isnt talking about the economy. Indeed its the biggest part of his campaign pitch. But for whatever reason he has on many occasions allowed his economic message to become obscured by the controversies of the day -- sometimes controversies of his own making. That hurt him inMichigan and it will probably hurt him inOhio.
I think the religious freedom issue is important to a lot of people including here in theMahoningValley says Sen. Rob Portman who supports Romney and appeared with him at theYoungstownrally. But look the top issue is jobs and the economy.
Romney schedules a lot of his campaign events at factories and other businesses. InYoungstown he appeared at Taylor Winfield Technologies which for want of a better description makes really big machines. As he spoke Romney stood in front of a giant car shredder that can turn an entire automobile into shards of scrap metal in about 15 seconds.
(Romney loves cars so much that he has campaigned at both ends of the automotive life cycle from the maker inDetroitto the shredder inYoungstown.)
Romney is still capable of tripping on his tongue even in the friendliest of environments. InYoungstown he introduced his wife Ann as the heavyweight champion of my life. Catching himself after a couple of funny looks he quickly added Wait that didnt come out right. What he meant to say he explained was that she is a real fighter.
But on the big things Romney is ruthlessly on message. My understanding of the economy and jobs does not come from my reading about it or by debating it a subcommittee meeting Romney told the crowd. My experience in the economy came from actually living in the economy.
That approach appears to be working inOhio. The polls suggest this state might be playing out like the recentMichiganprimary: Santorum jumps to a sizable lead after victories inMinnesotaColorado andMissouri but then Romney begins gradually catching up winning at the finish line.
If that happens it wont be just because of Romneys legendary attacks and negative ads. It will be because of his relentless no-distractions focus on his campaigns mantra: more jobs less debt and smaller government.
Byron York is the Washington Examiners chief political correspondent. His column appears on Tuesday & Friday.
