Mitt Romney was in New Hampshire yesterday and had some interesting comments. I may be coming around on him a little bit.

Here is an article fom the New Hampshire Union Leader about his visit here:

Romney: Spending Cap, Programs Review Crucial

By Garry Gano

New Hampshire Union Leader Staff

MANCHESTER – Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney yesterday proposed a cap on federal spending increases and a “tip-to-toe” re-evaluation of all federal agencies, programs and procurements.

In an interview at the New Hampshire Union Leader yesterday, the former Massachusetts governor said he would limit non-military, discretionary federal spending to the rate of the consumer price index minus 1 percentage point.

“If (federal spending) were above that cap, I would veto it,” Romney said. “We simply cannot afford to spend at the levels we have been.”

He noted spending levels have been inflated because of incidents such as Hurricane Katrina and congressional earmarks, but said something has to be done to better control federal spending.

Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney’s traveling press secretary, said later the governor would make an exception for natural disasters or other catastrophic situations. The cap would apply to the year-to-year increases in federal spending, he said.

Romney said he would conduct a rigorous review of all federal programs and agencies, not just the occasional reauthorizations done by Congress. “I believe there is a lot we can cut from the federal budget,” he said.

Romney said the Republican Party has lost its way and no longer follows its economically conservative roots.

One area Romney said needs no more federal money is education. “If the federal government puts a lot more money into education, that opens the door to saying, ‘This is the curriculum we want you to teach,'” he said.

Romney said entitlements have to be brought under control, saying they will have consumed 70 percent of the federal budget by about 2016. He said solving the problems with Social Security would be easier than eliminating those plaguing Medicaid and Medicare.

Romney favors reducing benefits for wealthier retirees over other options. “That will solve two-thirds of the financial problems,” he said.

He would cap the growth of the Medicaid program — which provides health care to the poor — by giving states more flexibility through block grants.

Reform is needed to help fix Medicare, the health-care program for the elderly, he said. Health care has to work more like a market, he said, which means those receiving the care need to have a financial stake in the decisions they make.

Romney touted the universal health-care insurance program he helped institute as governor of Massachusetts, but said he does not want to create one nationwide plan.

“I want to enable states to (develop) a health-care plan that works for that state,” he said. “I want the states to be laboratories for democracy, where they can experiment to find out what’s best.”

After three or four years, one state plan may emerge as clearly the best, and other states might want to adopt it, he said.

Romney also did not back away from his support of President Bush entering the war with Iraq, but noted: “We did not do a great job of managing the War in Iraq” once Saddam Hussein fell.

He wants to convene all the “nations in the civilized world” to develop what he called the “second Marshall Plan” to help move the Islamic world away from radicalism and toward moderation.

He called the radicalization of the Islamic world through Jihad a big threat to the United States. “American culture is under attack,” he said.

Romney noted Hezbollah spent several million dollars a year in Lebanon providing schools and health care for citizens. “As the civilized world, we need to be more thoughtful about how to do similar things,” he said.

Romney was also critical of current immigration policy and said the proposal by U.S. Sens. John McCain and Ted Kennedy was not the answer. McCain, who is also seeking the Republican Presidential nomination, proposed a program to categorize illegal immigrants and to set up different criteria allowing them to remain in the United States legally.

“Amnesty is wrong. Amnesty did not work in 1983, and amnesty will not work this time,” he said.

The country first needs to secure its borders, then institute an employment verification system through high-tech identification cards, he said.

Romney noted immigration has been part of this country’s heritage. People who can make certain contributions ought to be invited in, he said, but “don’t say, ‘Anyone who can climb over the wall can come in.'”

Elected in 2002, Romney was the last of four consecutive Republican governors elected in the heavily Democratic state, beginning with Bill Weld in 1990.

Highlights of his one term as governor include mandatory health insurance for every adult in the state, a balanced budget and taking charge of the Big Dig highway project after the ceiling of one tunnel collapsed last summer.

As chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Romney raised a record $27 million for candidates running for governor in 2006.

He first gained national recognition for his role in turning around the 2002 Winter Olympics.

From 1978 to 1984, Romney was vice president at Bain & Company Inc. In 1984, he founded Bain Capital, a venture capital and investment company.

Romney received his B.A. from Brigham Young University in 1971. He was awarded an MBA from Harvard Business School and received his law degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Romney has campaigned in New Hampshire for the past two years. He owns a vacation home on Lake Winnipesaukee.