Romney's Government Reduction Plan

In Romney’s CBS 60 Minutes September 23, 2012 interview Pelley said: Balancing the budget will require sacrifice. And I wonder what is it, specifically, that you're asking the American people to sacrifice? Romney: I'm going to look at every federal program and I'll ask this question, "Is this so-- program so critical it's worth borrowing money from China to pay for it?" And if it doesn't pass that test, I'm going to eliminate the program because we just can't afford to keep spending more money than we take in. This is something which is not just bad economics. I think it's immoral. Pelley: So many people at home look at Washington and think that it is completely broken. You are going to have to reach out to Democrats in order to get anything done. How do you heal that breach, especially after a fairly acrimonious campaign? Romney: There's no question but that Washington is broken. And I happen to think that flows from the president. I think ultimately the buck stops at the president's desk. He'd probably say the same thing. I think you have to have a president-- Pelley: The president would probably blame it on the Republican Congress, governor. Romney: His challenge with blaming it on the Republican Congress is of course that for his first 2 years, right now the majority of his term, he had a Democrat Congress, a super majority in the Democrat Congress. And he had a whole series of things he said he was going to do, he didn't do. Leadership is not just working with your own party, but working with both parties. And I learned that. I was governor of a state with a legislature 87% Democrat. Just as you said, Scott, I realized I was going to get nothing done unless I had a relationship-- a respect, and trust with the members of the opposition party. Pelley: What are the essential qualities of a leader? Romney: Well, a leader has to have the capacity to build trust in the people he or she works with. People have to look at that person and say, "I may disagree with them. But I know where they stand. And I can trust them." A leader has the capacity of vision, the ability to see where things are headed before people in general see those things. That vision is typically a product, in part not just of their skill and brilliance, but even more their experience, their life experience. And so if you're looking for a leader to guide an economy, you hope that you have someone who didn't just study it in school, but someone who's actually lived in the economy.

I’m not sure Obama schmoozing would have helped; Boehner couldn’t control his Republicans either. Romney’s comment about a Democrat Congress is bull if you check the records; they have 51 Senators-it takes 60 to get a bill passed and the Republicans control the House. I’ve said it before, the Tea Party had one agenda - don’t pay a fair share of taxes and reduce the deficit. Once Romney shifts the programs that Americans need to the states, he'll go after the agencies that protect our health and safety such as the EPA and FDA.