Dearborn — About 15 MSU students braved early morning traffic to show their support for Republican Mitt Romney on Tuesday, who formally announced his presidential bid at the Henry Ford Museum.
"Being a youth, it's important to show support," said Leo Madarang, chairman of MSU's Students for Romney. "By going to these events as youths, it shows the public and candidates like this that we want our voices heard, and that we care about politics and that we are the future."
Romney, who completed one term as Massachusetts' governor in early January, was born in Michigan. His father, George W. Romney, was Michigan's governor for most of the 1960s. And brother Scott Romney is a member of the MSU Board of Trustees.
Mitt Romney delivered his speech in front of several hundred supporters at the museum because it's a place that exhibits innovation — the type that revolutionized the automobile industry and gave Americans a life many never had dreamed of living, he said.
The museum symbolized the type of transformation American government needs during such a precarious time, he said.
"Innovation and transformation have been at the heart of America's success," Romney said. "If there ever was a time when innovation and transformation were needed in government, it is now."
Romney criticized the Bush administration and his Democratic opponents for doing a lot of talking, but not enough acting. He said lessons he's learned from his experiences in business and politics would prevent this problem from occurring if he were elected president.
"Talk is easy, talk is cheap," Romney said. "It is doing that is hard, and it is only in doing that hope and dreams come to life."
At this critical juncture, the United States must improve homeland security, Romney said.
"Today, as we stare at the face of radical, violent Jihad and at the prospect of nuclear epidemic, our military should not be subject to the whims of ever-changing political agendas," Romney said.
Romney is the perfect medicine for America's problems, Scott Romney said.
"We need somebody who really understands the issues that are facing us," he said. "We have unique problems, unique challenges of our time. When you look at the problems that we have with our families — with health insurance, with education, with the sanctity of life — I believe that he's somebody who could help bring us together."
But Kyle Bristow, chairman of Young Americans for Freedom at MSU, said Romney is a social liberal changing his agenda only to attain greater support from Republicans.
"Mitt Romney — I believe to be a fraud, a sham, a flip-flopper and a con, and it would be a travesty if he were to get the Republican nomination for president," Bristow said.
Bristow referred to debates on same-sex marriage, stem cell research and abortion in which Romney's stances were different than they are now. "He's trying to fool conservatives."
Romney's indecisiveness would be extremely dangerous if he were elected president, Bristow added.
"In Michigan, our economy is bad, we have terrorists overseas who want to kill us, we have a massive deficit — we can't have an indecisive leader," said Bristow, who did not attend Tuesday's event but protested Romney's visit to Grand Rapids on Saturday.
Some of Romney's social stances, especially his opposition to stem cell research, wouldn't serve the best interest of the people, said Emily Mixter, secretary of the MSU Democrats.
"(Stem cell research) respects life because you're respecting people who are living right now and giving them the opportunity to fight the diseases," Mixter said. "If there's a way that we could help cure these diseases and get better treatment, then we should explore it."
If elected, Romney would be the first Mormon president.
"I thought he was terrific. … I haven't heard somebody speak so eloquently and so passionately about America since Ronald Reagan," Waterford resident David Krall said.
Alex Altman can be reached at altmanal@msu.edu.
