Union Leader Endorses Newt Gingrich, Snubs Mitt Romney

Jessica McGowan/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The New Hampshire Union Leader endorsed Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich Sunday, giving Gingrich his most significant endorsement yet, and snubbing Mitt Romney as “one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear.”

In an above-the-fold Sunday editorial, the Gingrich endorsement ran under the headline, “For President, Newt Gingrich.”

While the endorsement was largely positive regarding Gingrich, the editorial board said they did not agree with all of Gingrich’s positions and acknowledged what many Republicans are saying about the field of candidates.

“We would rather back someone with whom we may sometimes disagree than one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear,” the paper said. “Newt Gingrich is by no means the perfect candidate.”

In 2007, the paper endorsed Sen. John McCain, who then went on to win the state’s primary. But the paper’s track record is not spotless: In 2000, Steve Forbes got the endorsement but little else when voters headed to the polls that January.

The snub comes just over a week after Romney was seated next to Union Leader publisher Joe McQuaid at a fundraising luncheon in Manchester.

The Romney campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The paper met with all of the presidential candidates except for Rep. Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty, who, according to editorial page editor Drew Cline, “Just weren’t here.”

Businessman Herman Cain is scheduled to meet with the editorial board this week, and it’s not yet known if that plan will change in light of the endorsement.

The editorial board spoke with Gingrich last Monday, when apparently he was able to persuade the members with his straight-talk and a campaign strategy in which Gingrich says is based on solutions.

“We are in critical need of the innovative, forward-looking strategy and positive leadership that Gingrich has shown he is capable of providing,” the Union Leader wrote.

The Gingrich campaign seemed to be near dead in the summer when his staff left in a mass exodus after reports surfaced Gingrich had two half-million dollar credit lines at Tiffany’s and took a luxury cruise to the Greece, despite advisers’ recommendations.

Despite recent scrutiny Gingrich faced with reports surfacing he made almost $2 million from consulting for failed home mortgage corporation Freddie Mac up until its collapse and reports that he changed his position on health mandates, the Union Leader was able to look past his so far roller coaster campaign.

The editorial cited Gingrich’s “Contract with America” from the early 1990s and his history of leading Republicans to their first majority in the House in 40 years. The federal government had a balanced budget all four years of Gingrich’s stint as speaker, and “even a surplus despite the political challenge of dealing with a Democratic President,” the Union Leader wrote.

“A lot of candidates say they’re going to improve Washington,” the endorsement said. “Newt Gingrich has actually done that, and in this race he offers the best shot of doing it again.”

Gingrich is scheduled to campaign in South Carolina Monday through Wednesday and then to head to Iowa Thursday. There are no plans in the current public schedule to campaign in New Hampshire in the coming week.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Obama to GOP: Don’t Be a ‘Grinch,’ Extend Payroll Tax Cuts

JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images(MANCHESTER, N.H.) -- Speaking from the 2012 battleground state of New Hampshire, President Obama urged lawmakers Tuesday to extend a payroll tax cut as he attacked Republicans for supporting tax breaks for the wealthy but not the middle class.

“When push comes to shove, are you willing to fight as hard for working families as you are for the wealthiest Americans? What’s it going to be? That’s the choice,” Obama said in a speech at a high school in Manchester, N.H.

The president caricatured Republicans as the “Grinch” for failing to support a proposal in his $447 billion jobs bill to extend and expand last year’s payroll tax cuts, which expire in December.

“Tell them, ‘Don’t be a Grinch.’ Don’t vote to raise taxes on working Americans during the holidays. Put the country before party. Put money back in the pockets of working families. Do your job. Pass our jobs bill,” Obama told the crowd of roughly 1,300.

“If Congress refuses to act, then middle-class families are going to get hit with a tax increase at the worst time....We can’t let that happen. Not right now. It would be bad for the economy. It would be bad for employment,” Obama said. “Are they really willing to break their oath to never raise taxes, and raise taxes on the middle class just to play politics?”

According to the White House, the president’s proposal would provide a tax cut for 160 million workers by increasing the payroll tax cut to 3.1 percent.

“That isn’t a Band-Aid, that is a big deal,” Obama said in a veiled jab at Republican candidate Mitt Romney, who last month called the payroll tax cut extension a Band-Aid. Romney began airing his first TV ad of the cycle in New Hampshire Tuesday, using his visit to attack Obama’s economic record.

“In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we are going to give them another chance,” the president said, referring to Congress. “Next week they’re going to get to make a simple vote. To be clear -- no, your taxes go up; yes, you get a tax cut. Which way do you think they should vote?”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Obama Will Urge Congress to Act on Payroll Tax Extension

JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images(MANCHESTER, N.H.) -- President Obama is scheduled to travel to New Hampshire on Tuesday to urge lawmakers to extend and expand the payroll tax cut, a key provision of his $447 billion jobs bill.

“If Congress fails to extend the current payroll tax cut, taxes will go up on millions of people at a time when families are struggling to make ends meet,” a White House official said.

The president’s proposal would provide a tax cut for 160 million workers by increasing the payroll tax cut from 2.0 percent to 3.1 percent, “providing a significant boost to consumers and the economy,” according to the White House.

The plan would also cut payroll taxes nearly in half for small businesses -- from 6.1 to 3.1 percent -- on the first $5 million in wages for employers and provide a payroll tax holiday on any increase in payroll for firms that hire new workers or increase wages.

“With the holiday season approaching, the president will urge Congress to act not just to ensure that taxes don’t go up on middle class families at the beginning of the year, but also to cut taxes for families and small businesses in the American Jobs Act to help strengthen the recovery and create jobs now,” the official said.

In a speech he is scheduled to deliver in Manchester, N.H., the president will also unveil a new web tool that will allow Americans to see how much money they could save if Congress passes the jobs act and how much their taxes will go up if Congress fails to act.

The president will also meet with a local family before delivering remarks at Manchester High School Central.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Mitt Romney to Launch Television Ad in New Hampshire

James Devaney/WireImage(WASHINGTON) -- Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is going on the air with a television ad in New Hampshire on Tuesday that will take direct aim at President Obama on the same day the president will visit the state to talk about his economic agenda.

Romney will preview the ad in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday night and the ad will be broadcast on New Hampshire television stations the following day.

“I want people to remember that when he was Candidate Obama, that he said he was going to get this economy going, he was going to bring people together, be a real leader for change in America” Romney said in an interview with Hannity that was taped Sunday and will air on Monday night.

“So I’m going to run an ad that shows him and the things he said here in New Hampshire in a speech here. The contrast between what he said and what he did is so stark; people will recognize we really do need to have someone new lead this country.  And then I, of course, described why I’m the right person for that responsibility.  So we’ll put the ad up on Tuesday, the very day he comes to New Hampshire.”

This is the first TV ad of Romney’s presidential campaign.  The 60-second spot will air on ABC News’ Manchester, N.H. affiliate WMUR-TV.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Romney Snags Second High-Profile New Hampshire Endorsement

Darren McCollester/Getty Images(MANCHESTER, N.H.) -- Mitt Romney has gained the support of two high-profile Republican leaders in New Hampshire in as many days, preparing on Monday to announce the support of Granite State Congressman Charlie Bass.

Bass’ endorsement, first reported by the Nashua Telegraph, comes hours after state Sen. Kelly Ayotte appeared at a rally in Nashua to announce her own support of the presidential candidate.

Bass previously endorsed Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in his presidential bids in 2000 and 2008.  Bass, who will appear with Romney on Monday at a campaign stop at Nashua’s BAE Systems, one of the state’s largest employers, will serve as co-chair of the New Hampshire steering committee and will be a member of the campaign’s national steering committee.

The endorsements of Bass, a moderate in the state, and Ayotte, a far more conservative leader who last year was backed by former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, leaves one GOP Congressional member from New Hampshire up for grabs: Rep. Frank Guinta.

Guinta recently told the Nashua Telegraph that he plans to make an endorsement and has met with several of the candidates.

“I feel that we’re in a much stronger position now that the date’s set for January.  And, now, I’ll start to consider if I would actually endorse, but I am certainly considering it,” Guinta told the paper earlier this month.

Like Bass, Guinta endorsed McCain in the 2008 presidential primary -- but not until the days leading up to the state’s primary.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Romney Blames Obama for Expected Failure of Supercommittee

Richard Ellis/Getty Images(NASHUA, N.H.) -- Mitt Romney blamed President Obama on Sunday for the anticipated failure of the so-called "Congressional supercommittee," accusing the president of having done “nothing” to help the group come to a consensus on the budget.

“Now we’ve heard today on the morning TV shows, I am not sure if you all got up and listened to the morning TV shows, but they are predicting that the supercommittee that was designed to find a way to cut spending and balance our budget, to find over a trillion dollars over the next 10 years, that that committee is headed for failure,” Romney said.

“It is another example of failed leadership,” he said on the steps of the Nashua City Hall in New Hampshire.  “He has not taken personal responsibility to get the supercommittee to find ways to balance the budget and cut spending.  Instead, he set a trap and said we are going to cut military spending by $600 billion over the next 10 years."

“I call on the President of the United States to immediately introduce legislation that restores that cut to our military.  We cannot put the United States’ security at jeopardy by virtue of the failure of this committee and the failure of his leadership,” Romney said. The cuts would be "devastating" to the U.S. armed forces, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Capitol Hill last week.

Romney’s remarks came during a rally in Nashua alongside Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., who made her endorsement of Romney official on Sunday, remarking that one of the reasons she decided to join his team was because of his performance in the debates.

Romney has been campaigning in New Hampshire since Friday, and has vocalized his need for New Hampshire votes more in these last few visits than in past events.

“Let’s make a job creating machine the objective of the next administration,” Romney said Sunday.  “I will do it with your help.  We’re going to win.  We’re going to take this campaign across the country and the voice of New Hampshire is going to be heard across America.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Romney Snags Coveted N.H. Senator Endorsement

Ethan Miller/Getty Images(PETERBOROUGH, N.H.) -- Sen. Kelly Ayotte will endorse presidential candidate Mitt Romney Sunday, becoming the first congressional member in the state to throw her weight behind a GOP candidate, ABC News has learned.

In an e-mail Saturday night to supporters, Ayotte wrote, “I have been looking for a candidate that can lead our country based on our shared conservative principles and who can win.

“For me, Mitt Romney is that candidate and that is why I will be working as hard as I can to help him secure the Republican nomination and most importantly, ensure that Barack Obama is a one-term president,” Ayotte wrote.

“I believe Governor Romney will run a campaign against President Obama that is serious, substantive, and one we can be proud of,” she added.

New Hampshire’s Union Leader was the first to report the endorsement.

Ayotte, widely considered to be the top elected official in New Hampshire, is scheduled to attend a rally with Romney Sunday in Nashua where she will make the endorsement official.

According to the Union Leader, Ayotte is the first GOP senator from an early primary or caucus state to make an endorsement.

Ayotte joins the ranks of Romney backers in the state, including former Gov. John H. Sununu and former Sen. Judd Gregg, as well as several other state representatives.

Ayotte will be named co-chair of Romney’s national advisory committee and will campaign for him in the Granite State and other early states, according to the campaign.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Rick Perry Says He Relishes Opportunity to Debate Obama

Alex Wong/Getty Images(NASHUA, N.H.) -- In a VFW hall in downtown Nashua, N.H., Wednesday afternoon, Texas Gov. Rick Perry was confronted by a voter’s concern that his debate skills might impede his run for the presidency, especially should he become the Republican nominee and face President Obama in the general election.

“You’re much better out here away from that podium.  How are you going to defeat Obama considering you’re not a very good debater?” an audience member asked during the question-and-answer session.

“I relish the day.  We’ll have a lot of debates.  I’ll get there early,” Perry responded.  “And talk about the future of this country because that’s what people want to hear.  Who knows how to get America back working, and I’ve got the track record and the outsider of Washington D.C. to do it.  I can’t wait to get started.”

At the packed VFW hall, Perry continued promoting his “Uproot and Overhaul Washington” plan and fielded questions about healthcare, China and education.

One audience member asked if he would cut the federal workforce through attrition as he had heard Mitt Romney describe at a recent New Hampshire event.

“I’m gonna cut with an axe, sir,” Perry said.

The Nashua townhall was Perry’s second event of the day on his seventh trip to the state.  It is unclear when and how often Perry will return to New Hampshire, but his staff says Perry will campaign again in the state before the primary.

“We’ll definitely be back to the Granite State,” campaign manager Rob Johnson said.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Rick Perry Takes ‘Uproot’ Plan on the Road

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(MANCHESTER, N.H.) -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry took his “Uproot and Overhaul Washington” plan on the road Wednesday, spending the majority of his first town hall in New Hampshire touting his new plan which will reform government to better suit the people.

“We the people are not the subjects of government.  Government should be the subject to the people,” Perry said in a townhall at Granite State Manufacturing.

Perry repeated his plan to organize a part-time citizen Congress, institute term limits for federal judges and upend the bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.

The GOP candidate criticized the Washington power structure.

“I’m reminded of what one of your citizens of New Hampshire, Granite Stater by the name of P.J. O’Rourke once said: ‘Giving money and power to government is like giving teenagers whiskey and car keys.’  This election the American people, they want the car keys back,” Perry said.

Perry acknowledged that his new plan might be criticized by some in the nation’s capital, but he argued his intention isn’t to please the establishment.

“My wife and my family and pretty much I think the dogs love me,” Perry said.  “I’m not going to Washington D.C. to make any friends.  I’m going to Washington D.C. to make a difference.  I love this country.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Romney Holds Double-Digit Lead over Obama in N.H. Poll

Richard Ellis/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Fresh off a nine-day swing through Southeast Asia, President Obama heads to New Hampshire early next week, switching back into campaign mode in a key campaign state where his standing among voters has dropped nosedived since the 2008 election.

A new Bloomberg poll shows Obama trailing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by 10 points -- 40 percent to 50 percent, respectively -- in a hypothetical general election match-up.

In 2008, Obama carried the Granite State with 54 percent of the vote compared with 45 percent for Sen. John McCain.

The erosion of support for Obama was led by independents, who the poll found favored Romney by a 15-point margin.

The survey of 500 Granite State residents, including 324 likely voters, was conducted by Selzer & Co. for Bloomberg News between Nov. 10-11. It has a margin of error of 5.5 percentage points for general election figures.

The poll signals an uphill climb for Obama in a battleground state that has backed the winner in four of the past five presidential elections.

Obama’s campaign has opened two field offices in New Hampshire -- in Portsmouth and Concord -- and plan an aggressive organizing effort around women voters and younger voters, constituencies with whom Obama retains an edge, according to the Bloomberg poll.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio