Remarks Following the "Super Tuesday" Primaries and Caucuses

Thank you so much.

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Guys, thank you. Thank you.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

What an honor to have our friends here tonight. This is -- this touches our heart. It's so extraordinarily powerful to come here and see so many friends, and to see me behind here almost the entire Massachusetts Republican state legislature.

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To have Governor Weld here and Kerry Healey, my lieutenant governor, and so many friends.

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You know, Ann, of course, and my family, my sons and daughters here, daughters-in-law. But also at the far end is my brother, and don't ask me if he's younger than me. He's holder than me.

My brother Scott, he's been campaigning all over the country for me.

And I appreciate your being here tonight on a very special night.

You know, Ann came to me and she said, "You know, the one thing that's clear tonight is that nothing's clear." But I think she's wrong. One thing that's clear is this campaign is going on.

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AUDIENCE: Mitt! Mitt! Mitt! Mitt! Mitt! Mitt!

MR. ROMNEY: I think -- I think -- I think there are some people who thought it was all going be done tonight, but it's not all done tonight. We're going to keep on battling. We're going to go all the way to the convention, we're going to win this thing, and we're going to get in to the White House.

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Now, I don't know -- at this stage it's really hard to tell how many delegates we're going to get, because a lot of states, of course, we haven't even heard from, the western states. We know that it's going to be close and interesting in states like Colorado and Montana and California and all over the West, and so we're going see what kind of numbers come in. We'll add those numbers up and have them bright and early in the morning.

My guess is at our home we'll be staying up a little bit later than most of you will. We'll be looking at those numbers.

But I have to tell you, there was a special feeling in my heart when I realized that the three places Ann and I lived have all voted for us -- Michigan, Massachusetts, and Utah. (APPLAUSE)

And -- and we expect -- and we expect a lot more delegates come from a lot of other states as well. But, you know, this is fun and exciting to be part of an election scene like this, to have all of you here cheering us on.

It's just remarkable to know how much work you've done, how much money you've raised, how many doors you knocked down, how many calls you've made. But you know why we're doing it.

We're all doing it for the same reason, and that is we care very deeply about -- well, in my case, these folks up here, and in your case the folks at your home, your kids. For me, I'm very concerned about the kind of America they're going to inherit.

I want to make sure that the kind of prosperity we've known, the peace that we've always experienced, the safety that we've always felt, that it's part of my kids' life and their kids' life, and theirs, indeed, as well. And I recognize that that doesn't just happen.

You see, those that brought this to us paid a very heavy price to buy our peace. They built a strong military who was, without question, the most capable in the world. They built a strong economy that surpassed anybody's in the world. And they also gave to us values that are enduring, like believing in hard work and education, and willing to sacrifice for the future, and love our families, and love of our faith, and love of our country.

And because of these great values and this great economy and our great military, we've emerged as the greatest nation on Earth. And now it's our turn to decide what we're going to give to our kids and to their kids.

We face extraordinary challenges. I'm convinced -- and I mean this very sincerely -- I'm convinced that if Washington continues on its same course, America will emerge not as the great nation of the 21st century by the end, but as a second-tier power.

It will passed by someone else. I can't tell you who it will be, but it would be passed by someone else.

That will not happen. We'll keep America strong because we'll hold on to the values that have always made us successful, values that Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush and Teddy Roosevelt and other great presidents spoke about.

They strengthened our military with more troops to make sure that we could protect ourselves. They strengthened our families with good health care and good schools, and values that are enduring. And they strengthened our economy.

At the base of our ability to lead the world as a robust and powerful economy. Right now, things are a little shaky. You hear people say, well, we're hitting a rough spot. It's more than that. It's more than just a rough spot. There's a long-term slide that we've seen as we're competing with people around the world, Asia in particular. And as our pocketbooks are being emptied by the oil-producing states, taking more and more money every single day from us, we can't allow our economy to continue to be weakened by these other competitors.

It's time for us to lift America, to strengthen our economy. We're going do do that by keeping our taxes down, by getting regulation down, by having immigration work for us. That means stopping illegal immigration, protecting legal immigration.

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We're going to trade...

AUDIENCE: Mitt! Mitt! Mitt! Mitt! Mitt! Mitt!

MR. ROMNEY: We're going to trade -- we're going to trade with other nations around the world, of course, but we're going to do so on a level playing field. We're going to invest in technology and innovation and be the best and the brightest with new products and new designs, and make sure that we always lead the world.

This is the future of this great country.

Now, I know there are some who think that can all be done from Washington, but when it comes time to thinking about how we're going to guide our economy, I think it's more important to know how America works than to know how Washington works. And I think it's helpful to have...

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And when it comes time to think about how our economy is going to build great jobs for our kids and their kids, and maintain the great military we have through our economic strength, I think it's important to have a president who's actually had a job in the private sector...

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You see -- you see, at a time like this -- at a time like this we recognize just how broken Washington is. We've looked to them to solve our problems, and they haven't.

We asked them to solve Social Security. They haven't done that. We asked them to balance the budget. They haven't.

We asked them as well to rein in excessive pork barrel spending. They haven't.

AUDIENCE: They haven't!

MR. ROMNEY: We asked them to get health care that was affordable and portable for all of us. And they haven't.

AUDIENCE: They haven't!

MR. ROMNEY: We asked them to get education that's the best in the world. They haven't.

AUDIENCE: They haven't!

MR. ROMNEY: We asked them to live by high ethical standards. And they haven't.

AUDIENCE: They haven't!

MR. ROMNEY: We asked them to end illegal immigration. And they haven't.

AUDIENCE: And they haven't!

MR. ROMNEY: We asked them to get us off of foreign oil and let us be able to be energy-independent. And they haven't.

AUDIENCE: And they haven't!

MR. ROMNEY: It's time for the politicians to leave Washington and for we, the people, to take over!

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This -- this isn't just about the heart and soul of our party. It isn't just about which part is going to win in November. This is the about the future course of our country.

This is about whether or not Washington will finally deal with the challenges we face, whether Washington is up to the task of helping solve these problem, taking advantage of opportunities, making sure that our kids and their kids live in an America that's the greatest nation on Earth. It must be. It has always been.

The world depends upon our sacrifice, our commitment, and dedication to peace and prosperity and to liberty. This is the greatest nation in the history of the Earth. We will keep it the hope of the Earth. With your help, we'll do it together.

Thank you so much!

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Now everybody -- Ann, has been the best first lady that...

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... the Romney family has ever known. And we're looking forward to having the entire nation get to know Ann Romney as first lady.

My sweetheart, Ann.