"We'll see more kids stay in school because they'll see better jobs after school," he says. "Even if we're very tough, we will not solve the crime problem until we get to the root of the problem--more good jobs."
He says his experience in the private sector has taught him that an increase in the national capital stock is necessary for job creation and economic growth.
Romney insists the nation will be successful in the long term only if government policies help the economy grow.
"We've been losing a massive share of our country's capital to fuel the growth of government," Romney says.
Consequently, Romney has proposed two measures to increase the national capital stock both in the short run and in the long run--balancing the budget and creating personal savings accounts.
"We first have to get a budget in balance before we may have substantial tax cuts," he says. "A middle class savings account will generate more economic growth and will not reduce revenue to government."
Romney concedes the economy has been growing recently but insists that President Clinton's proposals have not worked well enough.
"The American public is a great deal more intelligent than the politicians give it credit for," he says. "The American public recognizes that there are cycles. [During this economic recovery] we keep seeing layoffs."
But the candidate says he has not yet made a decision on whether to remove the antitrust exemption granted to Major League Baseball.
The Horse Race
Despite Romney's lack of political experience, many recent polls have placed him in a statistical dead heat with Kennedy.
Many analysts say he has succeeded so far not on his own merits but because of voter antipathy toward Kennedy and other Democratic incumbents and the relative strength of Governor William F. Weld '66, a popular Republican.
"Since Weld is doing so well, there might be some coat tail effects for Mitt Romney," says Paul Y. Watanabe, a professor of political science at University of Massachusetts-Boston.
But Gedstad insists Romney's character and ideology have led to his success so far.
"Most of Mitt's success is Mitt himself," Gedstad says. "You can't put nothing up against something."
And Romney says stances on the issues will propel him to victory in November.
"There are 30% of the population for whom there's a personal issue, and there are 30% of the voters who love Ted Kennedy and will vote for him no matter what," says the Republican. "The rest of the voters in the middle look to the issues--jobs and taxes."
If he realizes he cannot afford to coast into the big race--as he did thirty years ago--Romney may have more success in politics than in cross-country running.