Romney, a por la victoria en Iowa

The New York Times:

The answer to one of the great lingering questions about the Republican presidential race has suddenly turned up here along Ingersoll Avenue, where Mitt Romney’s Iowa campaign headquarters is opening for business.

Mr. Romney, who has been cautiously calibrating expectations about his chances in a state full of social conservatives, is now playing to win the Iowa caucuses. Television commercials are on the way, volunteers are arriving and a stealth operation is ready to burst into view in the weeks leading up to the caucuses, the first Republican nominating contest, on Jan. 3.

The escalation of his effort in Iowa, along with a more aggressive schedule in New Hampshire and an expanding presence in South Carolina, is the strongest indication yet that Mr. Romney is shifting from a defensive, make-no-mistakes crouch to an assertive offensive strategy. If he can take command in the three early-voting states, he could make the nominating battle a swift one.

(...) The risk to Mr. Romney in Iowa has always been twofold.

Going for a victory and coming up short could leave him appearing weakened heading into New Hampshire, a must-win state for him. And greater visibility here means navigating social conservatives, some of whom have expressed qualms about his Mormon faith and many of whom have questions about his ideological commitment.

But Mr. Romney is approaching the caucuses far differently this time. He declined to appear at a forum on Saturday organized by a prominent social conservative activist, Bob Vander Plaats. Mr. Romney’s advisers say he is not trying to persuade his critics to support him, but rather to find voters who like his economic message and believe that he is the party’s strongest nominee.

There is also the prospect for significant reward if he takes control of the race, rather than sitting back and hoping that his rivals fade.

(...) The Romney reinforcements arriving here are a telling sign of a new engagement.

Kent Lucken, an international banker from Boston and a top foreign policy adviser and contributor to Mr. Romney, has moved back to his native Iowa for the final six weeks. He will be joined by other volunteers in their methodical effort to persuade voters — often one phone call at a time — that Mr. Romney offers Republicans their best chance to win back the White House.

“We know who our supporters are; the key is just to go out and deliver,” Mr. Lucken said Friday, returning from Plymouth County, where he and his parents scoured lists of potential supporters. “No one is organizing the ground. These other campaigns are not out there aggressively, at least today.”

(...) His advisers are using the 2008 results as a roadmap. Polling and other research has led the campaign to believe that Mr. Romney could win not only a majority of his old supporters, but also at least a share of the 35,000 Republicans who supported Fred D. Thompson, John McCain and Rudolph W. Giuliani four years ago.

(...) Television advertisements could start here and in other early-voting states by December, when Mr. Romney is scheduled to spend more time campaigning here. His task is to meet new voters and reacquaint himself with old supporters, but he does not plan to reprise an act from 2008 when he held dozens of forums called “Ask Mitt Anything.”

This time, aides said, campaign events will be tailored so voters are encouraged to ask Mr. Romney about just one thing above all: the economy.