Mitt Romney arrives in Florida’s Space Coast flying high from last night’s debate
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Mitt Romney arrived here flying high from his well-received performance at last night’s debate in Jacksonville, and he couldn’t hide his exuberance.
“How about that debate last night? Wasn’t that fun?’’ he bellowed into a crowded aerospace manufacturing facility.
“Battling was fun, and battle was won,’’ he said to applause.
Romney’s renewed confidence was on full display. He repeated oft-used shots against President Obama, saying the State of the Union address Tuesday night was a reminder of the president’s failures.
“I was listening very carefully to his speech. I’m expected to debate him someday,’’ he said.
He arrived here along what’s known as the Space Coast, home to one of the state’s most important industries and once the launching ground for the country’s shuttles. At the debate, he jousted with Newt Gingrich, his main rival, about the future of the country’s space program.
During the debate, the former Massachusetts governor accused Gingrich of pandering to Florida voters when he talked about colonizing the moon. Romney dismissed his rival’s vision as grandiose and too expensive.
During his visit to the facilities of Astrotech Corp., Romney did not mention Gingrich by name. But in an obvious reference to the former House speaker, Romney said he did not arrive bearing promises of hundreds of millions of dollars to benefit the space program.
Romney, however, said space was fertile ground for developing commerce, advancing science and technology, fostering health research, and advancing national, perhaps even global, defense.
“I like the idea (of a moon colony), but it’s going to be very expensive,’’ said Victor Blum, a project manager for Astrium, which builds cargo carriers for space.
Blum, a Democrat, said he was not impressed with the “lack of vision’’ among the candidates when it comes to space flight. “I wish we could get people to agree on a vision for a space program — how much money we spend, and where we should go.’’
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com