Mitt Romney's Willie Horton? Candidate Denounces Lenient Judge During NH Campaign Swing

Mitt Romney continued to campaign hard in New Hampshire, as part of his strategy of building up an insurmountable momentum for the Republican Presidential nomination by taking the early contests of Iowa and the Granite State. On Saturday, November 24^th, the handsome and telegenic Romney marched in a parade sans hat in freezing temperatures in Allentown, New Hampshire, which is located halfway between Manchester, the state's largest city, and Concord, the state capital.

Romney enjoys a comfortable lead in the polls over his two nearest rivals, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. However, the contest is still wide open as the numbers of uncommitted Republicans and independent voters, who can request the ballot of either party on election day, remain in the majority among those registered voters likely to go to the polls. With the primary set for January 8, 2008, there is a little over six weeks left to campaign.

In press conference held in Derry, New Hampshire on Saturday, Romney addressed the question of the judge he had appointed to the Massachusetts Superior Court, who had granted release to a convicted killer who subsequently migrated to Washington State, where he killed again. Romney called on the judge to resign.

Superior Court Judge Kathe M. Tuttman, rejected the request of prosecutors to hold Daniel Tavares, Jr. on $50,000 bail after he was arrested on assault charges. A lower court had required that he post bail or stay in prison on the grounds that Tavares had assaulted prison guards and was still dangerous. Tavares, who had been released from prison in June after serving 16 years for murdering his mother, was sprung from behind bars a year early for "good behavior" despite his assault on guards and his threats against public officials. According to the Boston Herald, in February 2006, Tavares has threatened to kill Governor Romney and other public officials, including then-Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly.