Mitt Romney gave a great commencement speech at Hillsdale College this past weekend. Here are some excerpts from his speech:

“The right course for America in a world where evil still exists is not acquiescence and weakness, it is assertiveness and strength.

“Following the end of the Cold War, President Clinton began to dismantle our military. He reduced our forces by 500,000. He retired almost 80 ships. Our spending on national defense dropped from over 6% of GDP to 3.8% today. He called it a ‘peace dividend.’ We got the dividend, but we didn’t get the peace. Charles Krauthammer called our blissful disarmament a ‘holiday from history.’

“There are still some who are on holiday. They refuse to see Jihad as a global struggle, as a war. They would continue to reduce our military spending to finance social programs. They would celebrate, chanting that they are going to ‘give peace a chance.’ But it is strength, not weakness, that gives peace a chance.

“Some of our citizens see the evil in the world, but argue that we should simply isolate ourselves from it. But one characteristic of evil is that it seeks domination over others, all others. Germany was poised to conquer one last European island and Japan had attacked our Pacific fleet there is no safe place if evil is unrestrained. The weak may hide, but they become weaker still, until at last they are discovered, and easily conquered.

“History teaches us this: the best ally of peace is a strong America. As Ronald Reagan observed: ‘Of the four wars during my lifetime, none of them began because America was too strong.’

The most important qualification in the area of the war on terror or homeland security in my mind is what your underlying philosophical understanding of the conflict is. And with these remarks, Romney has shown that he has an incredibly perfect grasp of the subject. And he has a great understanding on how to deal with it as well:

“In my view, a strong America is built upon several pillars. First, is a strong military. Teddy Roosevelt said we should ’speak softly and carry a big stick.’ Lately, some of the enemies of democracy think that we speak loudly and carry a small stick.

“I would like to see us strengthen our military by adding at least an additional 100,000 troops. I believe that we must also re-equip our troops, particularly after the loss of our armaments in the current conflicts. I want to accelerate our missile defense system. And we need to make sure that the veterans who have been willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom receive the care, the support and the outpouring of appreciation they deserve. This will mean that defense spending must rise, at least for a time, to 4% of our national economic activity, or more.

“We must always be able to defend America on our own. But we know that our strength is amplified when it is combined with the strength of other nations. America is stronger when we have friends standing with us.”

The rest of the remarks can be found here. It’s a great speech. And it’s also a great time to remind folks of Romney’s other qualifications in this area:

*Co-chaired the National Governor’s Association Homeland Security Council
*Member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council
*Chaired the DHS’s State and Local Officials Senior Advisory Committee
*Chaired the DHS’s Homeland Security Funding Task Force
*The Boston Globe and Boston Herald both reported in 2004 that Romney was being considered as the next Secretary of Homeland Security
*Led the SLC Olympics and instituted and oversaw a massive security mobilization plan that kept the games safe 3 months after 9/11
*Testified before Congress on at least three occasions about homeland security related issues.

Additionally, if disaster preparedness is what you’re after (a la Rudy’s actions on 9/11), Romney shines there as well:

*Under Romney’s direction, MA became one of only 10 states in the country to receive the highest grade possible for disaster preparedness.
*He led MA through the worst flooding in the state in the last 70 years or more, drawing rave reviews from local and national press.
*The CDC has praised and held up Romney’s plan in MA for the Avian Flu as a model for other states to draw off of.

If the war on terror and homeland security are your biggest issues, you will not be disappointed in the least with a President Romney.