By Associated Press
Tuscaloosa, AL – Massachusetts Republican Governor Mitt Romney, in Tuscaloosa Sunday to honor U-S Senator Richard Shelby, said it was too early to declare himself a 2008 presidential candidate. Shelby, the honoree at the Tuscaloosa Republican Party's inaugural Lincoln-Reagan dinner, predicted Romney would run. The senator said Romney has a lot to offer and has done an outstanding job in Massachusetts. But Shelby was not ready yesterday to offer any endorsements for 2008. Romney gained national recognition in 2002 when the U-S Olympic Committee asked him to reorganize the scandal-ridden and cash-strapped Winter Olympic Games in Utah. He worked with Shelby, the chairman of the powerful Senate Banking Committee, to save the Olympic effort. A conservative, Romney has described his state, Massachusetts, as the most liberal in the nation.