DES MOINES, Iowa - The former governor strode to the podium here on Thursday, stared into the faces of a lunchtime crowd and gave a rousing rallying call: "America, wake up!"

He had bumper stickers and a striped power tie, and he certainly sounded like yet another visiting presidential candidate.

Don't worry. Former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer isn't running for anything.

But he is the face behind the "Ed in '08" yard signs sprouting all over this crucial, presidential battleground state.

At age 78, Romer has found yet another line for his resume: chairman of the Strong American Schools campaign.

And his goal is to get Iowa voters to pressure all the visiting White House contenders into paying more attention to "Ed," short for education. "We've got to make this country great again on education," Romer told a Rotary Club gathering at the landmark Hotel Fort Des Moines.

If not, Romer said, the nation will lose its competitive edge and slip further behind rising economic powers in Singapore, India, Europe and elsewhere. "We're going to lose our lunch to these guys and gals if we don't do a better job," Romer said.

The $60 million "Ed in '08" campaign, backed by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, is meant to get presidential contenders to focus on three specific topics: national education standards, teacher pay and the length of the school year.

Romer, who splits his time between Washington, D.C., and Denver, has made education his primary focus since his three terms as Colorado governor, from 1987-1999. He just ended more than six years as superintendent of the second-largest school district in the country, the Los Angeles Unified School District.

And even though he is a grandfather of 18, he said retirement is not an option.

"You ever go to a softball game and want to sit on the side? No. You want to play second base," Romer said between bites of oatmeal at a breakfast interview in Des Moines.

So he's still in the game, keeping a daunting schedule. On Thursday, his day began at 3 a.m. in Washington. He flew to Chicago, Des Moines, then was scheduled to head back to Colorado for the night.

Romer said the campaign trail is more enjoyable than ever these days. "I have less ego in it now than I used to," he said, because the new goal is helping young people and the country they'll inherit.

"It's about them," he said. "It's not about me."

The campaign's goals, outlined at www.edin08.com, call for enacting nationwide education standards to replace the hodgepodge of measurements that vary from state to state. It wants to increase teacher pay but also add "differential pay" for those with special skills.And it wants the country to consider adding up to 10 additional school days per year, putting the U.S. on par with the international average.

"Think about it. You're in competition with the world," Romer told the Rotarians.