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Posted on 10/29/2007 5:21:33 AM PDT by Reaganesque
GOP presidential candidate and former Governor Mitt Romney once told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that "I'm not going to suggest that people's marital lives should be part of a campaign." But for at least the third time in the last two months, he has impugned the marriage of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, and the tom-catting of her husband Bill.
As reported by ABC News' Matt Stuart earlier today (LINK), responding to a Halloween invitation from an Iowan in West Des Moines, Friday, Romney joked about "Hillary's House of Horrors" which he said would consist of "the 'raise your tax' room. We'd have the 'weaker military' room. We'd have the 'family values in shambles' room."
The "family values in shambles" room?
Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson responded, "Hillary Clinton needs no lessons on character from a man who switches his positions on a daily basis."
Just yesterday in New Hampshire (LINK), Romney -- asked to comment about a controversial program to distribute birth control to middle school students in Maine -- said that "one of the ways you instill family values is by having the White House be a place that demonstrates family values... I think during the last Clinton presidency the White House did not demonstrate that in a way that was helpful to our nation's culture."
Romney added "you're gonna be under a microscope and at least during the time you're in the White House you ought to live by a high standard, because the world is looking at you, you're representing not only yourself but your country. And the kids of America are looking at you."
(Wolfson yesterday used the same line as a retort. "Hillary Clinton needs no lessons on character from a man who switches his positions on a daily basis.")
Lest we forget, two months ago, when Romney threw former endorser Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, under the bus (LINK), he told CNBC that the Craig scandal "reminds us of Mark Foley and Bill Clinton. I think it reminds us of the fact that people who are elected to public office continue to disappoint, and they somehow think that if they vote the right way on issues of significance or they can speak a good game, that we'll just forgive and forget...we've seen disappointment in the White House, we've seen it in the Senate, we've seen it in Congress. And frankly, it's disgusting."
This can clearly be seen as a way of not only reminding people that Romney is still married to his first wife and has on its face a picture-perfect family life, but also that his chief rival for the GOP presidential nomination, the thrice-married former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, does not.
Romney lays this on quite thick. "I came in with my sweetheart, who's here in the front row, I think, somewhere," he said at the CPAC conference. "Ann, would you come on up and just say hi? Here comes my sweetheart, Ann Romney."
Romney isn't the only one throwing stones -- in Missouri his wife, Ann, joked, "The biggest difference between Mitt Romney and the other candidates," is that the Mormon has "only had one wife."
Romney's attacks on Clinton's marriage also stand in contrast to those of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who in July (LINK) told NPR, "this will really rankle some of my Republican colleagues: Bill Clinton and Hillary went through some horrible experiences in their marriage because of some of the reckless behavior that he has admitted he had. I am not defending him on that, it's indefensible. But they kept their marriage together. And a lot of the Republicans who have condemned them and talk about their platform of family values, interestingly, didn't keep their own families together."
Huckabee, craftily, who is also still on his first wife, praised Clinton for sticking with Bill, drawing attention to the divorces of Giuliani, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and others.
Romney criticizes her, doing so.
Either way, it's a lot of talk about personal stuff. What do you think?
That headline is just begging for someone to shoot a gaping hole in his “clean livin’” brag.
“Hillary Clinton needs no lessons on character....” Ohhhh yes she does! It would be a “new word of the day” to her.
John Kerry is giving her lessons?
I don't think Mitt is imaginative enough to have a secret life.
Precious Willard reminds me of an old lampooning button of Adlai Stevenson in the ‘50s... “Vote for Adlai, He’s better than you.”
Nowhere in the article did they give any evidence for this claim at the end: “Romney criticizes her, doing so.” (meaning that Romney criticized Hillary for keeping her marriage together).
In fact, Romney said the same think Huckabee did, that Bill Clinton debased the office and his marriage. Huckabee just said he doesn’t think that should be a factor in putting Hillary in the White house, while Romney clearly thinks having Bill back at the white house is a problem.
I can’t imagine Romney would ever fault Hillary for not divorcing Bill.
That's the kind of thing that comes right out of the Clinton war room. I'm sure many have tried and are trying. Don't forget the lame story about Romney putting his dog on the roof of his car? Extremely lame.
What I think is that no candidate is going to be perfectly aligned with any of our individual belief systems and all we can do is pick someone of high moral character. Shouldn’t be difficult, there are so few, and only one marriage is a clue, but not the end of the search by any means.
Sure he’s got imagination. He likes to pretend he’s a Conservative, then a liberal, then a Conservative, then a liberal... You’ll have to ask him where he’s imagining himself today. It’s hard to keep up with his fantasy life as an “effective leader.” ;-)
Definitely would be more boring than having the Clinton crowd back in the White House; boring is good.
Here we go AGAIN....the Klinton machine is squirming once again under the weight of their own Mortal Sins and peccadilloes....
The water carriers will gladly follow them both into Hell...
Hillary your husband switches women on a daily basis.
That headline is just begging for someone to shoot a gaping hole in his “clean livin’” brag.
Reminder someone else made the comment about him ~ mtbopfuyn
you would like too would’t you but you...
Good like Harding and Carter?
Boring is inversely correlated with leadership abililty. That's a fact.
Mitt is a great, great manager. If I had any money, I'd want him to manage it.
But I don't think he's a leader. He's too - boring.
"No brag, jest fact."
Does America really want to go back to the dysfunctional Doormat?
Pray for W and Our Victorious Troops
Uh...thank you, Dr. Phil. Stay in a Holiday Inn last night did you? ;-)
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