From The Road
December 20, 2007 2:03 PM

Did Romney Actually See His Dad March With MLK?

By
Scott Conroy
Topics
Mitt Romney
(CBS)
From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

FORT DODGE, IOWA -- Facing fire over media reports questioning his own account of seeing his father march with Martin Luther King, Romney told reporters in Fort Dodge, Iowa, that he saw the two men march "in a figurative sense."

During his December 6 address on religion in College State, Texas, Romney said, "I saw my father march with Martin Luther King."

CBS News: "Did you actually see — with your own eyes — your father marching with Martin Luther King?"

Romney: "My own eyes? You know, I speak in the sense of I saw my dad become president of American Motors. I wasn't actually there when he became president of American Motors, but I saw him in the figurative sense of he marched with Martin Luther King. My brother also remembers him marching with Martin Luther King and so in that sense I saw him march with Martin Luther King."

Later he said, "I can't even give you the time frame. I just remember that we talked about it. My brother also remembers my dad having spoken about the fact that he did not do political events on Sunday but that he decided at the last minute that he was going to break that self-imposed rule and participate and I think he did so on a Sunday as I recall."

He added, "You know, I'm an English literature major as well. When we say, 'I saw the Patriots win the World Series, it doesn't necessarily mean you were there — excuse me, the Super Bowl. I saw my dad become president of American Motors. Did that mean you were there for the ceremony? No, it's a figure of speech."

Questions were raised after the Boston Phoenix reported that his father may not have actually marched with MLK.

Asked for a clarification about when and where George Romney marched with Martin Luther King, Governor Romney's press secretary emailed to CBS News three historical references that alluded to Romney appearing at one of King's "freedom marches" in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

"Governor Romney was in high school at the time of the freedom marches," Fehrnstrom told CBS News. "Along with the rest of the Romney family, he has a memory and recollection of his dad's involvement and participation."

  • Scott Conroy

    Scott Conroy is a National Political Reporter for RealClearPolitics and a contributor for CBS News.

Add a Comment
by JedMerrill December 21, 2007 6:25 AM EST
Romney may not have seen his father literally march with MLK, but he did see his father''s example, marching with MLK, and George Romney cerainly did march!

Mitt''s language is not a big deal--in fact, this actually says more about what he "saw" in a positive way.
Reply to this comment
by jbrewster7 December 21, 2007 3:04 AM EST
The Washington Post''s David Broder wrote a book in 1967, The Republican Establishment, which said that George Romney "has marched with Martin Luther King through the exclusive Grosse Pointe suburb of Detroit and he is on record in support of full-coverage Federal open-housing legislation."

A campaign spokesman cited Broder''s book as evidence that Romney and King marched together in Grosse Pointe in 1963. Kevin Madden also wrote in an email that "George Romney had a long record of supporting Martin Luther King, Jr. He attended his funeral in 1968 and believed his death was "a great national tragedy."
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