Charged with inconsistency, Romney points to his marriage

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Campaign 2012

At Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate, Mitt Romney defended himself against charges of inconsistency by pointing to his long marriage and the fact that he has long attended the same church and worked at the same company.

"I think people understand that I'm a man of steadiness and constancy," Romney said at the CNBC-sponsored debate at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. "I don't think you are going to find somebody who has more of those attributes than I do."

He continued: "I have been married to the same woman for 25 -- excuse me, I will get in trouble, for 42 years. I have been in the same church my entire life. I worked at one company, Bain, for 25 years. And I left that to go off and help save the Olympic Games. I think it is outrageous the Obama campaign continues to push this idea, when you have in the Obama administration the most political presidency we have seen in modern history."

Romney has shifted rightward on issues including gay rights, immigration, abortion rights and other issue since his time as governor of Massachusetts, prompting criticism from both his Republican rivals and the Obama reelection campaign as a flip-flopper.

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Romney was asked specifically during the debate about his position on the auto bailout. Romney initially called for federal money for Detroit automakers, then opposed a federal bailout, then said President Obama had actually implemented his plan. "With a record like that of seeming to be on all sides of the issue," he was asked, "why should Republicans be confident in the steadiness of your economic leadership?"

Romney, who was born and raised in Michigan - and whose father was the state's governor - said his "view with regards to the bailout was that whether it was by President Bush or by President Obama, it was the wrong way to go."

"I said from the very beginning they should go through a managed bankruptcy process, a private bankruptcy process," he continued. "We have capital markets and bankruptcy, it works in the U.S. The idea of billions of dollars being wasted initially then finally they adopted the managed bankruptcy, I was among others that said we ought to do that.And then after that, they gave the company to the UAW. They gave General Motors to the UAW and they gave Chrysler to Fiat. My plan, we would have had a private sector bailout with the private sector restructuring and bankruptcy with the private sector guiding the direction as opposed to what we had with government playing its heavy hand."

Rick Perry's campaign emailed reporters a release following Romney's comments spotlighting comments Romney made in 2008 saying Washington "can and must be a partner" in helping automakers and quoting news reports suggesting Romney backed a "massive federal bailout."

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Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by Robert_G_Ingersoll November 11, 2011 11:13 PM EST: If you have to say it then it is almost certainly not true...

RINO Romney is the worst pandering rank opportunist that I have ever seen.

Anyone anyone can change their mind - this is often admirable.

But to change twice on something at a point in later life as serious as abortion is breathtaking!

So breathtaking until you consider that it was due to pandering and reinvention.

This is one of the reasons that I cannot support Mr. Romney. If he is the nominee I will stay home.

RINO Romney is nothing more than Obama in a different suit.; Reply to this comment


by canislupus16 November 11, 2011 10:48 AM EST: "... when you have in the Obama administration the most political presidency we have seen in modern history."

Romney may well be right, but in a way, big deal - they are ALL political, and becoming more political with each new president. In the case of Obama being the most political, Romney cannot overllok the fact that this is the most political, partisan Congress in the history of the country. So, political, meet political.; Reply to this comment


by WeHappyFew November 11, 2011 7:28 AM EST: Romney: Suck on that, Gingrich.; Reply to this comment


by stn_sage November 10, 2011 6:20 PM EST: SO! He's devoted to one institution: his church!
And, he's devoted to at least one personal relationship: his wife!
That's good!
But, the knock against him is that he 'flip-flops' on ISSUES!
And, I don't see any proof at all that that constant has changed
at all!
He still changes his mind on the ISSUES!; Reply to this comment


by skalambakal November 10, 2011 2:19 PM EST: Romney won the debate last night he's right on issues and values.

Go Romney!!!! and he will win the Presidency of the United States

we will vote for him and the rest of my relatives!!!!!; Reply to this comment


by davidhd77 November 10, 2011 10:42 AM EST: So does anyone honestly think that any of the other GOP candidates stand a chance of beating Obama? Romney is the only one in the group that can even debate, let alone win a debate. The whole flip-flop thing is the only argument you have against him, and that's been exaggerated beyond reason. Perry is an idiot, Cain has baggage, and no one else has more than a small following. Romney is a good man with a great track record, and he would make a better president than Obama, plus he's the only candidate with a chance. Conservatives need to unite behind him and stop bickering.; Reply to this comment


by sandy 1027 November 10, 2011 9:05 AM EST: Mitt Romney has been all over the map on almost every major issue; and he was for the auto industry bailout before he was against it.He recently said that he would have bailed out Wall St., but not the auto industry, that employs masses of people across many industries.Its failure would have had a terrible impact on Main St., and the overall economy.He has also said that banks should let the housing industry bottom-out by foreclosing on troubled mortgages, and renting the properties out.In fairness, I've heard others in the financial sector make similar proposals; but the picture that all of this paints about Romney is that he is a guy that is opportunistic , and changes like the wind for political gain ( He didn't say that he was against bailing out the auto industry until the president was for it, and most Republicans weren't. ); and someone who is the embodiment of, and the representative and lobbyist for , Wall St., and has very little concern for the average person.; Reply to this comment

by northwoods2 November 10, 2011 5:55 AM EST

Mitt's Foreign Policy team of the same Jewish neo-cons (Kristol,Feith, Perle,Wolfwitz, Abrams) are why I won't vote for him. All of the neo-cons are pushing for a pre-emptive war with Iran. Just what our country needs. This neo-cons helped fabricate the lies about Iraq's WMDs and its links to Al-Quaida. I am sick of Israel's control of our Foreign Policy.

Reply to this comment


by davidhd77 November 10, 2011 10:27 AM EST: northwoods2 - So you don't like Mitt's team because it's got Jews on it? Nice racist comment. And it's all a big conspiracy to fight a war with Iran now? You're an idiot.


by northwoods2 November 11, 2011 2:38 PM EST: It's not Jews in general it is the same neo-cons that got us into Iraq whose allegiance is more to Israel than the US. Now they want us to do the dirty work for Israel starting another war. I gave you the names look them up. I'm surprised the you didn't call ma an anti-semite just racist.By the way, I do not view Jews as a separate race but as a religion. The Palestinians are also Semites.


by ladyang November 10, 2011 4:29 AM EST: Romney, a well-oiled weather vane..... Jon Huntsman
Agreed!; Reply to this comment

by andrewjsacks November 10, 2011 1:23 AM EST

OBAMA 2012!

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by train99 November 10, 2011 1:57 AM EST: End of the world 2015!


by davidhd77 November 10, 2011 10:31 AM EST: Yeah, vote for the guy who's blamed 4 years of complete failure on the past president the entire time, who's gone back on literally every campaign promise he made, and who's sure to lead the country into more debt and higher unemployment for another 4 years, if elected, while still saying it's all Bush's fault.