Romney declines to take a stand on Rubio's DREAM Act

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is joined by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., during a town hall-style meeting in Aston, Pa., Monday, April 23, 2012.

/ AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

(CBS News) ASTON, Pennsylvania - Though he insists he hasn't begun to evaluate vice presidential candidates, Mitt Romney appeared to be holding auditions on Monday as he campaigned here with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Romney brushed aside a question on his choice of a running mate - and ducked taking a position on an immigration bill that Rubio is drafting.

With the tea party darling at his side in this Philadelphia suburb, Romney pointed out that the selection process for a vice presidential candidate is just beginning. "We're looking at various legal resources to help with in that process, accounting staff and so forth to take a look at tax returns and things of that nature," Romney said during a press conference - his first in more than five weeks.

Candidate page: Mitt Romney
Complete coverage: Election 2012

Rubio himself declined to speak on the topic, instead focusing his remarks on what he can do to propel Romney into the White House. "I look forward to being part of this effort," he said.

Romney is eager to make inroads among Hispanic voters, as polls show him trailing President Obama by a 5-to-1 margin among that demographic. He was asked to describe his position on the Florida senator's compromise to the DREAM Act, but said he was still studying it, even as he commended some of its features.

Rubio has said his proposal - which has not yet been formally introduced - would allow young people who came to the United States with their parents to have access to a non-immigrant visa that allows them to study. After those studies are complete, they would be allowed them to work legally in the United States. Eventually, Rubio said, they would gain the same status of other non-immigrant visa-holders and are eligible to apply for residency, and would be eligible for citizenship three to five years after they obtain a green card.

Romney took a tough position on immigration during the Republican primary, saying he would veto the Democratic version of the DREAM Act and decrying "amnesty" when Newt Gingrich suggested he would allow illegal immigrants who've been in the country longer than 25 years a chance to become citizens. On Monday, though, his remarks were markedly less strident, as he promised to lay out "a whole series of policies" relating to immigration in the coming months.

"Obviously, our first priority is to secure the border," Romney said, offering a preview. "And yet we also have very substantial visa programs in this country. I've spoken about the need to have a visa system that's right-sized for the needs of our employment community. And so how we adjust our visa program to make it fit the needs of our country is something I'll be speaking about down the road."

Both Romney and Rubio expressed their support for laws that require voters to show identification when casting a ballot - a measure meant to cut down on fraudulent voting. Rubio asked a crowd of several hundred gathered to see the two men speak how anyone could question the idea, pointing to a recent experience he had buying an exercise bike.

"You know what the cashier asked me for, when I went to pay? My ID," the freshman senator told the crowd. It was the same thing getting on an airplane, he said. "So what's the big deal?"

It was Rubio's first time campaigning with Romney this election cycle. But the Florida senator is acting like a national candidate even when he's not standing next to Romney. He is helping raise money for Republican candidates across the country, including an appeal Monday through his political action committee, Reclaim America, on behalf of Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel. And he is scheduled to give a foreign policy address on Wednesday at the Brookings Institution.

[prohb]

Sooo, Romney......

'ducked taking a position on an immigration bill that Rubio is drafting'.

Why am I not surprised? Romney has pretty much said (or not said) anything and everything to please whatever group he is speaking to. This guy is a fake and a phony.

[baileyccc]

It's a pipe dream that Rubio would deliver a few toss-up states. This "tea party darling" baggage would show up in the general election. Rubio would cement all the women vote for Obama. He stood against birth control to be paid by health care insurance.

[1pheasant1]

It's difficult to draw a picture on an Etch-A-Sketch when people are constantly looking over your shoulder. Back off! It's not as if he can spit out answers like Jan Brewer.

[smirk5]

Romney doesn't take stands. Never has, never will.

[ageofknowledge]

I have a dream that people would stop running away from their own problems to come here and wave the country's flag they ran from like the cowards they are while their kids join a gang and victimize everyone in sight.

[newstrace]

So Romney declines to take a stand one way or the other on an important political issue currently facing our nation. What a surprise.

[andrewjsacks]

Right.

[newstrace]

Actually since he's already condemned the idea when it's sponsored by Democrats and enacted on the national level, I would have expected him to flip over and praise it when the same thing is proposed at the state level by a Republican.

[wfw3536]

Rubio will pull in enough hispanic votes to win a number of toss up states for Romney. He will be the first VP to help a presidential candidate win since LBJ help Kennedy win.

[CBSCNETPaul]

Here is the reason that only litigation attorneys should be allowed to ask candidates questions: When asked about a running mate, Mittens said this: "We're looking at various legal resources to help with in that process, accounting staff and so forth to take a look at tax returns and things of that nature," To which, the immediate next question is obviously this: "Will you be looking at just the last two years of tax returns for prospective candidates?" I note that the author of this article missed this completely. Oh, that pesky, liberal media.

[gunndee3]

Mittens? What a child you are, CBSCNETPaul. I bet you've called people names your whole life to make yourself feel superior. Romney has a MBA and JD from Harvard. He's amassed a 250 million dollar fortune by being a knowledgeable capitalist and working diligently in an intelligent way. He's been faithfully married to one woman with whom he's parented seven children. He doesn't smoke, drink, do drugs, or curse. His business acumen turned the 2002 Winter Olympics from a certain disaster into a huge financial success, and it can and will do the same for the nation's economy the next four years. Most of all, Romney's an adult, and he will get my vote, because he has the knowledge, the earned degrees, and the proven skills we need in a president. Most of all, he's not favored by Hollywood or the MSMs, which makes him a lock for #45 come January 20, 2013 as far as I'm concerned. As for you and others who call him by anything other than his actual name, you have the same bully mentality as those that called Obama names and insulted him.

[CBSCNETPaul]

Wow, gunndee3, please calm down. OK, Willard Romney; that's his real name. Feel better now? For the record, I earned a B.A. in Economics from UCLA and a J.D. from Loyola Law School; I feel neither inferior nor superior to others, but I am educated. I test in the 98th percentile for IQ, so I do have a high opinion of my opinion. Meanwhile, Romney has the proven skills to make himself rich (well, richer, since he was not born poor.) There is ZERO evidence to show whether he has either the knowledge or desire to improve the lives of regular working folks. As another poster already pointed out, one of Romney's methods for making himself fabulously wealthy was to lay off many, many working folks.

[TauraKrise]

The simplest "solution" to the illegal immigration issue (and our national debt?) would be to allow persons in the US illegally to obtain an expedited (or at least penalty-free ie; no deportation) path to immigration for a very large (and even ongoing) fee.

I've spoken - many times and at great length - with an individual who has been in the US illegally for over 20 years. She is a hard-working, married mother of (2) school-aged, straight-A students who would be willing to pay quite a lot of money ... $5k ... $10k ... even $15k or $20k ... or, a large percentage of her salary PER YEAR! ... for an opportunity to stay here with her children honestly, without being deported first.

She also has said that ALL of the people that she knows who are here illegally would be more than willing to do the same! Imagine how far $10k PER PERSON, PER YEAR for (5) years would go towards paying off our national debt ... improving our school systems ... etc.

[CBSCNETPaul]

You are correct, of course, but missing the point. Enacting your plan robs the 1% of the benefit they enjoy will illegal immigrant employees: cheap, powerless workers. Never forget why they are here. They are here because people in power want them to be here. Re-read these words from Mitt in the article above: "I've spoken about the need to have a visa system that's right-sized for the needs of our employment community." He means the employers, the owners, the 1%. Your solution is a wealth transfer from the 1% to the government. How do you like your chances? ; (

[andrewjsacks]

Good thinking.

[jefflz-2009]

Typical of Mitt's situation he cannot make a meaningful comment on a controversial subject like immigration. Why? Because Mitt will not be elected if he doesn't toe the Tea Party/evangelist line. Mitt will not be elected if he does toe the Tea Party/evangelist line. Quite a conundrum. What he can do in the meantime, however, is continue to spout the Big Lie that there has been net job loss under Obama, when he knows full well that since Spring 2009 Obama's when policies first had a chance to go into effect, there has been net job growth. Big Lie ? Placate the Tea Party? Did I say Big Lie? Its all in a days work for the Mittster.

[andrewjsacks]

Right.