Mitt Romney Wants To Re-Tool Washington

(CBS)  Sixty-year-old Mitt Romney is a dark horse in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination. Although he is the least known of the frontrunners, he's raised more money – $21 million – than any other Republican candidate.

As correspondent Mike Wallace reports, Romney attracted national attention when, as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2006, he balanced the budget every year, without raising taxes. He ran the state like the hugely successful CEO he's been for over 20 years.

And that came after he had rescued the 2002 Olympic winter games from financial disaster. And Romney says that now that he's turned around the Olympics and Massachusetts, he's ready to do the same for all of the U.S.A.

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Over six feet tall, trim, fit, his hair graying slightly at the temples, he looks like a president. His movie star presence somehow reminds you of Cary Grant or Ronald Reagan.

"The rap on you of course is that you're too smooth, too handsome, too polished. Are you really known as matinee Mitt?" Wallace asks.

"That's the rap on you, Mike," Romney replies. "Too smooth, too polished."

But beneath the polish, there's the steel of a tough minded and seasoned executive who is used to running things his way. Romney is reportedly worth over half a billion dollars that he earned as a venture capitalist who used cost-cutting, bottom line zeal to help grow companies like Domino's Pizza and Staples and re-tool ailing companies into profitable successes.

Now he wants to re-tool Washington.

"It is time to cut out the mountains of waste and inefficiency and duplication in the federal government. I've done that in business. I've done it in the Olympics. I've done it in Massachusetts and frankly I can't wait to get my hands on Washington," Romney says.

"One thing people can be confident of is I have led and managed and I brought change to organizations. And if there's ever been a time that Washington needed to be changed it's now. It's a mess in Washington," he adds.

To many Americans, that mess in Washington has been created by his fellow Republican, George W. Bush.

Romney carefully follows Ronald Reagan's rule: never speak ill of a fellow Republican. But while he praises the president, he distances himself from Bush.

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Mitt Romney on: Abortion | The Iraq War | Religion

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"Why do you think all of a sudden the Democrats are in charge?" Wallace asks.

"Well, because of Iraq," Romney says.

"You mean the president screwed up in Iraq?" Wallace asks.

"I think the administration made a number of errors," Romney says.

"Like for instance?" Wallace asks.

"Well, I don't think we were adequately prepared for what occurred. I don't think we had done enough planning, I don't think we'd considered the various downsides and risks," Romney says.

"We, is George W. Bush," Wallace remarks.

"Well, he's the person where the buck stops," Romney says. "But it's the whole administration."

"They screwed up," Wallace remarks.

"Well, they made mistakes. I'm not gonna use the same phrase you would. And we're paying for those mistakes," Romney says.

And, he says, there were misjudgments. "I think there was a strong, honest belief among people in our administration that we would be welcomed with open arms. And that Iraq would become a model of democracy for all of the Middle East. And you know what? We were wrong," Romney says.

But Bush is right, Romney says, about the current U.S. troop surge in Iraq, at least for now.

"I think we're gonna know in a matter of months if it's working or it's not working," he says.

Among the things he wants to do as president is increase U.S. troop strength overall by at least 100,000 and modernize military equipment. He wants to secure the Mexican border and decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil. He's against gay marriage and civil unions and says that he'll hold the line on taxes.

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[k76923]

Mike Wallace is a nearly 90 year old "old windbag".

[sattriplets]

Harry Mason Reid (born December 2, 1939) is the senior United States Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party.

Reid is the U.S. Senate Majority Leader in the 110th Congress. He assumed majority leadership after the Democratic Party won seated majority of the Senate in the 2006 congressional elections. Reid is the first Mormon to serve as Senate Majority Leader.[1]

WOW! You anti-LDS better start lining up to have him recalled because he's LDS. Remember, he takes orders from Pres. Hinkley. Don't forget about all the other LDS's in office too!

Mitt Romney IS a successful business man and has what it will take to get America back on track!

I guess all you leftist, anti-mormon folks here better start a campaign real quick to get Senate Majority Leader, Democrat, AND MORMON HARRY REID out of office since he's under the directive of the church and all it's 'crazy' teachings. He is very dangerous and must be stopped!

Just another glaring example of the bigotry and hipocrisy of the left and the left-wing media. You don't see Harry Reid being asked those questions or being treated that way, do you? Again, the liberals showing their tolerance and open-mindedness... as long as you think exactly as they do.

Reid is a great example that mormons won't vote for someone just b/c they are mormon and an obvious example that he is not getting directions from salt lake... as evidenced by his own comments and votes against many things the church stands for.

[sioux-falls]

What was that! I was not an interview thats for sure . Mrs.Romney should have slapped his face!
I want to know his views on issues of importance not his *** life . Asking his kids about serving in the war irrelevent .I think our Senator Tim Johnson is the only one with a son in harms way. Good for him for being a good mormon . He has true family values! My husband is a mormon (I am not) His family is first in his life . He respects his family .And they are instilled with the ability to keep their pants zipped .
Mitt is a smart businessman We need someone who is smart and can say NO to the waste in big gov. and not worry about his religion .

[bobjohnny]

I listened to your interview of Mitt Romney last Sunday and his remarks on Polygamy, which made it seem to appear that it was merely a tool used in the western migration because of the preponderance of women. Polygamy is, as far as I know, an Ordinance of the LDS Church, being described in the Doctrine and Covenants. Mormons never disavowed Polygamy, only its practice, through a manifestation, which is not the same as a revelation and to say it was merely a solution to a historical problem is being very, very disingenuous if not out right deceitful.
If Mr. Romney is this evasive about something that is so basic to the ordinances and endowments of the LDS Church, something he supposedly believes so whole heartedly in, how can one know when he is being truthful and when he is merely being self-serving.

Further as a member of the LDS Church holding the Melchizedek Priesthood his first allegiance is to the president of the church in his position as prophet, seer and revelator, and should the president tell him something under this authority, even if he were President of the US, he would be duty bound to follow it or face sanctions all the way up to excommunication. Perhaps this is why he has changed his mind so many times over the last years.

[bobjohnny]

I listened to your interview of Mitt Romney last Sunday and his remarks on Polygamy, which made it seem to appear that it was merely a tool used in the western migration because of the preponderance of women. Polygamy is, as far as I know, an Ordinance of the LDS Church, being described in the Doctrine and Covenants. Mormons never disavowed Polygamy, only its practice, through a manifestation, which is not the same as a revelation and to say it was merely a solution to a historical problem is being very, very disingenuous if not out right deceitful.
If Mr. Romney is this evasive about something that is so basic to the ordinances and endowments of the LDS Church, something he supposedly believes so whole heartedly in, how can one know when he is being truthful and when he is merely being self-serving.

Further as a member of the LDS Church holding the Melchizedek Priesthood his first allegiance is to the president of the church in his position as prophet, seer and revelator, and should the president tell him something under this authority, even if he were President of the US, he would be duty bound to follow it or face sanctions all the way up to excommunication. Perhaps this is why he has changed his mind so many times over the last years.

[rahps]

When interviewing Mitt Romney, Mike Wallace set a new precedent that he needs to maintain when interviewing all other candidates. If you ask one candidate if they had premarital ***, then you must ask them all. If you ask one child why he did/didn't serve in the armed forces, then you need to ask them all!

[shaungirl]

To jnik 23260,
You and all of the other miss informed bloggers are breeding that which you say you hate. Half of the comments made about Mitt Romney are not about Mitt Romney, but are about the LDS/mormon church. It would be one thing if you all were stating true LDS/mormon doctrine, but you spread lies! The idea that blacks could not reach heaven unless they served whites is against mormon doctrine, and is no where to be found in any religious document of the LDS/mormon church. To the other fellow who went on a anti-mormon blogging fest, Zoar? You seriously need to check your facts about the LDS/mormon church. The more people talk about Mitt Romney, the more bigots I see come out of the wood work. Apparently racism, believing a person is below you because of the color of their skin, is unacceptable, but bigotry, believing mormons are below you because of their religious beliefs, is perfectly acceptable!
By the way, I referd to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the mormon church for all of you uniformed people who can't get the name of the church correct. LDS is the ak.

[danbro0811]

Before you make too big a hero out of Mighty Mitt for balancing the budget in Massachusetts every year, you should note that the governor is required by law to do so. Of course Romney did have plenty of input into what was cut, which resulted in the decimation of numerous social services programs aimed to help the least fortunate residents of Massachusetts. (Fortunately Deval Patrick has already reversed many of the damaging cuts Romney made.) I%u2019d also like to know why a guy who is so eager to send an additional 100,000 troops into a meaningless hell is apparently unwilling to send his own five sons, all fighting age, to the front lines. Romney instead goes on to say in response to a question about marriage, %u201CI must admit I can%u2019t imagine anything more awful than polygamy." Which clearly indicates the guy lacks an imagination as well as a heart. As for his combative attitude toward Congress, isn%u2019t that just what we need in this country %u2014 another bull in a china shop causing even more division?

[perimogi]

Mike Wallace, you are an absolutely reprehensible person, you asked a question of Romney only because of his religion. Have you asked that question of Clinton, Obama, Edwards, or anyone else? No, but you had the audacity of hopelessness to ask such a question of Romney. How dare you? You had better get on the phone right now and call ALL other presidential candidates the same moronic question. I am not Mormon, but you have showed your bigotry.