Romney To Bloomberg: "Come On In!"
ANKENY, IOWA -- At a New Year's Day house party this morning, Mitt Romney addressed the brewing speculation that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg might run for president as an independent candidate.
"He's a great guy, and you know, wish him well," Romney said. "Come on in, the water's fine."
A focal point of Romney's campaign message has been that he is a Washington outsider with a proven track-record of working with Democrats — something that a Bloomberg presidential run would likely focus on as well.
"The commentator I was speaking with said, 'You know that there are a lot of people out there that are concerned about the two parties and about the battling between the two parties and how ineffective they've been at getting the job done,'" Romney said. "And there is a lot of truth to that."
Romney is scheduled to attend seven Iowa "House Party Huddles" today, where he'll drop by private homes to deliver brief remarks and maybe watch a little college football.
Romney also took an indirect shot at Mike Huckabee over the strange press conference the former Arkansas governor held yesterday, in which he said he was pulling an anti-Romney ad his campaign had produced but then showed it to reporters anyway.
"Elections are fun, but they are also serious things and we face extraordinary challenges in our country today," Romney said.
The Romney campaign has repeatedly accused Huckabee of focusing on one-liners and campaign antics rather than putting serious thought into the issues.