Transcript of Interview with Mitt and Ann Romney Available
February 20th, 2007 by eric
George Stephanopolous sat down to interview Mitt Romney and Ann Romney for the “This Week” show that aired Sunday, February 18th, 2007. The interview was hard-hitting and powerful. But Governor Romney and his wife Ann were both forth-coming and articulate in their responses. Please see the link at the bottom of this posting for the complete transcript.
Stephanopoulos: Okay, Mitt Romney, management consultant. Give us the PowerPoint presentation for your candidacy.
Mitt Romney: Well, it won’t be in PowerPoint. It’s instead going to come from the heart, because this is not a business deal. This is not the next, if you will, notch in my belt of career progression.
My life was in the private sector. My life is with Ann, raising our kids.
My race for the presidency has everything to do with our kids and our grandkids, making sure that America is more prosperous and more safe for my kids and grandkids and for everyone else’s kids and grandkids, because I’m concerned that we face unprecedented challenges.
Unless we’re willing to finally do something about these challenges, we’re going to end up not being the power that we’ve known, with the prosperity that we’ve known for our kids and grandkids.
For us, it’s great. America’s been wonderful for our generation. Our parents made America a place that the whole world envies.
But we have now to make America a place that our kids and our grandkids can be proud of and have a future that we’d want for them.
Ann Romney: As the wife and the mother of these five sons that we’ve raised together, whenever there was a crisis, he was so terrific in it.
Whenever there was really a good judgment call that was needed, he was there for that.
So I see him as being the person that can bring perspective, good judgment, lots of experience, lots of competency, that’s how I see it.
Stephanopoulos: As you know, your faith is going to be a big part, at least the beginning of this campaign.
How does your faith inform your politics?
Mitt Romney: Well, I think religion is a separate sphere in terms of a particular brand of faith, but I think the principles of all faiths have, as their foundation, the idea that there is a supreme being, that this supreme being is a heavenly father, and that all the people in our country and in all countries are sons and daughters of the same supreme being.
I think we are, if you will, one family of humanity. That informs very dramatically my sense of what our relationship should be in the world, our need to care for the very poor and the diseased and the brutalized, our need in this country to provide opportunities for all of our citizens.
That fundamental belief that we are all brothers and sisters has an enormous impact, I think, on a lot of what we do.
But the particular doctrines of a church I don’t think are a major part in a political sense.
Stephanopoulos: But your Mormon faith has been a big part of your life. You were a bishop in the church. You were president of the Boston Area Parishes.
You spent more than two years in France as a missionary and described it as a watershed experience.
How so?
Mitt Romney: Oh, absolutely. It taught me that there’s a great deal to life besides just what’s living in my little community back in Michigan.
I was in a pampered home with great advantages. I went to France and I lived on a far more modest, humble basis. We made about a $100 a week. We drew out of our savings to live there. That was food, clothing, transportation, housing, the whole bit.
And I recognized that the opportunities we have in this country are absolutely extraordinary. But, also…
The interview goes on with several questions regarding Romney’s faith including his mission to France, the missions of their five sons and how it helped them develop as men, husbands, and fathers, and the conversion of Ann Romney to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints while Mitt was away to France. George tries to ascertain when Mitt Romney would give a JFK style speech (regarding his Catholocism) to the nation regarding his own faith. They talked about separation of church and state, and faith based initiatives. George asked Romney how he responds to Evangelical Christians who are skeptical of his faith. The segment on religion closed with a question of how Mitt Romney would reconcile a particular teaching of his religion with Muslims.
The interview then turned to an allegation against Mitt that he once voted for a Democrat. Mitt explained that it was based on strategy, not his political inclination.
Stephanopoulos asked Mitt to describe his transformation to a Reagan Republican. He asked about Romney’s change to pro-life and then posed a hypothetical question about what the punishment for any illegal abortion should be. Romney explained that he believes that Roe V. Wade should be broken and the states to take the issue to decide state by state.
Romney was asked about gay-rights, the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy, and discrimination. He was then asked about gay marriage, domestic partnerships, and gay adoption.
The interview turned to the topics of gun control, the brady bill, assault weapons, and the NRA.
Romney was asked about immigration and a “path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants.
At this point, Stephanopoulos talked about whether Mitt and Ann Romney were entirely on the agreement on every issue. George then tried to ask Ann Romney to describe a recent disagreement and she declined. Mitt offered an example regarding abortion.
George Stephanopoulos asks the Romney’s how we can be convinced that his convictions are sincere in regards to his changes on stances regarding abortion, etc.
They go on to discuss the job that George Bush has done and the situation in Iraq, how to solve it, and how to judge success. They discuss the nuclear talks with North Korea, potential agreements, inspections, etc. Stephanopoulos turns the discussion to the topic of Iran and asks Mitt to respond regarding the situation in Iran and the potential use of force against Iran.
The discuss taxes and any potential tax increases.
The talk about health insurance and the Masachussets plan.
The jumped into discussion of a joke regarding wives and any differences between Mitt Romney and McCain, and Giuliani.
The spoke at length about Mitt Romney’s father and his failed campaign for the presidency to run and to govern.
The closed the interview discussing Ann Romney’s fight with disease and how her health might influence their commitment.
Stephanopoulos: You’re in all the way?
Mitt Romney: Oh, yes, we’re in all the way. We’ve given this a lot of thought.
We had a family meeting, we don’t have a lot of those, but all of us got together Christmastime and every son, every daughter-in-law went around and talked about their views.
They were all concerned, they had their own drawbacks, concerned about the grandchildren, the impact on them of a presidential race, concern for me, for Ann.
Every single one was unanimous in their view that I should run and they know our heart. They know that we love this country. They know that we think it has a bright future.
They know that we’ve got some real problems in the country and they believe that the combination of our experience, having run a lot of enterprises in trouble, having turned them around and getting things back on track, that experience, plus our heart, would be helpful to get America on the right course again.
So they said, “Do it,” and so we’re doing it.
Stephanopoulos: Thank you both very much.
Mitt Romney: Thanks, George, good to be with you.
To read the entire article please click on the following link. ABC News This Week with George Stephanopoulos “Mitt Romney: The Complete Interview” February, 18, 2007
