Mitt Romney, in his first Sunday morning news show appearance in almost two years, sat down for a wide-ranging, but tame, interview on Fox News Sunday.
On the Iraq War — which officially came to an end Sunday morning — Romney expressed concern over the United States’ complete withdrawal.
“I think we’re going to find that this president, by not putting in place a status-of-forces agreement with the Iraqi leadership, has pulled our troops out in a precipitous way and we should have left 10-, 20-, 30-thousand personnel there to help transition to the Iraqi’s own military capabilities,” he said, adding, “I hope it works out.”
On President Obama, Romney repeated a familiar refrain: the president “does not understand how this economy works,” and has failed the country. Asked if Obama will paint him as a corrupt “Gordon Gecko” character, Romney said “of course he will.” Obama is “the great divider,” Romney said, adding that Obama himself has “done very, very well over the last several years.”
Romney contrasted himself with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich by saying he is the right candidate to address entitlement reform. He pointed out Gingrich’s criticism of Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget plan that would privatize Medicare — Gingrich at one point called it “right-wing social engineering” — saying Newt is “unreliable.”
And finally, the interview took a personal turn. Wallace asked if it was fair for Romney’s critics to call him “robotic” or “buttoned-up.”
“I’m an emotional guy,” Romney countered. “I have very deep feelings about the country.”
Compared to his tough questions during Thursday’s Republican debate, host Chris Wallace took it easy on Romney during Sunday’s interview. There were no tense or hostile moments — just an opportunity for Romney to lay out his well-rehearsed campaign positions.
