Mitt Romney and his wife Ann was on ABC’s This Week. George Stephanopoulos main question was about Romney’s Morman faith. “I’m not running for pastor-in-chief. I’m running for commander-in-chief,” Romney said, “If I’m lucky enough to be elected president of this country and I take that oath of office, there will be no higher promise than to abide by the Constitution and the rule of law.” Romney called that, “Abraham Lincoln’s political religion.” Stephanopoulos then had some more pressing questions about Romney’s views on gay marriages, since he was the Governor of Massachusetts, the only state that allows gay marriages. Stephanopoulos also pressed Romney on the abortion issue, which Romney responded saying that should be for the right of the states to decide for themselves, “My view is that we should let each state have its own responsibility for guiding its laws relating to abortion.” Romney sides with President Bush on the war in Iraq, saying troop increases are necessay to prevent destabilization in the region. He also called Iran, “a genocidal nation, a suicidal nation.” Joe Biden was on Face The Nation and skipped all the talk about religion, gays, and abortion and cut straight to the chase, war in Iraq. Biden wants to change the 2002 War authorization act which everyone voted for. Biden said, “I’ve been working with some of my colleagues to try to convince them that’s the way to go – to repeal and restate the president’s authority.” Richard Lugar was also on Face the Nation, and told Biden it would never get through the Senate, and if it did the President would just veto it. Another toothless resolution about the war in Iraq. Newt Gingrich appeared on Fox News Sunday to talk about the war in Iraq too. Gingrich said the Democrats, “want what I think is the worst of all worlds. They want the ability to undermine the president, the ability to cripple the Defense Department, while disclaiming any responsibility.” Gingrich went on to say that if the Democrats are really serious then they should cut off the money forcing the President out of Iraq. What is going on now is destructive according to Gingrich, “But as long as the president has the duty and burden as commander in chief of trying to win the war, crippling him, it seems to me, doesn’t just hurt George W. Bush. This hurts America.” Chris Wallace asked Gingrich about running in 08, and why he hasn’t entered the race yet. Gingrich responded with,
So I want to start and say I think there may be a market out there for somebody who has enough sense not to run two years early, that if you think about it, these candidates are running for an entire year — to get into a campaign to run for an entire year to get sworn in in January of 2009.
And I just think the average — this is going to be like watching bad reruns of Survivor. People are going to say get them off the island, I don’t want to see this anymore. You watch. Mark my word.
I’ll come back this summer at some point, if you’ll have me, and we’ll talk about how bored people are with this campaign.
It is probably a good idea to sit on the sidelines and watch others get voted off the crowded island before Gingrich jumps in. As Chris Wallace pointed out, “We asked people who under no circumstances would they vote for, and you came in second on that dubious list at 64 percent, behind Ralph Nader, but far ahead of everyone else. And I should add 44 percent of Republicans said they would not vote for you.” I’m sure after a couple more months of this campaigning there will be a few more folks on the no vote list, making more room for Gingrich on the island. That’s all from the Sunday news shows this week.
Alan Cosgrove