This Is Romney's Last Presidential Bid, Wife Says
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will "absolutely" not run again and even retire from politics if he loses the November election, his wife Ann Romney said.
The former Massachusetts governor's wife told hosts of ABC talk show "The View" on Thursday that Romney will not run again if he loses to President Barack Obama in the election. "Absolutely, he will not run again, nor will I do anything like that again," she said.
"This was a very hard thing for me to decide to go forward again … for the family to have to go through this," Ann Romney said of her husband's second presidential bid. "The children have a hard time with it. I have a hard time with it."
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However, she agreed eventually. "I felt as though there was something my husband could offer this country that was uniquely his, that he could bring better economic hope and prosperity to women and men and all Americans," she said.
Mitt Romney was to appear with his wife on the show, but had to cancel after a conflicting appointment came up.
Ann Romney, who has been on the campaign trail for months, told the hosts she had stopped watching news, especially in key states like Ohio and Virginia, to avoid having to view negative ads against her husband.
Josh Romney, one of her five sons who also appeared on "The View," said, "You really don't like to see your dad get beat up."
In June, another Romney son, Matt, had said on TBS' "Conan" that he was reluctant for his father to run. "I didn't want him to do it. I tried to convince him not to. I think there are a few of us who tried that." And his brother Josh added, "Our lives are pretty good as they are, and this is one of those things where we recognize it's good for the country for my dad to run, but it's not necessarily as good for us."
On the ABC talk show, Ann Romney also spoke about her "pro-life" stance and the change in her husband's position on abortion. "The good news is I'm not running for office and I don't have to say what I feel. But I am pro-life, I'm happy to say that," she said.
She explained that when Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts, he "governed, when he ran, as a pro-choice," but he shifted after he had to decide whether he would approve the use of embryos for stem cell research.
Ann Romney called abortion a tender issue. "I think we all have to understand that this is an issue that is so tender, and there are people on both sides of the issue that have, with very good conscience, come with a different opinion," she said.
