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Subscribe to RSSSIMPSONVILLE, SC – Ann Romney had some blunt words for those who don’t vote for her husband Mitt this time around.
“If they don't pick Mitt that's their stupid mistake, not mine,” she jokingly told a crowd at the city hall here, to laughter.
Romney added that she felt more positively about campaigning now than she did when her husband first ran in 2008. (Romney finished fourth in South Carolina, pulling all of his resources out of the state just a few weeks before the primary vote)
“I’ve had a totally different mental change from the last round. And that is, I’m going to enjoy this. A lot. It’s not like I didn’t enjoy it last time. It wasn’t all horrible, really,” she joked. “But I was worried all the time.”
“I'm not worried anymore! Mitt's going to win!” she said to applause.
“I’m going to enjoy meeting all you folks. I’m going to enjoy my trip in the airport. I’m going to enjoy all of it,” she continued.
While she did not defend the former Massachusetts governor on any policy specifics, Romney did say that she gets frustrated when she sees “how things get misrepresented.”
“I am a she-lion when it comes to anyone attacking him, you better look out! I get very, very upset at his being misrepresented.”
She praised her husband as a “turnaround expert,” saying it was time to “get somebody in there who actually knows how to bring about change and how to actually fix things that are broken.”
The rest of her speech was focused on the closeness of her family: she talked about her late father-in-law George Romney, whom she says she misses; her father and great grand-father, Welsh coal miners who emigrated to the United States; and her sixteen grandchildren.
She also told an emotional story about how her husband motivated her to overcome her depression after she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, in 1998.
“I thought, ‘my life is over. I’m finished. This is awful. I can’t spend the rest of my life just being in bed,’” Romney told the crowd of about 60 here. “And Mitt was really amazing during this time. My most difficult time in my life. He would put his arm around me, he’d say, ‘look. There are worse things in life.’”
She said he would say, “We’ve got to remember one thing. You’re still here. We’re still together. Everything’s going to be okay.”
She added that his support “did something to me mentally and emotionally that made me want to fight. And it kicked me into a different gear. I stopped feeling sorry for myself, I stopped being depressed, and I started to fight.
“I’m so grateful for Mitt for being the kind of husband that pulled me through a real crisis in my life,” she continued.
She suggested the anecdote revealed more about her husband’s character than the jobs he’s held. “The job we do doesn't matter, it's who you are.”
Romney will be in South Carolina tomorrow as well, attending a fundraising breakfast for the South Carolina Republican Party and submitting her husband's primary filing paperwork with the state party.
State treasurer Curtis Loftis, a Romney supporter who campaigned with Mrs. Romney all day, said that "people love her" and that "she really humanizes the governor." He said he'd like to see her in South Carolina as much as possible.
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Let's let the primary play out, but ABO
Ann Romney says 'stupid mistake' not to vote for husband. Anita Perry says it's a 'mistake' to vote for her 'stupid' husband.
ANd Michele says "this is the first time I feel proud of my country."
Good call TruePatriot - let's make this about what the candidate's wives have said.
Ann Romney sounds like a funny lady, I can't wait to hear more from her. This should help Mitt and I'm not being sarcastic. I think Mitt and Rick should immediately adjust their campaigns into an "uphill" mode because look out here comes Herman Cain and Herman Cain is truly personable, not BS personable, and that alone will win.
I just find the guy out right creepy ! He doesn't fit in with any group ..He's a social misfit .. uncomfortable in any situation ! And he makes the people he is speaking to " uncomfortable " . His wife has to say he's the best choice ...The gravy train stops here... if she doesn't !
If it was a toss up between another 4 years of vacations or 4 years of Moron tabernacle queers,I'd take my chances and vote for the dog catcher,or the dog.
"...let's make this about what the candidate's wives have said" What, you mean talk about the article? Really?
If only the deep pocketed donors were as infatuated with Willard and she is...
Rumor has it, there's a whole bunch of Romney bumper stickers laying around! lol
Not to mention, how many do you know who's hair looks better than their wives? ;o)
MS sufferers are going to be thrilled to hear that it only takes encouragement and anecdotes to overcome their disease.
How many do you know who's hair looks better than their wives? ;o) You know what they say about neat men ...very submissive and trying to be a "good boy" or mommy will spank him !...lol
I'll bet Ms. Romney was worried last time hubby run, the kids were tired of it too. 60 million to hand it over to McCain. She is also right about the turnaround expert. He turns over more than than an apple. There are worse things in life? Yeah, try having MS or any disease for that matter without health insurance. The rich have it so tough.
Yeah, I for one do NOT want the primaries to be over before we get to Wisconsin, where our open primary will make it fun for Democrats for a change.
If Republicans can throw up phony Democratic candidates to confuse voters in recall elections, Democrats are entitled to give them a phony Presidential primary in return.
What goes around ...
Isn't that special, the Lord said to be submissive to your husband...
So AM-
Where you talking about being submissive?
I can't imagine that's your bag, yet somehow your buddy TruePatriot gleaned that from your post. Huh?
Anna, like NY 26?
My goodness, Spanky, you are so cranky today! Bad day in court?
Actually, Spanky, that was supposed to be a reply to you, but i misplaced it.
And I have no idea how TP got that from my comment. I think he misplaced his.
Unfortunately, it's just a primary, Doug, but we can send the wrong message, that's for sure.
I think you nailed it AM - TruePatriot is misplaced.
No court today NewDay, but you do seem to be focused on us conservatives here.
I recall that it was NOJO that was grumpy according to you yesterday.
Tomorrow, perhaps JAS1?
AM -- It's just a case of misplacement identity.
NewDay -- I don't know about grumpy, but certainly foul...
Lovely story, Mrs. Romney tells. And I am sure that she is grateful for his support. Some husbands head for the hills when those things happen. My mother was victim to a man who did. But, Mitt just isn't going to appeal to the far right because of his history in MA. He is not going to appeal to the evangelicals because he is a Mormon. He is not going to appeal to the independents as he tries to pacify the fringe right and the evangelicals. Going to be a tough go, Mitt, and I just don't think you can tap dance that well.
Incorrect. Mitt appeals to independents. He will be the nominee. He will be the next president because by the time November of 2012 rolls around the chant will be ABO, ABO,ABO, ABO.......
Sorry to hear about your mom's trials. Hope everything worked out for her.
Thanks, Doug, though I guess we see Mitt's prospects differently. Things did not work out well for her, but I had the great pleasure of having her with me, and consider that a great gift. Funny, how sometimes great trial turns into treasure.
Then you were blessed. Good for you. Mothers are the greatest and the moments we have with them are precious.
Doug everyone needs to learn their ABC's.
For the love of America vote for Anybody But Conservatives.
It is easy and simple and the smart choice for America.
Exactly how I see it Doug.
Ann Romney and her family seem to be very nice people; it is good to hear about how supportive Mitt was. The problem for Mitt is that being sincere and loyal to his family is irrelevant because he doesn't come across as sincere to voters. People don't trust him; he's not committed to any view, he changes it as quickly as the new polls show up.
Well...way to endear yourselves to anyone who was currently considering one of the other candidates for the nomination...calling them stupid.
Spoken like a true elistist for whom 7 bedrooms is not enough.......so we are stupid.....well she and Mitt are boring.
Romney is a flip flopper! he is always talking about how he will create jobs- how? he is a likeable guy but will not be voted as President-
he brags about knowing all about business- ya- Mr Billioniaire who claims he is also unemplyed. You do not need to work- you have aso much money- why do you care?
No , I wont vote for you nor my family.
Wow- not voting for your family? What did they do? Raise your taxes?
By the way- what, exactly, is your family running for?
The trouble is that Gov. Romney may have known how the economy worked in the 1980s and 1990s, but he hasn't any better clue of how it has worked since 2001 than anybody else. Mrs. Romney is not of my generation, but the fact that she idealizes her husband and his family sounds strange...according to the article she talked about Mitt, about Mitt's father (George Romney), and about her father and grandfather -- were there no women worth talking about? or did the person reporting on this event just forget them too.
Gee, no jo, I didn't find Cion's post difficult to understand at all. Be happy to explain it to you if you did.
kate -- It's a bit reflective of the Mormon religion, in which the "patriarch" is king. They will refute claims that women are "second class citizens" and perhaps now in modern times the women have gotten the better hand--because the men have become so emasculated. There are many positives in the religion, but overall it is crazy.
Didn't his company gobble up businesses, fire the employees and section off what was sellable? How does that create jobs Willard? As for the wife, which Mitt does she sleep with since he flip flops all the time. They must have some odd role playing where Mitt is someone different all the time
To be fair, Romney is the only candidate who has actually provided plans in writing. President Obama should take some of those ideas and present them to Teapublicans in congress. That would put an end to that.
Romney will be the next president.
You did see the recent poll in Florida where Romney placed third--behind Cain and Perry? Romney still has to get the nomination, you know. I personally haven't seen anyone on the Republican side that I could be moved to vote for.
Deflection?
Is there anyone without a "D" behind there name that would "move" you?
Doug, I am waiting to see some candidates who don't pander to the Tea Party or the far right. I have voted for candidates on both sides of the aisle, so I'm not beholden to either party. I tend to vote on candidates based on their stances on issues and on their background, experiences, character, etc. So far, the only candidate who interests me is Huntsman. He doesn't seem to be doing that well, but it's still early.
I was poking fun at your confidence in Romney. Remember the Democratic primary last time? No one would've betted on Obama a year out. Do you think Christie or another candidate will join in the race?
We already have a First Lady.
And btw, if Michelle Obama was to become ill, her husband would stand with her. She is the president's whole life, along with their two daughters. They don't have to explain it, it's just there for all to see.
Here's some interesting background on Michelle written in the Seattle Times a few years ago:
Tiny wooden cabins line the dirt road once known as Slave Street as it winds through Friendfield Plantation.
More than 200 slaves lived in the whitewashed shacks in the early 1800s, and some of their descendants remained for more than 100 years after the Civil War. The last tenants abandoned the hovels about 30 years ago, and even they would have struggled to imagine a distant daughter of the plantation one day calling the White House home.
But a historical line can be drawn from these Low Country cabins to Michelle Obama, charting an American family's improbable journey through slavery, segregation, the civil-rights movement and a historic presidential election.
Their documented passage begins with Jim Robinson, Michelle Obama's great-great-grandfather, who was born about 1850 and lived as a slave, at least until the Civil War, on the sprawling rice plantation. Records show he remained on the estate after the war, working as a sharecropper and living in the old slave quarters with his wife, Louiser, and their children. He could neither read nor write, according to the 1880 census.
Robinson would be the last illiterate branch of Michelle Obama's family tree.
Census records show each generation of Robinsons became more educated than the last, with Michelle Obama eventually earning degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. Her older brother, Craig, also earned an Ivy League education.
In his now-famous speech on race during the primary, Barack Obama, whose father was from Kenya, stated he was "married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave owners."
In January, when the Obamas move into the White House — a mansion built partially by slaves — as the country's first African-American first family, Michelle Obama will embark upon a life her great-great-grandfather never could have envisioned.
Little is known about Jim Robinson's life at the Friendfield Plantation, beyond that he worked in the riverfront rice fields after the Civil War. Local historians don't know how or when he came to Friendfield, but census records indicate both his parents were born in South Carolina. The coastal Carolina city often is referred to as the African-American Ellis Island because of the many slave ships that docked along its shores.
Five single cabins remain today. With their massive fireplaces and wood-plank walls, each tells a story about slave life on the plantation.
Among Jim Robinson's surviving children was Fraser Robinson, Michelle Obama's great-grandfather. Born in 1884, he went to work as a houseboy for a local family before his 16th birthday. Census records show he was illiterate as a teen but had learned to read and write by the time he had children.
Michelle Obama campaigned for her husband in the South Carolina presidential primary. Addressing a packed audience that included at least 30 descendants of Jim Robinson, Obama talked about the need for change in the confident voice of a distant daughter of slavery.
"Things get better when regular folks take action to make change happen from the bottom up," she said. "Every major historical moment in our time, it has been made by folks who said, 'Enough,' and they banded together to move this country forward — and now is one of those times."
________________________________________
So often I hear Romney talk about President Obama not having enough of something - I don't know what the word is exactly - perhaps pride? in our country.
And then you read stories like this one and you remember how far we have come as a Nation. No one knows that more than the President and First Lady. Certainly Romney can't know. He's had everything handed to him.
Barack & Michelle Obama don't need to explain it. They just live it. With grace, dignity and warmth.
We all should.
Cheap nasty shots at Romney, per usual with you nasty liberals.
It is wonderful that we have an African American First Lady who had slave ancestors . But that does not entitle her to anything. She gets no free pass to spend 8 years as First Lady, there is an election.
My abolitionist ancestor gave his life in the Civil war , in the cause of freedom. That doesnt entitle me to anything.
It is not Romney who has had everything handed to him, but Barack Obama; Obama never had a real job in the private sector in his entitled life.
Obama is clueless about the private sector and free enterprise which makes America great.
Don't give two shakes about Michelle Antoinette.
Let her eat $100/lb steak. Or flaunt $45,0000 bracelets.
Bob and Doug are clueless. There was just a news segment on tonight about Michelle Obama being spotted shopping at Target. Yeah, real elite.
One of the most appealing things about the Obamas is the fact that they didn't start out wealthy. Both of them have humble roots, have worked hard to be educated, have worked in postions that serve the poor, and have also worked in private sector jobs (what do you call Obama's stint as a civil rights lawyer??).
Michelle Obama is nothing but an asset to Barack Obama (kind of like Laura Bush was for GWB). In fact, I'd love to vote for someone like Michelle O. to be president someday (sooner rather than later!). Considering how hard all candidates' spouses generally work as they campaign for their husbands, I would not be too hard on a silly comment made by Romney's wife. It sounds as if it were taken out of context. If she didn't feel that everyone should vote for her husband, then she probably wouldn't be campaigning for him.
*bubble*bubble*bubble****baaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhhffffffffffffffff....... :-P
Hey Doug, Romney just bought a 12 million dollar home to tear it down and build him a 40 or 50 million dollar home. I see, Richie Romney is allowed to have money probably even more than Michelle Antoinette you are whining about.
Talk about elitist, how many people do you know that can buy a 12 million dollar house just to tear it down? That Romney he sure understands the common man problems. That is why he has hired the brilliant minds from bush's economic team that decided that tax cuts during war time would not hurt our nation.
You ready for our nation to pick up where bush left off destroying America then vote for Romney.
Its as simple as ABC, vote for Anybody But Conservatives.
Moochelle Antoinette Obama,
Nice ring to that. As for the staged media photo op with Moochelle shopping at Target, this just shows that they are getting negative feedback about their lavish lifestyle during the Obama depression and the Obama downgrade.
They must try to defuse this situation. It doesn't make good copy.
Ann Romney has been proud to be an American ALL her life AND ...she doesn't look like Patrick Ewing. She'd be great.
Wow, a lot of uptight people here. Sounds like she was making a joke, not sure why that enrages some.
Liberals are permanently enraged. It is their way of life. They have no class or respect.
A nice story about Mrs. Romney is , typical of lefties, used to make nasty cheap political points
I thought it was a lovely story too, Bob. So glad that Mrs. Romney had the support of her family. But, I still think it will be a tough race for Romney.
they say a man who represents himself in court is a fool.
And, according to Ann Romney, a man who does not vote for Mitt is a fool.
As god is my witness, I am that fool :)
Wrong, it's a stupid mistake to vote " FOR" Mitt Romney. It's a stupid mistake to vote for ANY REPUBLICAN. It took them 8 years to screw the country up as bad as they did and it's one thing they are VERY GOOD DOING-SCREWING THINGS UP. Bushwacked for 8 years and we just cannot get out of the quicksand because the Republicans won't help. They screwed it up and Obama has been getting the blame since the minute he took the oath of the Presidency. This country cannot afford another
George " W " Bush clone-Rick Perry or Crazy Michele or Kookie Kookie {lend me your comb] Romney or FATMAN CHRISTIE or the Barracuda. NO REPUBLICANS NEEDED OR WANTED 2012
Yeah right. That's why Reagan had to clean up the mess that Jimmy Carter left for him in 1981 which was almost as bad as what Bush left for Obama. Democrats are no better. Obama sucks. While he should have been focused on the economy last year he spent it on the Health care debate. Nice going Barack. Now we are closer to a depression then ever.
Jamamers
Really you want to bring Reagan into this? The very man who ballooned the debt more than any other President? A man who lied or was senile even before and sold weapons to the Iranians? Raised taxes, and was a racist? You really want to bring him up?
I'll bet Ann Romney was worried in 2008. 60 million and handing it off to McCain had the kids worried too. She was right about Romney being a turnaround expert. His flip-flopping proves that. Oh there are worse things in life than having MS allright, like having any severe disease and trying to get through it with no insurance. The rich have it so tough. WAAAAAAAAA.
Mitt Romney does not bond with voters any better than John Kerry.
Watch it, Mrs. Willard. The TeePee-rs who would never vote for your husband ain't gonna take too kindly to being called stoopid uhh, stupid.
I believe Mrs Romney should look in the miror when she is talking about Stupidity. She has opened up a can of worms for derogatory comments about A Presidential candidate[AKA HER HUSBAND]. that should bring out plenty of commentary about him and now his family.The old adage about a wife staing home and in the kitchen is appropo in politics.
An article about Ann Romney's "funny" comment is important?! The big news is What Herman Cain said. He said African Americans are " brainwashed" into voting Democrat ( by all the hype and tactics coming from pundits who tout class warfare) instead of keeping an open mind and listening to what the Republican party really stands for. People need to THINK about what Democrats have done for people ( highest unemployment rates!). Democrats cater to Unions and special interests ( i.e. "green" company money pits).
Leona
And what do Repubs cater too? The Big Banks, Insurance Companies, Big Pharma, Big Oil, any of these helping anyone out lately. Lets see, BofA wants to charge you to use your ATM card because of the Financial Reform Law that states no excessive fees, so they want to make out w/ about a billion dollars in profit, after they we're one of the biggest banks that received bail out money. Big Pharma inserted into Medicare Part D that Medicare COULDN"T negiotiate prices because it affects their bottom line, Big Oil and their obscene profits making them the most profitable business in a decade yet still want tax payer subsidies. This is what your rooting for?
Herman Cain is a token, call me racist if you will, but thats exactly what he is. Hard core right wingers will never vote for a African American, even if that African American is there nominee. The party would implode and despite his credentials, it matter for naught. He's the wrong color for them