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Clean-livin' Mitt Attacks Clinton's Family Life

October 26, 2007 2:46 PM

Bill_2 GOP presidential candidate and former Governor Mitt Romney once told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that "I'm not going to suggest that people's marital lives should be part of a campaign." But for at least the third time in the last two months, he has impugned the marriage of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, and the tom-catting of her husband Bill.

As reported by ABC News' Matt Stuart earlier today (LINK), responding to a Halloween invitation from an Iowan in West Des Moines, Friday, Romney joked about "Hillary's House of Horrors" which he said would consist of "the 'raise your tax' room.  We'd have the 'weaker military' room.  We'd have the 'family values in shambles' room."

The "family values in shambles" room?

Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson responded, "Hillary Clinton needs no lessons on character from a man who switches his positions on a daily basis."

Just yesterday in New Hampshire (LINK), Romney -- asked to comment about a controversial program to distribute birth control to middle school students in Maine -- said that "one of the ways you instill family values is by having the White House be a place that demonstrates family values... I think during the last Clinton presidency the White House did not demonstrate that in a way that was helpful to our nation's culture."

Romney added "you're gonna be under a microscope and at least during the time you're in the White House you ought to live by a high standard, because the world is looking at you, you're representing not only yourself but your country. And the kids of America are looking at you."

(Wolfson yesterday used the same line as a retort. "Hillary Clinton needs no lessons on character from a man who switches his positions on a daily basis.")

Lest we forget, two months ago, when Romney threw former endorser Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, under the bus (LINK), he told CNBC that the Craig scandal "reminds us of Mark Foley and Bill Clinton. I think it reminds us of the fact that people who are elected to public office continue to disappoint, and they somehow think that if they vote the right way on issues of significance or they can speak a good game, that we'll just forgive and forget...we've seen disappointment in the White House, we've seen it in the Senate, we've seen it in Congress. And frankly, it's disgusting."

This can clearly be seen as a way of not only reminding people that Romney is still married to his first wife and has on its face a picture-perfect family life, but also that his chief rival for the GOP presidential nomination, the thrice-married former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, does not.

Romney lays this on quite thick. "I came in with my sweetheart, who's here in the front row, I think, somewhere," he said at the CPAC conference. "Ann, would you come on up and just say hi? Here comes my sweetheart, Ann Romney."

Romney isn't the only one throwing stones -- in Missouri his wife, Ann, joked, "The biggest difference between Mitt Romney and the other candidates," is that the Mormon has "only had one wife."

Romney's attacks on Clinton's marriage also stand in contrast to those of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who in July (LINK) told NPR, "this will really rankle some of my Republican colleagues: Bill Clinton and Hillary went through some horrible experiences in their marriage because of some of the reckless behavior that he has admitted he had. I am not defending him on that, it's indefensible. But they kept their marriage together. And a lot of the Republicans who have condemned them and talk about their platform of family values, interestingly, didn't keep their own families together."

Huckabee, craftily, who is also still on his first wife, praised Clinton for sticking with Bill, drawing attention to the divorces of Giuliani, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and others.

Romney criticizes her, doing so.

Either way, it's a lot of talk about personal stuff. What do you think?

-- jpt

October 26, 2007 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (75)

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Almost all web pages you dig up have everything you're looking for.

Posted by: divorce mediation | Jan 10, 2008 9:56:14 PM

The women's rights movement has rightfully changed the conventional wisdom in rape cases from, 'well, she wanted it', to, 'rape victims usually don't lie'. Well publicized cases to the contrary, like the Duke lacrosse fiasco, are the exceptions now. In general, RAPE VICTIMS DON'T LIE. Clinton's cold-hearted character assasination team, though, contends that Bill's dozens of accusers over three decades are lying. More than a few now-dissillusioned former Clinton insiders have sworn that Hillary was the head of the Clinton 'secret police' that dug up dirt on Bill's accusers. There are payment records to back them up, including a six-figure payoff to a P.I. named Jack Palladino in 1992 to discredit Paula Jones and Juanita Broddrick. Broaddrick now says she was directly threatened by Hillary after she was raped and bitten by Bill. Her husband was immediately, and, surprisingly, appointed to a top Arkansas government post by Governor Clinton, to assure her silence. Bill was also accused of rape by a Little Rock lawyer, who kept silent for years, in her words, out of fear for her and her husband's careers. He allegedly raped former Miss America Elizabeth Gracen, who detailed the attack to her friend, Judy Stokes. Gracen later claimed the adultery was consensual--publicly--but confided to friends that to do otherwise would be career suicide. Speaking of suicide, alleged Clinton rape victim Kathy Ferguson committed 'suicide' a week after the Paula Jones case was filed against Clinton. Her friends said she was terrified that she would have to testify about her experience with Bill. Hillary's role in the public denial and privately-orchestrated character assasinations by the Clinton team has been active, cold, and calculated. The only family she has sought to keep together is her political family.

Posted by: SteveW | Oct 29, 2007 5:26:13 PM

Lowell Browning - ahh the shame of it all, Lets see Hilary helped cover up Allegations of Rape by Bill, sexual indiscretion and so forth by using the FBI and IRS and dont for the Eshalon Program (probably spelt wrong) where she listened in on American to American phone calls.

Yes 4 more years of corruption and lies. What else will China get?

Like I said before the Republicans throw out any member that does wrong whether proven or not the Dems promote them.

You way you tell the morals of a party is by the way the act upon those members that act immoral. So in this case the Dems have NO Moral Family or otherwise.

You bring up a Senator that no one knows what really happened, but yet ignore your senator responsible for murder!

Lib = Hypocrisy

Posted by: spock | Oct 29, 2007 2:54:22 PM

Royce,you are correct.Also no child should learn the words 'homosexual' or 'Gay' or 'male prostitution' like in the senators of the republican party.
They should not hear the words coming in either about the pastors to whom have promised votes for favor of the republican party.
Put your child infront of the tv for educational value.
I agree with what you said,but,why did you not include the many republicans,did I mention the senator and his desires for sex with interns.
This is a case of not throwing stones when you live in a glass house.

Posted by: Lowell Browning | Oct 29, 2007 2:22:29 PM

Bill Clinton did not abuse young women.He has looks,money,an education,and power.
Maybe ur missing some of that and have a dislike for him.
He did not force himself on anyone whereas there is a public record.
You are going to have to just get used to it: President Clinton and President Clinton are moving back into the White House and the killing of our young people in the middle east is going to end.
What would lead you to think he abused young women.
His wife showed alot of christian virtue by standing with him and rebuilding their lives as a couple.
We are not voting for a perfect man. Not voting for a pastor.Voting for a president and Hillary will be awesome.

Posted by: Lowell Browning | Oct 29, 2007 2:12:47 PM

No child should learn the definition of the word ‘adultery’ by watching a news broadcast about his president. ...... Strike the flag, post it inverted below the Mexican flag. Give up your guns, your job and 3/4 your income for taxes. Burn the Constitution and full speed ahead! President Hillary takes office in a little over a year. ..... God help us all.

Posted by: Royce | Oct 29, 2007 11:23:29 AM

First lets start with Hilary covering up accusations of Rape by Bill, Such a supported of Women's rights.

Next we all know it is a marriage of convenience.

Now the gay attacks against the repubs, what presidential candidate is involved with that?

See here is the issue, the liberal media covers up any and all illicit behavior of the Lib Dems and puts on their front pages any indiscretion of the Repubs.

Now do you want a party that removes members that are involved in these illicit encounters like the Repubs or do you want a party that promotes their members that are involved with crimes such as the Dems?

Lib are Hypocrites and that is all there is to it!

Posted by: spock | Oct 29, 2007 10:22:44 AM

Eventually someone has set a standard. Someone has to clearly explain what is right and what is wrong. That someone wil not always be popular, but "what is right is not always popular, and what is popular is not always right". Romney is telling the truth. We don't always want to hear the truth. I don't always want to hear the truth. But deep down, we know. Morality does count. Presidents do set an example for millions of impressionable kids out there. Families make or break a nation. If we want a strong nation, we've got to have strong families. And strong families come from strong marriages.

Posted by: MJ | Oct 29, 2007 9:27:35 AM

No more affairs and sex in the OVAL OFFICE,yuk.

Posted by: kmjjp | Oct 29, 2007 12:31:34 AM

Colleen--your comments are offensive, sexist, and, most of all, WRONG!!!!! A widely respected study of marital infidelity (Univ. of Chicago) found that 22 percent of married men cheat, as Bill Clinton did. An online MSNBC poll put the figure at 28 percent, but that poll was not scientific. Split the diff and you get 25 percent--one in four. Women, according to the polls, cheat less--but still, one in five or six women think 'below the belt'. And 'most presidents', you say, cheat???? You're telling us Ronald Reagan, George Bush the first, and Jimmy Carter cheated on the First Lady, in the oval office, with a cigar??? No, Bill did that. And Hillary 'held her head up'??? Rubbish. She actively helped Bill ruin the lives of his victims, while she was pretending to champion womens' rights. You seem to like sexist insults, so here's one for you---the only reason some women like you get away with blithering idiocy like your comment below is that they are married to men who don't cheat--and don't want to sleep on the couch.

Posted by: SteveW | Oct 28, 2007 1:23:29 PM

Did you people for get that most of our presidents have had sex out side of the marriage. But 50 yrs.ago or so the press didn't tell. Bill C. is a man and all men think with something other then the brain. Mrs. Clinton held her head up high and so did their daughter. And so did many other first ladies and many women on this earth. Many women right now are putting up with cheating husbands. IT IS NOTHING NEW. The men have screwed up this country so it is time to see what a women can do. wake up women will take over this world.......

Posted by: Colleen | Oct 28, 2007 12:35:44 PM

It's clear that Hillary once had a chance.
It is also clear that Bill messed it up with her willingness. Her husband cheated! She should have divorced long ago. NOW IT'S TOO LATE. JUST LOOK AT HER.

WHAT KIND OF FEMINISM DOES SHE REPRESENT?

WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE DOES SHE SEND TO PROUD WOMEN AND TO THE PROUD WOMEN OF THE FUTURE?

Posted by: AMY F. | Oct 28, 2007 5:43:50 AM

Unlike Hillary and most of the other GOP candidates, Ron Paul actually served his country as a member of the military. Paul grew up in the western Pennsylvania town of Green Tree. His father, the son of a German immigrant, ran a small dairy company. Sports were big around there and Paul was a terrific athlete, winning a state track meet in the 220 and excelling at football and baseball. After medical school at Duke, Paul joined the Air Force, where he served as a flight surgeon, tending to the ear, nose and throat ailments of pilots, and traveling to Iran, Ethiopia and elsewhere. "I recall doing a lot of physicals on Army warrant officers who wanted to become helicopter pilots and go to Vietnam," he said. "They were gung-ho. I've often thought about how many of those people never came back." Paul is given to mulling things over morally. His family was pious and Lutheran; two of his brothers became ministers. Paul's children were baptized in the Episcopal church, but now he attends a Baptist one. He's been married to the same woman for 50 years. As a young man, though, he did not protest the Vietnam War, which he now calls "totally unnecessary and illegal." Much later, after the United States invaded Iraq, he began reading St. Augustine. "I was annoyed by the evangelicals' being so supportive of pre-emptive war, which seems to contradict everything that I was taught as a Christian," he recalls. "The religion is based on somebody who's referred to as the Prince of Peace."

Posted by: Mike Baker | Oct 28, 2007 2:02:49 AM

"I don't think a candidate who attacks anothers personal life is a person I want running our country." I second that!

For all those Christians: all you who never sinned, throw the first stone... Jesus.

Posted by: santacruzan | Oct 27, 2007 7:17:23 PM

Hey has anyone ever heard of the Logan act or the Bilderberg group?

Google: LOGAN ACT, Google: Bilderberg.
While you are at it google: Hillary Clinton at Bilderberg. She is a lying traitor and she has been plotting with some very powerful people from all over the world to help combine Mexico, US, and Canada! Check my facts make sure you are informed! RON PAUL FOR PRES!!!!

Posted by: Ezra Mondeva | Oct 27, 2007 4:30:34 PM


Here’s an item that I thought was rich and made me laugh. (I’m citing
a Newsmax article of Monday October 22nd)

The article is titled “Buchanan (says) GOP Would Lose Soul with Giuliani”

According to Buchanan, “Rudy …has attracted those inveterate opportunists, the neocons, who see in him (Giuliani) their last hope of redemption for their cakewalk war and their best hope for a long war against Islamo-fascism.” Buchanan maintains that a Giuliani presidency would represent a return and a final triumph of the liberal Republicanism that moral majority conservatives went into politics to purge from power. “A Giuliani presidency,”Buchanan noted, “would represent repudiation of the party’s moral, social and cultural content that once separated it from Democrats and defined it as an institution.” He said, “Rudy offers the (doctrinaire) right (wingers) the ultimate Faustian bargain: i.e.,retention of power at the price of one's soul.”

I had to laugh at this whole concept, because my question is, WHAT SOUL? Republican conservatism has been defined by its very lack of a soul and by its cruel heartlessness and absence of any milk of human kindness….Money has always been “god” and ‘liberals’ and/or poor people are the tools of Satan, in that they are (equivalent in Republican eyes to “bums and welfare cheats”).

What soul?

Posted by: JL | Oct 27, 2007 3:58:30 PM

I support Congressman, Ron Paul for President. There is something homespun about Paul, reminiscent of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. He communicates with his constituents through birthday cards, August barbecues and the cookbooks his wife puts together every election season, which mix photos of grandchildren, Gospel passages and neighbors' recipes for Velveeta cheese fudge and Cherry Coke salad. He is listed in the phone book, and his constituents call him at home. But there is also something cosmopolitan and radical about him; his speeches can bring to mind the World Social Forum or the French international-affairs periodical Le Monde Diplomatique. Ron Paul represents a different Republican Party from the one that Iraq, deficits and corruption have soured the country on. His school of Republicanism, which had its last serious national airing in the Goldwater campaign of 1964, stands for a certain idea of the Constitution the idea that much of the power asserted by modern presidents has been usurped from Congress, and that much of the power asserted by Congress has been usurped from the states. Though Paul acknowledges flaws in both the Constitution (it included slavery) and the Bill of Rights (it doesn't go far enough), he still thinks a comprehensive array of positions can be drawn from them: against gun control; for the sovereignty of states; and against foreign-policy adventures like the one underway in Iraq, and soon Iran.

Posted by: Mike Baker | Oct 27, 2007 3:28:51 PM

Hillary is not to blame for Bill's abuse of young women. She IS to blame for helping him get away with it. She DID illegally wiretap. She DID use the FBI to get dirt on young women who had the guts to report Bill. She DID look the other way--not only while the abuse was going on, but while the lives of some of those young women were ruined to further her political ambitions. She DID claim to champion women's rights, even while she knowingly violated the rights of those victims. She DID lead the chorus of "Lay off Bill!!"--even after he lied under oath. She DID back up his lies, even though she knew better. She and all the Clinton cronies, past and present, have a Nixonian belief that they are above the law, both statutory and moral. She believes it takes a village to raise a child, but once the brat turns 18, it's fair game for the Clinton cadre of crooks. No, Romney and the Republicans don't have a monopoly on morals--but they DO throw their misfits 'under the bus'. If Hillary did that, she would be a lonely, lonely woman indeed---and she'd have quite a set of tire marks on her back, too.

Posted by: SteveW | Oct 27, 2007 12:53:54 PM

Good observation Gary. Glad to see somebody else noticed. I liked the one with Billy Graham best. Guess the other Candidates never met him.
A-lways B-een C-linton.

Posted by: flyover | Oct 27, 2007 10:43:18 AM

And taking a $1.2 million donation from Peter Paul (and covering it up). That's worse than Richard Nixon's coverup - but Bill appointed the judge!

Taking more than $25,000 from one individual subjects the candidate to a felony worth five years in prison.

Hillary will look good in prison stripes.

Posted by: Bot | Oct 27, 2007 6:42:31 AM

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