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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 | User Comments (75)

User Comments

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

Hillary deserves every comment about her (and Bill's) integrity: taking White House furniture and furnishings, hiding the Billing records in her closet, arranging for gumshoes to intimidate Bill's bimbos, wiretapping Bill's opponents (while objecting to wiretapping Al Queda!). The list goes on and on - throwing lamps at Bill for his daliances, pardoning fugitive criminals like Marc Rich.

It is about time integrity and fidelity were injected into the campaign. We desperately need both in a Chief Executive.

Posted by: Bot | Oct 27, 2007 6:36:28 AM

I don't think a candidate who attacks anothers personal life is a person I want running our country. So I guess Mitt never had a spat with his wife and nothing bad has ever happened in his marriage? I guess he's never made a personal mistake that is none of anyones business? I doubt it, that is only 1 in a million and we have that guy running the country now. I usually find that those who are the most judgemental are the ones who have the most to hide (Larry Craig proved that) so maybe you so-called "good moral" folk who are loaded with so much integrity ought to shut up and mind your own business.

Posted by: dk | Oct 27, 2007 4:05:23 AM

For all Romney's talk I'd love to see him wear this outfit on Halloween in front of photographers. A sense of humor is a sense of proportion...it also requires guts.

I'll be wearing this myself to the Hill Halloween parties. A friend emailed this. I had to have it custom made at a D.C. T-shirt shop, I guess they're sold out.

Craig S.W.A.T. Tee-Shirt and optional cap.” Matched by jeans and clunky black shoes or better yet combat boots, people will surely notice you and get the hell out of your way. With a set of handcuffs attached to a thick black belt the look is mostly complete. Good news fellers–there’s an edgy guy's version too.


Posted by: Debbie | Oct 27, 2007 1:16:06 AM

I'm still yearning for a candidate that can run on their earned integrity. Not integrity based on how well someone pounds their own chest but integrity touted by those that have given their respect for a candidate of merit. Then again there doesn't seem to be anyone respectable that can vouch for the integrity of another. Yep Halloween is here. The candidates and the press are trying to fit mask onto anyone and anything.

Posted by: lorax_mbell | Oct 27, 2007 12:47:48 AM

If I decide which Presidential candidate that talk and sound more American I honestly pick Mitt Romney.Hilliary talk more like a European politician with socialist in mind.

Posted by: kmjjp | Oct 27, 2007 12:26:46 AM

Don't you guys get it????!!! This isn't about Hillary at all. Mitt doesn't need to go after her yet. This is all about Rudy. He can't go after Rudy personally because they are both on the same team. So he uses Hillary. Just substitute the name Rudy for every Hillary reference and you will see that he is really attacking Rudy. He wants to show that he is the best alternative to Rudy. I hope it works. Romney needs some sort of edge right now, and hopefully he will get the family values vote.

Posted by: LindaD | Oct 27, 2007 12:20:54 AM

To Andrea Taylor:
Please explain to me how ANY woman can prevent a husband ,who is determined to have daliances outside of his marriage, from cheating on her.
I'm sure women the world over will give you their undivided attention when you dispense the answer to this centuries -old puzzlement.
For centuries, society has placed the blame for men straying unfairly on the wife. Why do we continue to blame the victim? So you don't like Hillary. Don't vote for her. But DON'T say that someone doesn't deserve the Oval Office because of something the SPOUSE has done. So, Please Andrea, dispense your wisdom to us, {in your best misspelling } we've been waiting for centuries........

Posted by: Sparkles | Oct 27, 2007 12:18:11 AM

I was not happy with Mitt and his mud-slinging tactics with Hillary, but Hillary is not innocent. I just read an article about her that really didn't shock me, but opened my eyes to how deceitful she can be. The article had to do with her campaign for Senate. She denied receiving certain donations amounting to 1.2 million dollars and then allowed some of her staff to be charged with the wrongful donations. She states she had no idea, that was a lie, she knew exactly what was going on. She was actually recorded during a phone conversation. She does not have integrity, or morals, and should be ousted from this Presidential Campaign period. I would never trust her or Bill.

Posted by: Tess, California | Oct 26, 2007 10:42:54 PM

Hats off to Romney for keeping his family together, that's admirable.

What isn't admirable are his personal attacks on the other candidates, that's piss poor and not the attitude we need in the White House.

I haven't read the Book of Mormon, but does it address not casting the first stone? Or the Golden Rule?

Posted by: BSmith | Oct 26, 2007 9:56:19 PM

"I hope this country recognizes a great man when they see one."

Yes, and that would be RON PAUL........

Posted by: Nick | Oct 26, 2007 9:25:16 PM

I have never been so excited about a canidate. Mit Romney is a great example of living a righteous life. I think he would be the best president. I hope this country recognizes a great man when they see one.

Posted by: Colleen | Oct 26, 2007 9:01:45 PM

I want to know what any of this rhetoric has to do with the issues at hand?
I do not care if Hillary and Bill had troubles, I do not care if Romney has only had one wife, and I especially do not care about his opinion on the Clintons or vice versa.
What I do care about is the way this country is going to hell in a handbasket quickly and I want to know what the candidates plan to do about the issues.
Romney is one to talk....the animal abuser.
Romney has the look - but I think that's about it. Looks like a loan shark to me.

Posted by: Mary | Oct 26, 2007 8:57:53 PM

Hillary Clinton kept her marriage vows and did not divorce Bill Clinton. That was the right thing to do. However, I doubt very seriously if what motivated her was keeping her marriage vows. Since she is a Methodist that is doubful. It is obvious that she did what she always does. She looked at it from a pragmatic point of view and said that 'If I want to be President I'm going to need him'.

Posted by: Gary | Oct 26, 2007 8:30:19 PM

What is missing here are the plethora of stories that ABC has been running on Hillary Clinton. Are you guys at ABC on the dole for the hillary campaign? Sure looks that way.

Posted by: Gary | Oct 26, 2007 8:26:36 PM

The Clinto name got her to the Senate, but it won't get her to the White House. Hillary Clinton has the blodd of our troops on her hands because she authorized the Iraqi invasion. Plus, she has been a losy senator.

Posted by: Andrea Taylor | Oct 26, 2007 8:09:44 PM

Romney has a point. Also, how can Hillary Clinton run the country if she can't keep her husband from cheating? And what does that say about a woman who stays with a man that continually disrespects and their marriage?

It seems like she is in the marriage to gain power through the Clinton name -- it won't work.

Posted by: Andrea Taylor | Oct 26, 2007 8:04:56 PM

First, the American people have never
ever elected a Saint as President. And I
am glad we never have.

Romney is way off the reservation for
talking about a candidates personal
life. If someone dug far enough, and
you can bet someone is doing so now,
you can find questionable deeds in
his/her personal life. Any candidate
that does engage in this behaviour
must be getting desperate.

Posted by: Bob Ramos | Oct 26, 2007 7:27:09 PM

I am no fan of Hillary, but why not ask ol' Mit about his Mormon underpants. Are those magical undies the key to clean livin'?

Posted by: Robert Marley | Oct 26, 2007 7:17:28 PM

I've lived around Mormons, it's just the same rhetoric the church spews:

"The family is the most important"
"clean living"
"blah,blah,blah"

Posted by: Frank | Oct 26, 2007 6:52:25 PM

There's plenty to attack but, one wishes that politicians would limit themselves to the issues though.

Posted by: jade02008 | Oct 26, 2007 6:46:02 PM

I am personally sick of Romney's

Holier Than Thou

Approach to everything.

This doesn't surprise me coming from a Mormon...

Posted by: Frank | Oct 26, 2007 6:32:42 PM

I though a marital relationship consisted of two people who live in the same house or apartment. How can you say that the Clintion's have keept thier relationship (marrigae) TOGETHER when they live separately. One can still be divorced even though they do not have a piece of paper witnessing it. Their's is a marrigae of convenience for political purposes. If she were divorced legally, do you really think a single, devorced female coculd be elected as President of the United States. I guess you did'nt enhale either.

Posted by: OKU | Oct 26, 2007 6:28:58 PM

Hillary would sell her soul for a vote. She diesn't care one way or the other for Bill. She wants the name recognition and all the crooked money her and Bill weaseled out of corperations. Remember Whitewater and turning $10,000 into $100,000 overnight.

She belongs on a farm not in the White House.

lew83501

Posted by: Clark Idaho | Oct 26, 2007 6:14:24 PM

The Clinton's, whether it be Bill or Hillary, are unstable.

Remember, 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar were operating right under the noses of the Clinton's when they were warring with each other, and instead of Bill doing his job, he was getting his treatment from a teenager.

She will never get my vote! When h*ll freezes over.

Posted by: Charlie | Oct 26, 2007 5:56:54 PM

At least the Clinton's marriage gave us jokes we can still get laughs from. I despise how fellow republicans seem to think values start in the oval office. Isn't that more a democrat sentiment to officiate people's behavior? I can't believe Ron Paul is trailing. Unity08 will hopefully carry Paul, because he is the only Republican in the running!

Posted by: Charles Gasper | Oct 26, 2007 5:50:01 PM

Non-denominational, Christianity began 2000 years ago. But Judaism began approximately 2000 years before that!

Posted by: James Danley | Oct 26, 2007 5:44:58 PM

God didnt creat man, man created god. Religion was created 2000 years ago by people that didnt have enough scientific evidence to wrap their minds around how man was created. Fast forward 2007 years and you still have people that are religious, but these people claim to be devoutly religious just so they can hide behind something when they live their lives being devoutly UN-religious. Just ask Dubya about it, he's made a political career out of it. Or ask one of the 73,000 innocent Iraqi's that have been killed in the past 4 years how Christian Dubya really is... God must be proud

Posted by: non-denominational | Oct 26, 2007 5:33:39 PM

The Republicans had no problems allocating $142 million to investigate who gave Bill Clinton oral sex, and they also had no problem allocating $8.5 million to investigate who was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.... its good to have priorities

Posted by: Jimmy Jazz Prescott | Oct 26, 2007 5:28:33 PM

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

I think it's a bunch of crap. If Dubya is the poster boy of "family values" but horrible policies, give me "non-family values" politicians any day. I don't care if it's Republicans or Democrats prattling about it...it p*sses me off everytime its talked about. The hypocrisy of "familY' values in a country where half the marriages end in divorce is disgusting. But what do you expect when you're trying to appeal (as Mitt is) to the voters who only 2 issues in life are abortion and gay marriage.

Hopefully the majority of voters in this country learned from 2000 and 2004 about the dangers of supporting candidates who pander to "values" voters. And I use the term "values" very loosely when talking about those folks...

Posted by: Ryan | Oct 26, 2007 5:11:29 PM

Sparkles, none of the above (or in this case below). It is just common knowledge mixed with common sense.

Posted by: James Danley | Oct 26, 2007 5:10:42 PM

Hey Sparkles - NEWS FLASH.....making a marriage last 38 years (and counting) is NOT LUCK! Mitt Romney did not, as in your words "...lucked-out and only has been married once..." It takes commitment, integrity, compassion. If you are planning on luck, then I guess you end up divorced!

Posted by: hombre de steele | Oct 26, 2007 4:58:47 PM

Mitt's attacks another candidate in order to get a bump up?

We don't another four years of the same.

Posted by: chuck | Oct 26, 2007 4:57:44 PM

Rachael, I could write for days in response to your comments. But I will address just one: "...conspiracy to commit murder (valarie plame)..." Are you aware that Robert Novak met Joe Wilson at a party just a couple of days before his article appeared? In that encounter, Robert Novak told Joe Wilson about the article that was coming out and even mentioned his wife's name as "Valerie Plame Wilson." Joe Wilson only said that his wife goes by the Wilson name. He didn't show any outrage at her being on the verge of being outed. The reason is that his "Whose Who?" biography already named his wife as "the former Valerie Plame."

Posted by: James Danley | Oct 26, 2007 4:50:32 PM

It is a pretty weak defense of Hillary Clinton to say that this is a lot of personal stuff. Her husband, Bill, cheated on her in the White House. This was a tragic and damaging choice that Bill made. Despite Hillary's earlier statement, to the effect, that she would not be a Tammy Wynnette who stood by her man, she did just that. In theory, Hillary champions sex education and birth control as a means for people to make better choices. In theory, Hillary champions a women's movement that decries subservience to men. However, Bill undermined her life's work in one fell swoop. Bill, a man supposedly well educated in things sexual, chose to carry on a liason with an unpaid intern, several times his subordinate. This wasn't a mistake. This was a complete repudiation of what Hillary was about. It would be a personal matter if she had not made a career out of championing sexual harassment in the workplace. It would be a personal matter if she did not hold herself and Bill up as an example that you can reconcile mixed messages about sex education with making good personal choices. Hillary cannot make this go away. She has to keep taking the punches for this one because she has decided to exonerate Bill. If my middle school kid was going to make a choice on how to conduct his or her personal life, I would hope that he would follow Mitt and Ann Romney's example and not Bill and Hillary's. I don't know how people can continue to pretend that this does not matter.

Posted by: Sean O'Brien | Oct 26, 2007 4:46:27 PM

The Lewinsky scandal was an abuse of power! America's lack of morality is the cause of so many problems. How can we expect to fix these problems when they're happening in the White House?!
I applaud Mitt for recognizing the need for the President of the United States to properly represent the American people and traditional American values.

Posted by: Reese | Oct 26, 2007 4:44:49 PM

"...it was Hillary who was publicly humiliated and cruelly hurt. She has forgiven him and and kept their marriage together..."

I seriously doubt the first sentence. Arkansas Attorney General Bill Clinton (1977-1979), Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton (1979-1981; 1983-1992) and President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) all had a history of encounters with women -- most consentual, a few not. That's TWENTY-FOUR years! Do you really think she was publicly humiliated and cruelly hurt for that long? Give me a break!

Hillary Clinton "stood by her man" because she didn't care. And because her ambition to become President of the United States was, and still is, more important to her than even thinking about divorcing Bill. She has used her husband's career to catapult her into the front runner for the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. It will be interesting to see if Sen. Clinton does become president if one of her first acts is to finally drop kick him out of the White House.

Posted by: James Danley | Oct 26, 2007 4:35:22 PM

romney was on my short list but this incident bumped him, idont need any candidate giving me a bio on any other canditate,i do my own research i want to hear what are you going to do for our country down to two folks barrack obama and mike huckabee

Posted by: frankvero | Oct 26, 2007 4:33:45 PM

Marriage is a covenant not to be broken. Hillary should be applauded for staying in her marriage and not running away as so many of the so called conservatives have done. If anyone have not had problems in their marriage let him/her cast the first stone and if you throw the stone repent of your sins.

Posted by: Lincoln | Oct 26, 2007 4:33:25 PM

Romney acts like he is some Christ like figure who can go around and critisize and judge whoever he wants. Hillary knows she is not perfect and does'nt "pretend" to be. Is'nt it the ones who cast stones and judge others that have ended up in some of the most sensational scandels during the past few decades. The likes of Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker to name a few. People put their trust and faith in characters like these and were left dissappointed because they passed themselves off as modern day saints. Maybee Romney should be running for a title like Pope instead of President were mere mortals dare too tread.

Posted by: BL | Oct 26, 2007 4:32:41 PM

It is all wasted air. The Clinton's should be accountable for the shifty land deals they where involved in and the deaths that where caused because of those illegal deals. They are scoundrels and never should be allowed in the White House. As for Romney, thank earth he changes his mind. I know a certain president who refuses to do so and....war!

Posted by: dcr | Oct 26, 2007 4:31:59 PM

Here are some more repub family values... pre-emptive strikes on innocents who didn't attack us(iraq), lies about wmds, abortions of pregnant women in iraq by bombs, theft of iraqi oil, bearing false witness about wmds, idolotry of a man(bush), who wants a legacy, blasphemy of God by using God's name to get elected(Bush stated jesus was his idol to get elected), coveting of iraq's oil, conspiracy to commit murder(valarie plame), better than thou pride, illegal wiretapping, torture, destruction of god's planet through polution... oh, my hands are tired of typing....

Posted by: rachael | Oct 26, 2007 4:29:08 PM

Perhaps Romney can explain again why he supports war in Iraq but can't seem to convince any of his strapping young sons to enlist and help.

Posted by: what a masshole | Oct 26, 2007 4:28:09 PM

there seems to be a pattern of crappy politicians coming out of Massachusetts

Posted by: Wowzers | Oct 26, 2007 4:25:12 PM

call me crazy, but did the pot just call the kettle black?? Who's ANYONE in the GOP to be critisizing a Dem for their family values? At least no one in Hilary's family smokes meth with gay prostitutes or solicits sex from men in bathrooms. Unreal how terrible Mitt Romney is

Posted by: Alex | Oct 26, 2007 4:23:57 PM


It's interesting to note that presidential candidate Ron Paul doesn't gush on and on about his solid marriage of 50 plus years -- nor does he publically "make nice" about the Clintons for wider political appeal.

This, among many other reasons, is why Congressman Paul has such a dedicated grassroots following.

Posted by: L Young | Oct 26, 2007 4:22:40 PM

At long last, I've stumbled upon comments from people with brains...how very refreshing to there are still some people out there who don't buy, lock, stock and barrel any and everything politicans spout. Maybe there's hope after all.

Posted by: Thankful | Oct 26, 2007 4:19:09 PM

Mitt Romney will send other people's son's and daughters to war, but wont send any of his 5 sons to fight. He's been called out on that, and he defends them by saying, "they made decisions not to volunteer to fight, and I respect them for it." I understand it's a volunteer military, but its always easier to send someone else kids to fight your dirty work... he's the last person that should be questioning people's family values.

Posted by: Corey | Oct 26, 2007 4:18:41 PM

True, Hillary doesn't need lessons on how to change her positions on a daily basis.

Posted by: hope | Oct 26, 2007 4:15:19 PM

The GAY issue now lays like this...the democrats gays want acceptance, like let me work instead of get fired and try and keep your nose out of my bedroom. The republican gays like bathroom encounters with strangers, vote against any gay friendly law, then run home to smooch on the wife...first one, second one, third one, whichever one...VOTE NOW...

Posted by: daddy | Oct 26, 2007 4:03:37 PM

Sadly, personal insults are the Republicans' stock in trade. They trumpet "family values" as if they invented morality, yet turn around and slander their opponents like second graders fighting in the lunchroom. What a gaggle of hypocrites.

Posted by: Rickster | Oct 26, 2007 4:02:22 PM

Hillary wasn't the one who committed Adultery.

It was Monica and Bill who had committed Adultery.

How about if we start blaming all the wives of the REPUBLICAN POLITICAL MEN who committed Adultery while in their POLITICAL POSITIONS IN OFFICE.

Should we start some serious name calling, or can we get to the issues that really concern the medically uninsured MIDDLE CLASS like me

Posted by: angelheart80153 | Oct 26, 2007 3:57:04 PM

If anyone needed proof of Romney's pomposity, here it is in black and white. Remember when his father, George, said that he had been "brainwashed" concerning Vietnam? If only silver spoon Mitt had a brain to be washed at all.

Posted by: Rick Morse | Oct 26, 2007 3:56:52 PM

The main observation that I've seen is : that of the Republican front-runners, only Mike Huckabee has any CLASS !!The holyier-than-thou Religious Right types who parade their cookie-cutter like families up as "Father Knows Best- Circa 2007" make me want to buy stock in Pepto Bismol.
Of the so-called Christians, only Huckabee has said anything about the Clintons that even remotely resembles what Christ would have said. In the first place, it was not Hillary who committed adultry, it was Hillary who was publicly humiliated and cruelly hurt. She has forgiven him and and kept their marriage together, as governor Huckabee has so stated previously.
Romney making his remarks about other candidates'families like he is superior because he lucked-out and has only been married once, is hypocritical and nauseating,especially in light of the fact that none of his very able-bodied and priveleged sons have yet to volunteer for the Iraq War. Isn't it ironic how the Ex-Gov neglects to focus on that as he reminds us how much he advocates "ënhanced interrogation" (torture) I find Mike Huckabee to be a true Christian and much more Christ-like than any other candidate the Republicans have to offer. Romney is as plasic and phony as they come!!! God help us if he gets the nomination,I will vote Democratic if he does.

Posted by: Sparkles | Oct 26, 2007 3:37:54 PM

Well I could care less about the candidates' personal lives.

That said, is Hillary Clinton really vulnerable on this point? Isn't it tactless to deride her (directly or indirectly) because of her husband's infidelity? Not that tact has a prominent place in politics. Anyhoo, I see this as useful ammo against Guiliani, not Clinton.

Posted by: cordelia525 | Oct 26, 2007 3:35:52 PM

A few months from now we will look back at recent comments and y