Confident Romney continues shift to center in Fla.
Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., center, waves before introducing Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, second from left, and his wife Ann, left, during a campaign rally, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. / AP Photo
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. An optimistic Mitt Romney told a Florida audience Sunday that after he wins the Sunshine State and takes back the White House, he will do "everything in (his) power" to unite the American people, including working across the aisle with Democrats in Congress.
Speaking under dark rain clouds in south-central Florida, Romney rallied a crowd of more than 9,000 people, telling them that the "the sunshine is comin' through...for this country."
The candidate has drawn some of his largest audiences to date in the days following his strong debate performance against President Obama. He told the audience that he had "enjoyed" the experience, while getting in a dig at Obama.
"You all had the chance to hear his answers, or his non-answers," Romney said as the crowd roared its approval. "Now, of course, days later we are hearing his excuses, and next January we'll be watching him leave the White House for the last time."
Continuing a theme from the Wednesday night debate, Romney presented himself as a pragmatic, bipartisan alternative to the president.
"I commit to you this, I will do everything in my power to draw on that greatness of the American people," Romney said, with his wife Ann by his side. "To make us more united as a people. To have us pull together. To reach across the aisle and find good Democrats in the House and the Senate that care deeply about America, just as I do. I know they're there."
The former Massachusetts governor's debate performance has been widely viewed as a rhetorical move from the right to the center of the political spectrum. He spoke positively about his Massachusetts health care plan, championed Medicare, said some regulations are necessary in a free market, vowed to work with Democrats, and said that while he would not raise taxes on poor and middle income Americans, he would also not reduce the tax burden on the wealthiest Americans.
Romney's pledges to "reach across the aisle" echo the promises made by George W. Bush and President Obama in their 2000 and 2008 campaigns, respectively. Both presidents found the goal hard to reach in a polarized capital. Romney's debate statements about having worked with Democrats in Massachusetts, meanwhile, have been challenged.
While conceding that Romney came out on top at the first of three presidential debates, the Obama campaign has focused its post-debate attacks on Romney's truthfulness.
On "Face the Nation," top Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod offered Romney mock praise for a convincing "performance" that he said was solid enough for an actor, and accused him of "serially rewriting history."
"It was completely unrooted in fact," Axelrod said of Romney's turn on the debate stage. "It was completely unrooted in the position he's taken before, and he spent 90 minutes trying to undo two years of campaigning."
© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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5 Comments Add a Comment <dl class="first"><dt class="subj">
</dt><dd class="tools"> linkicon reporticon emailicon </dd><dt class="author">vpcharan says:</dt><dd id="body_13036967" class="body">This fellow is the greatest flip flopper American politics has ever produced as a presidential candidate. He has been running for this office for the last six plus years. Just one month before the November election, he has just abandoned all the policies he had advocated in the past six plus years. Can any one with a functional brain trust this Guy? I do not.</dd><dd class="reply clearfix"> reply </dd><dd class="toolstretch">
</dd></dl> <dl><dt class="subj">
</dt><dd class="tools"> linkicon reporticon emailicon </dd><dt class="author">erin_yu says:</dt><dd id="body_13036962" class="body">Romney is the classic snake oil salesman. He'll say anything to make a sale. After he belittled the "47%", Romney is now talking about uniting all Americans. Romney's capacity for audacious falsehoods is amazing!</dd><dd class="reply clearfix"> reply </dd><dd class="toolstretch">
</dd></dl> <dl><dt class="subj">
</dt><dd class="tools"> linkicon reporticon emailicon </dd><dt class="author">JLGottfred says:</dt><dd id="body_13036961" class="body">A candidate running from the center? Have we got the right country? How I would love that! Maybe something in Congress would get done!</dd><dd class="reply clearfix"> reply </dd><dd class="toolstretch">
</dd></dl> <dl><dt class="subj">
</dt><dd class="tools"> linkicon reporticon emailicon </dd><dt class="author">StillLookinUp says:</dt><dd id="body_13036953" class="body">At least you are still unfair and unbalannced, why not just add a few more
unproven statements along with this as your last line.
"It was completely unrooted in the position he's taken before"
This is why your ratings are tanking faster than the deficiet is going up.
Forty-two straight months of 8%+ unemployment,
a forty eight precent increase in food stamp recipients,
one in six Americans in poverty and growing
a growing $16,000,000,000 in debt
These are facts, but then it might really take some reporting,
won't the Democratic news agency supply them to you,
becasue nothing you print is based on anything that might upset theaxelrodman!-( Lets try some real reporting</dd><dd class="reply clearfix"> reply </dd><dd class="toolstretch">
</dd></dl> <dl><dt class="subj">
</dt><dd class="tools"> linkicon reporticon emailicon </dd><dt class="author">londoninny says:</dt><dd id="body_13036952" class="body">I know Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan was a President of mine and you Sir Romney, the Mormon Madoff, are no Ronald Reagan. Mitt Romney is a Financial & Electoral Racketeer,a pathological liar who by necessity turned in the most fraudulent performance in American Presidential politics:?http://*******.com/9h2xstg in an effort to deceive the American public, including Latino's. The Romney Con must die.</dd><dd class="reply clearfix"> reply </dd><dd class="toolstretch">
</dd></dl>
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Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., center, waves before introducing Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, second from left, and his wife Ann, left, during a campaign rally, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. / AP Photo
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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. An optimistic Mitt Romney told a Florida audience Sunday that after he wins the Sunshine State and takes back the White House, he will do "everything in (his) power" to unite the American people, including working across the aisle with Democrats in Congress.
Speaking under dark rain clouds in south-central Florida, Romney rallied a crowd of more than 9,000 people, telling them that the "the sunshine is comin' through...for this country."
The candidate has drawn some of his largest audiences to date in the days following his strong debate performance against President Obama. He told the audience that he had "enjoyed" the experience, while getting in a dig at Obama.
"You all had the chance to hear his answers, or his non-answers," Romney said as the crowd roared its approval. "Now, of course, days later we are hearing his excuses, and next January we'll be watching him leave the White House for the last time."
Continuing a theme from the Wednesday night debate, Romney presented himself as a pragmatic, bipartisan alternative to the president.
"I commit to you this, I will do everything in my power to draw on that greatness of the American people," Romney said, with his wife Ann by his side. "To make us more united as a people. To have us pull together. To reach across the aisle and find good Democrats in the House and the Senate that care deeply about America, just as I do. I know they're there."
The former Massachusetts governor's debate performance has been widely viewed as a rhetorical move from the right to the center of the political spectrum. He spoke positively about his Massachusetts health care plan, championed Medicare, said some regulations are necessary in a free market, vowed to work with Democrats, and said that while he would not raise taxes on poor and middle income Americans, he would also not reduce the tax burden on the wealthiest Americans.
Romney's pledges to "reach across the aisle" echo the promises made by George W. Bush and President Obama in their 2000 and 2008 campaigns, respectively. Both presidents found the goal hard to reach in a polarized capital. Romney's debate statements about having worked with Democrats in Massachusetts, meanwhile, have been challenged.
While conceding that Romney came out on top at the first of three presidential debates, the Obama campaign has focused its post-debate attacks on Romney's truthfulness.
On "Face the Nation," top Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod offered Romney mock praise for a convincing "performance" that he said was solid enough for an actor, and accused him of "serially rewriting history."
"It was completely unrooted in fact," Axelrod said of Romney's turn on the debate stage. "It was completely unrooted in the position he's taken before, and he spent 90 minutes trying to undo two years of campaigning."
© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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- Sarah Huisenga On Twitter » Sarah Huisenga is covering the Mitt Romney campaign for CBS News and National Journal.
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5 Comments Add a Comment <dl class="first"><dt class="subj">
</dt><dd class="tools"> linkicon reporticon emailicon </dd><dt class="author">vpcharan says:</dt><dd id="body_13036967" class="body">This fellow is the greatest flip flopper American politics has ever produced as a presidential candidate. He has been running for this office for the last six plus years. Just one month before the November election, he has just abandoned all the policies he had advocated in the past six plus years. Can any one with a functional brain trust this Guy? I do not.</dd><dd class="reply clearfix"> reply </dd><dd class="toolstretch">
</dd></dl> <dl><dt class="subj">
</dt><dd class="tools"> linkicon reporticon emailicon </dd><dt class="author">erin_yu says:</dt><dd id="body_13036962" class="body">Romney is the classic snake oil salesman. He'll say anything to make a sale. After he belittled the "47%", Romney is now talking about uniting all Americans. Romney's capacity for audacious falsehoods is amazing!</dd><dd class="reply clearfix"> reply </dd><dd class="toolstretch">
</dd></dl> <dl><dt class="subj">
</dt><dd class="tools"> linkicon reporticon emailicon </dd><dt class="author">JLGottfred says:</dt><dd id="body_13036961" class="body">A candidate running from the center? Have we got the right country? How I would love that! Maybe something in Congress would get done!</dd><dd class="reply clearfix"> reply </dd><dd class="toolstretch">
</dd></dl> <dl><dt class="subj">
</dt><dd class="tools"> linkicon reporticon emailicon </dd><dt class="author">StillLookinUp says:</dt><dd id="body_13036953" class="body">At least you are still unfair and unbalannced, why not just add a few more
unproven statements along with this as your last line.
"It was completely unrooted in the position he's taken before"
This is why your ratings are tanking faster than the deficiet is going up.
Forty-two straight months of 8%+ unemployment,
a forty eight precent increase in food stamp recipients,
one in six Americans in poverty and growing
a growing $16,000,000,000 in debt
These are facts, but then it might really take some reporting,
won't the Democratic news agency supply them to you,
becasue nothing you print is based on anything that might upset theaxelrodman!-( Lets try some real reporting</dd><dd class="reply clearfix"> reply </dd><dd class="toolstretch">
</dd></dl> <dl><dt class="subj">
</dt><dd class="tools"> linkicon reporticon emailicon </dd><dt class="author">londoninny says:</dt><dd id="body_13036952" class="body">I know Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan was a President of mine and you Sir Romney, the Mormon Madoff, are no Ronald Reagan. Mitt Romney is a Financial & Electoral Racketeer,a pathological liar who by necessity turned in the most fraudulent performance in American Presidential politics:?http://*******.com/9h2xstg in an effort to deceive the American public, including Latino's. The Romney Con must die.</dd><dd class="reply clearfix"> reply </dd><dd class="toolstretch">
</dd></dl>
<dl class="addcommentform" style="display: block;"><dt class="hed">Add a Comment</dt><dd> <form name="newCommentForm" id="newCommentForm" action="/8625-250_162-0.html" method="post" class="comment"> <textarea name="body" id="new-body" class="minLength maxLength ta reg"></textarea> Submit Comment
</form>
</dd><dd class="terms"> The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement. </dd></dl>
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