Romney on a Nuclear Iran, and Love

NYTimes.com — After the New Hampshire primary, where question-and-answer sessions with voters and retail politics are an inextricable part of winning the state, Mitt Romney’s campaign began slowly cutting back on the number of town halls he held.

But he held one Wednesday afternoon in Ohio, holding forth on a variety of topics, from foreign policy to health care. The event revealed a more personal side of the candidate when a young girl asked how he would most like to be remembered.

“Well, around my home, I like to be known as having been a very good father,” Mr. Romney said. “If I am lucky enough to become president of the United States, there is a legacy I also would like to leave, and that would be that I helped the American people with good jobs and with a bright and prosperous future. I want people to know that I have passion for America and that I made America stronger and made our future brighter.”

A few other topics Mr. Romney covered during his 31-minute question-and-answer session with Ohio voters, as well his own introductory remarks:

On his top foreign policy priority:

“Yeah, No. 1 objective is keeping Iran from having a nuclear weapon. The greatest threat to America is nuclear material in the hands of fanatics from Iran, whether the ayatollahs or Ahmadinejad.”

Mr. Romney added: “This president has failed to secure crippling sanctions against Iran. I believe he could have done so. When he decided he was going to give Russia their No. 1 foreign policy objective, which was a decision to remove our missile defense sites from Eastern Europe, he could have gotten something in return – such as their willingness not to veto crippling sanctions against Iran. He didn’t, inexplicable. When voices of democracy, or voices of dissent, took to the streets in Iran, and were calling out for support around the world, our president had nothing to say. Even Bill Clinton would have said something!”

On Rick Santorum, and his other Republican rivals:

“We’ve got some other folks in this race, in the primary – good folks they are – but they haven’t spent their life in the private sector. They don’t understand business and job creation and entrepreneurs and innovation, like someone who spent 25 years doing that. Rick Santorum’s a nice guy, but he’s an economic lightweight that doesn’t understand what it takes to make an economy work on a personal basis.”

Mr. Romney added: “If I’m the nominee, I’m going to beat Barack Obama. I don’t think anyone else can. I’m going to get the job done.”

Asked to offer an example of his heart:

“I think like the rest of you in this room, by far the most important thing in my life is my wife, all right? Ann and I fell in love young; we’re still in love. We have a marriage that is still filled with love. And her happiness is my happiness. I care more about that than anything in the world.”