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As Gingrich rose in the polls in recent weeks, the Romney campaign released an ad that featured glowing close-ups of Ann and a clip from a debate where Romney cited his marriage as evidence that he was a man of steadiness and constancy.
The campaign released a new spot this week in which Ann Romney suggests that voters should be able to tell whether a potential president will do "the right thing" by looking "at how they've lived their life."
"That's why it is so important to understand the character of a person," she narrates. "To me that makes a huge difference."
Romney rejected the notion that the ad implicitly referred to Gingrich, telling reporters Wednesday that character was simply an important part of leadership and that when his campaign ran ads focusing on his family, "We got more support from voters."
"We talk a lot about policy and that's appropriate," Romney said when asked about the ad in Lancaster. But during campaigns, he said, "people don't get to know the candidates terribly well on a personal basis, and we're finding that as we run ads that talk about our personal background, our personal beliefs — that's building support for my campaign. So this is about us getting our message to the American people; it's not about contrasting with anybody else."
But these days, the contrast is clearly on the minds of Republican voters in the early states, who increasingly cite Gingrich's past marital troubles as a strike against him as the potential Republican nominee.
Many of those voters insist that a candidate's marriage shouldn't be anyone's business — particularly in New Hampshire, where privacy is paramount. But they often go on to acknowledge that Gingrich's complicated history could hinder their chances of beating President Obama.
The theme has salience for voters like Jean Johnson, 86, who met Romney for the second time Thursday at the farm and hardware store in her hometown of Lancaster. She cupped his hands in hers to tell him he had her vote.
"We study the people, and being in the North Country we have such an opportunity to see and hear them," Johnson of the candidates.
She said that she had looked at Gingrich — "but I couldn't vote for him, let's put it that way."
"He's got too much baggage," she added. "I'm not saying he wouldn't do a good job, but I wouldn't pick him over Romney.
"I look at it this way: If you can't work at a marriage and make that work, how can you make the government work?"
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-romney-marriage-20111223,0,2780242.story
The campaign released a new spot this week in which Ann Romney suggests that voters should be able to tell whether a potential president will do "the right thing" by looking "at how they've lived their life."
"That's why it is so important to understand the character of a person," she narrates. "To me that makes a huge difference."
Romney rejected the notion that the ad implicitly referred to Gingrich, telling reporters Wednesday that character was simply an important part of leadership and that when his campaign ran ads focusing on his family, "We got more support from voters."
"We talk a lot about policy and that's appropriate," Romney said when asked about the ad in Lancaster. But during campaigns, he said, "people don't get to know the candidates terribly well on a personal basis, and we're finding that as we run ads that talk about our personal background, our personal beliefs — that's building support for my campaign. So this is about us getting our message to the American people; it's not about contrasting with anybody else."
But these days, the contrast is clearly on the minds of Republican voters in the early states, who increasingly cite Gingrich's past marital troubles as a strike against him as the potential Republican nominee.
Many of those voters insist that a candidate's marriage shouldn't be anyone's business — particularly in New Hampshire, where privacy is paramount. But they often go on to acknowledge that Gingrich's complicated history could hinder their chances of beating President Obama.
The theme has salience for voters like Jean Johnson, 86, who met Romney for the second time Thursday at the farm and hardware store in her hometown of Lancaster. She cupped his hands in hers to tell him he had her vote.
"We study the people, and being in the North Country we have such an opportunity to see and hear them," Johnson of the candidates.
She said that she had looked at Gingrich — "but I couldn't vote for him, let's put it that way."
"He's got too much baggage," she added. "I'm not saying he wouldn't do a good job, but I wouldn't pick him over Romney.
"I look at it this way: If you can't work at a marriage and make that work, how can you make the government work?"
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-romney-marriage-20111223,0,2780242.story