Q&A: Mitt Romney

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>> National Journal's Linda Douglass sat down with Mitt Romney
for the April 18 edition of "National Journal On Air."

Douglass: Well, let's talk for a moment about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. You no doubt heard about the Democratic debate the other night, where Barack Obama was pressed on several personal issues -- his association with Reverend Wright, the statements that he made about small-town voters and their values. He was asked about a man he was associated with who was, a long time ago, many decades ago, a radical. Are these issues that Republicans are likely to use against Obama in the general election?

Romney: Well, it's hard for me to speak for Republicans generally. I don't imagine that Senator McCain will be focusing on those things, but I think there will be, certainly, members of the Republican National Committee as well as other groups that are going to say, just exactly what do we know about Barack Obama? He emerged as someone early on who stood above politics, who was a man above it all. And as David Brooks of The New York Times said today, what's been apparent over the last several months is that he is a quintessential politician. He, in the debate, made a number of promises that he cannot possibly deliver -- populist approaches that sound good to the public but that are counter to the growth and strength of our economy and the well-being of our nation. And the associations in the past and things he has said indicate that he has subscribed fully to the kind of elitist view of America that has long characterized those of the most liberal persuasion in our country.

So I think what's happening is that people are getting a better sense about Barack Obama. They didn't know who he was. As this campaign has gone on, we're getting a better sense of the person. We knew Hillary Clinton pretty well. We know her foibles. That's in part why so many Republicans in particular, and a lot of independents, see her unfavorably. But now we're getting a better view of Barack Obama as the -- not just the liberal, but the political liberal that he is.

>> full interview here: MSNBC