Ann Romney calls it mostly ‘myth’ that Mitt changes position

Ann Romney dismissed what she called the “myth” that Mitt Romney is a flip-flopper in a new interview published late Monday, blaming opponents and media for its spread.

"That's more of a myth than it's true," she told Pennsylvania’s "Morning Call." "There's been a few changes, really not very many. They like to create this myth and he really has been very, very consistent."

Although critics have accused Romney of flip-flopping, often comparing his political method to the changeable drawing toy “Etch-A-Sketch,” Ann Romney said the GOP nominee has changed very little since he was the moderate governor of Massachusetts.

One change the former governor has admitted is his stance toward abortion. In 2007, he explained he had “changed his mind” on the topic after campaigning on the pledge to “preserve and protect a woman's right to choose” as a gubernatorial candidate in 2002.

The Romney campaign last week re-confirmed that Romney “will be a pro-life president,” although the candidate has also said he does not have any specific anti-abortion policies on his current agenda. President Obama’s campaign charged that Romney was obscuring his real position on the issue.

Ann Romney did not specifically address the abortion controversy, but said people could look to her husband’s 2010 book No Apology for the real story.

“He was so upset about how he was treated last cycle that he wrote a book, and said, ‘Look if I write like a 300 page book exactly where I am on all these positions, how can anyone say I’m changing?’ ” she explained. “I think he did that as a response to what happened four years ago, because again we had political opponents trying to characterize him in a way that wasn’t positive.”

She said “a billion dollars” has been spent this cycle on building the narrative that Romney is out of touch and a flip-flopper, and blamed “a media that is not particularly friendly” in part for promoting the narrative.

Ann Romney said the national convention and the presidential debates allow the country to get “an unfiltered view” of her husband.

“It was very heartwarming to see the response to him was so good,” she said, referring to his performance in the first presidential debate on Oct. 3. “It's like, well, finally. I've been waiting. I was waiting for a very long time for that moment, for him to be seen in a light that I see him."

On Monday, when the interview was filmed, the prospective first lady was campaigning in Pennsylvania, a state she said is “in play now” for the election. She is in New York on Tuesday and will attend the second presidential debate, along with all five of the Romney sons.

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