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Politics

Exclusive interview with Ann Romney

Posted: 10/11/12 at 12:10 am EDT      Last Updated: 10/11/12 at 11:34 pm EDT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Ann Romney leant a helping hand to her husband's campaign with a trip to Fort Lauderdale Thursday.

Her visit comes the same day President Barack Obama stumps for votes in Miami-Dade County. It's proof how critical South Florida is to the presidential race.

The criticism has followed Mitt Romney for years: that he's a flip flopper. From abortion to taxes to health care to Don't Ask Don't Tell-- opponents say he's changed his tune on a host of issues to fit the audience. "Not true," noted Romney, "just not true."

Asked if she believes her husband has changed his message since 1994, when he was running in Massachusetts, Romney responded, "You know, you can always go back and nitpick, tiny little things. People can do that. But what you have to say is where are we going from here forward? What is he going to bring to this nation?"

Ms. Romney and her son Craig visited patients and staff at Broward Health, marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As they visited young patients, they took time out to sit down for an interview. During the interview, Ms. Romney never strayed far from her husband's message of job growth. "To us, 23 million unemployed are people. They're real people. They're faces that we've seen and heard. This is why we're running."

Reporter Nicole Linsalata: "But do you think you're battling against a perception that, as a family, you are out of touch?"

Ann Romney: "How do you battle that perception? That's the opposition. Take a look at my life. In my convention speech, I said people think we have a fairy tale life. In the fairy tales I read there was no breast cancer, and there was no multiple sclerosis. I'm sorry, we know what people are going through right now."

Craig Romney: "I think people understand my dad understands how to get the economy moving again, and that's where his experience, and that's where he's prepared to lead."

"That's what politics does. They try to throw the dirt in your face, and I'm here to say, I know the man, I trust the man, I can't wait for this person to make your life better."

From here, Ms. Romney heads to Michigan. Craig Romney will take part in a rally at Florida International University on Friday.

(Copyright 2012 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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