Romney stops in Chicago to court potential donors

CHICAGO — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who leads the Republican presidential field in fund-raising, swung through Chicago Thursday to meet with about a half-dozen potential donors and defended himself against charges that he has flip-flopped on issues important to conservatives.

Romney wouldn't name who met with him behind closed doors at a downtown hotel, and said he has yet to line up an Illinois team to head up his presidential campaign in the state. He has already secured the endorsement of Rep. Dennis Hastert of Plano, Ill., the former speaker of the House.

A spokesman said Romney has about $11.3 million remaining of the $23 million he raised in the first three months of this year.

The former businessman's fund-raising total was unexpected. Still, Romney trails in the polls behind both former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

During remarks to reporters during his Chicago stop, Romney stressed his commitment to President Bush's plan for the war in Iraq and "strengthening" American families.

He responded to the charge that he has changed his positions since he decided to run for president on issues considered important to conservative Republican primary voters.

When Romney ran for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, he ran as a candidate who supported abortion rights. Now he says it is up to the states to choose. He has always personally been anti-abortion, he said, but the debate over cloning a few years ago convinced him that states should have the right to limit abortions.

"I concluded that we had so cheapened the value of human life in our society that it was important to indicate our respect for human life," Romney said.

He also defended his policy switch on gays in the military. He said when he first heard the phrase "don't ask, don't tell," he thought it was "kind of a silly phrase that didn't make a lot of sense."

But the last 10 years have convinced him that the policy is working and there is no reason to change it, he said.

On Iraq, Romney's plan is to fully support the Bush administration's current strategy.

Romney said that while he thinks the administration committed a "number of errors" in its handling of the war, he supports Bush's plan for a troop surge and said that a troop withdrawal would be a "grave error."

"Simply to seek the approval of opinion polls or to seek partisan gain rather than to put the interest of America ahead of everything else is in my view a course that is not appropriate," he said.

Earlier Thursday, Romney met with Mayor Richard Daley, promising that he would lobby the International Olympic Committee to select the United States choice for the 2016 games, whether it is Chicago or Los Angeles.

Romney headed the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, when that city hosted the Winter Games in 2002.